The History of Daddy Claxton

Hi,

I’d like to ask if you’re reading this today that you do me a small, but very special favor.  Please pick up a copy of your local newspaper today and find the section in it about Auburn winning the BCS National Championship last night. 

I’ve been waiting for 31 years for last night to come and it’d be great to have a collection of clips/articles/pages of the newspapers around the country and globe even, marking this memorable event.  If it’s on your front page, would you just send the whole page?

If you’d be so kind to send them to:

Claxton Creative, LLC,
PO BOX 800844,
Balch Springs, TX 75180

It’d mean a great deal to me.  I’ll also mention you back in a thank you post for your efforts.

Thanks,

Donny

Related articles

• Auburn vs. Oregon: Auburn Proves Money Can’t Buy BCS Championship (bleacherreport.com)
• “Watch BCS National Championship Game 2011 live stream online free Auburn vs Oregon NCAA College Football” and related posts (blogs.alternet.org)
• BCS National Championship-Oregon vs Auburn (formertrojans.com)
• 6 Storylines To Watch For In Tonight’s BCS National Championship Game (businessinsider.com)
• Bordow: Auburn proves defense still wins championships (nbcsports.msnbc.com)
• 2011 BCS National Championship Game: Breaking It Down From All Angles (bleacherreport.com)
• 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship: 5 Things We Learned from Auburn’s Win (bleacherreport.com)

About a month ago I wrote here on DaddyClaxton.com that the thought of Brent Musburger calling last night’s BCS National Championship Game featuring the Oregon Ducks and my Auburn Tigers made me want to vomit. (Brent Musburger Calling Oregon/Auburn Game Makes Me Nauseous)

I so expected Mr. Musburger to pull for Oregon and fully expected Auburn to struggle throughout the game.  In big games like last night’s, that just seems to be the way they play.  It’s been like that since I became an Auburn fan in 1980.  This isn’t the first group of Auburn Cardiac Kids; they were just the latest edition.

And so, with trepidations, I turned on the sound to the game last night to hear Musburger and “Herby” do the game.   And I have to say I felt like my fears of Musburger pissing me off were not realized.  I think he actually did a balanced job.

I’ve already seen that fokes have been coming here to DaddyClaxton.com under searches like “Musburger biased toward Auburn,” and “Why is Musburger biased?” but really, today I have to stand in defense of him.

Last night’s game with the Oregon Ducks was probably one of the most unique and inspiring football games ever in the BCS-era, and maybe even the national championship game itself.  The game literally came down to the wire–0:02 decided win or tie or lose.

There’s not much more one could ask for in a game like that.  Oregon and Auburn seemed almost uniquely matched.  Oregon did a great job of shutting down Cam Newton.  He did well in the game, but it was nothing like any of the previous games in the season.  And once he got hit hard a few times, he realized he was in a tough game.  The smile and skipping stopped.

Michael Dyer

Last night for Auburn was a glimpse of the things to come.  Newton will be going pro soon and who knows who will be quarterback.  At the beginning of the year, someone asked me about our QB and I told them we didn’t have one.  My brother corrected me.

But it was cool for true FRESHMAN Michael Dyer to become the offensive player of the game last night instead of Newton.   I even heard at one point Dyer got more rushing yards this year than Bo Jackson in a single year.  Hello!

Back To Musburger

I know I have felt many times in the past that he’s been biased.  Just listen to him say, “Ohio State Buckeyes!”  It’s just a little too happy.

But for last night’s game, I thought the man was as close to balanced as we could have asked for.   Your thoughts?

Related articles

• 2011 BCS Championship Game To Feature Less Brent Musburger, Says Brent Musburger (sbnation.com)
• 2011 BCS Championship: The Best and Worst from Auburn’s Win Over Oregon (bleacherreport.com)
• BCS National Championship Game: “You’re looking live….” (bleacherreport.com)
• 2011 BCS Championship Game: 43 Bold Predictions As Oregon And Auburn Prepare For National Title (sbnation.com)
• Auburn’s BCS Win Removes Last Doubts That SEC Is the Best…but Why? (bleacherreport.com)
• BCS Championship Game: Slip slidin’ away (bleacherreport.com)
• Bcs Championship Game: the 35 for 35 Podcast (everydayshouldbesaturday.com)

Wow.  What a great, great game. 

