Every Auburn fans least favorite question (or sometimes attempted insult from opposing fans) is "why does Auburn have two mascots? An eagle and a tiger don’t even go together.” While we do proudly fly our beautiful eagle before every home game, our one and only true mascot is in fact a tiger. When I was an incoming freshman at Auburn University, I heard the story about how we were given the battle cry of “War Eagle” while at orientation. With football season being right around the corner and the excitement building up, I have a little history to share. So here is the story of The Day the Eagle Flew:

In the year 1960 the name Auburn University came to you,

But a little before then there was a game played in 1892.

So the story goes this is when the Eagle flew.

There is more than one version of this story that is true;

However, I believe this one to be Orange and Blue.

A golden eagle was in the stands with him that day,

When the Civil War soldier came to see Auburn and Georgia play.

This was a friend to him he had found

Where battle was fought on our own grounds.

The contest was fought like no other game of play.

I think this is why the eagle flew that day.

Auburn was driving and the crowd they did roar

Then out from the stands the eagle began to soar.

While circling the field Auburn fans began the battle cry,

At the end of the game the eagle crashed to mid field and there he would die.

This gave us the spirit of the War Eagle my friend.

And that became a tradition that will never end.

Auburn University has such a rich history behind all of its wonderful traditions, but the eagle always seems to be the most misunderstood or misinterpreted tradition of ours. I hope this story could erase some of that confusion for people who have never been to Camp War Eagle and gotten to hear the story!