I’m Auburn thru-and-thru, but Oregon, you’ve got absolutely nothing to be upset about.  You played one of the best games I’ve ever seen.

And Brent Musburger and ESPN, I commend you and want to take back what I said before.  Musburger, you did a balanced job tonight and I appreciate it.

And now I go on to celebrate.  Congratulations Coach Chizik, Cam, Michael, Nick and company.  That was one for a lifetime.  .

Related articles

• Auburn vs. Oregon: Ducks Lead the Tigers (bleacherreport.com)
• Auburn Tigers vs Oregon Ducks: Eight Players Who May Make an Impact In Glendale (bleacherreport.com)
• 2011 BCS Championship Game, Auburn Vs. Oregon: Darron Thomas’ Arm Could Be The Key (sbnation.com)
• Auburn vs Oregon: Relatively Quiet Third, Calm Before the Storm? (bleacherreport.com)
• In Shootings’ Wake, ESPN Sticks to Script (nytimes.com)
• No. 1 Auburn Leads No. 2 Oregon 16-11 at Half (abcnews.go.com)
• 2011 BCS Championship Game, Auburn Vs. Oregon: Cam Newton Key For Tigers (sbnation.com)
• Auburn Scores On Wes Byrum Field Goal, Leads Oregon 19-11 (sbnation.com)
• BCS Championship: Tigers Leading Ducks at End of Third Quarter (bleacherreport.com)
• BCS National Championship Live Blog: Oregon Ducks vs. Auburn Tigers (blogs.wsj.com)

When I was a kid some 30 years ago, I didn’t mind it when Brent Musburger would sit in the studio and do the pre-game, half-time shows. 

Since he’s going to be doing the booth commentary in the Jan 10th National Championship Game, I’m nauseous.

The guy is biased as he can be. (And if you don’t think I’m the only one who thinks that, Google “Brent Musburger Biased.”) Naturally, if you’re a fan of “The Ohio State Buck-Eyes” (he always inflects on Eyes,” you probably don’t mind his calling of games.  (One site says it’s USC, too.)

I watched a portion of the Big 12 Championship with Nebraska and Oklahoma Saturday.  He was clearly pulling for Nebraska.

How could I tell? (And apparently I wasn’t alone.)

It was just in what he said.  And it’s the same way I’m anticipating him to call the game between Oregon and Auburn in January.  He’s going to be for Oregon.  Why?  I don’t know.  But just wait. He will be.

And here’s what I mean.

Sure, he’ll do a little of how great it is that Auburn has made it to the big dance.  He’ll make sure he talks about Cam Newton, by then, likely having won the Heisman this weekend.  But he’ll make sure that he throws Cam under the bus a little over his dad’s actions.

And then he’ll do this:

If Auburn falls behind like it has in eight of its 13 games this year, (which they came back to win every one of them,)  Musburger will be talking about how dominant the Oregon Ducks are and how stellar their play has been in the game.  “These Oregon Ducks are just too much of a match for the Auburn Tigers and Cam Newton.”

If the Ducks fall behind, it’ll be like this: “These Oregon Ducks haven’t given up and they’re on the verge of coming back in this game because they still have a great chance of winning it.”

That’s basically what he was doing for Nebraska on Saturday night.  OU, (which most of you know I don’t have a lot of love for, [One of my OU friends says I simply must stop calling it Blow U]) no matter how great a play it was, for Musburger it was of no matter, it was “These Cornhuskers are still fighting.  There’s still plenty of time for them to pull this out.”

Troy Aikman

A whole discussion could take place about former players being on the air and calling games for teams which they took to the Super Bowl.  But even if you listen to Troy Aikman, the man does a pretty good job of spreading the commentary.  Musburger, not.  You know who he’s pulling for.  And that’s why it’s a shame he’s going to be calling the game between Oregon and Auburn.

And it appears that the only thing that’ll wind up shutting him up is Auburn winning.   Well, even then it’ll be, “The Oregon Ducks played such a great  game and have had such a great season.  They gave Auburn a great game and will have so many players coming back next year,” Musburger will say.

War Cam Eagle.  And Mr. Musburger, I’ll be praying you have laryngitis by Jan. 10.  Otherwise I’ll probably just be watching the game on mute. 

Can you hear me ESPN?