i am sure lots of folks will disagree but i think espn

[aubiefifty 17,487]

showed auburn a lot of love before the game. they advertised us well i know at lest a half dozen times or so in the first half of one of thursday night games. and they showed lee corso wearing an auburn helmet a few times as well from past game days. i think that will go a long way in helping us recruit etc. of course i missed all the post game stuff cus i had a buzz so they certainly had the opportunity to take back some of that goodwill after our loss. but after all the cam bull and then the losing season it was refreshing to me anyway.

[AuburnFanatic10 0]

Yeah, it was nice to get solid exposure all week. That was just them trying to get ratings for their prime time game though, nothing more.

[AURocketman 73]

I think Gus is also doing a good job of winning the hearts of media. He has made himself available for interviews and phoned in at halftime on Friday's game. Yes ESPN is after ratings and all media is selling what they write. The world is what it is.

We have a coach that invests time in working with the media rather than alienating them. Making enemies and being obvious about it is never advantageous.

Also glad to see return of Auburn Football Review.

It is a new and improved day at Auburn.

[Newman5th 0]

People just like Gus. And regardless of the ncaa's finding, everyone but Auburn believes Chizik got Cam illegally, so we weren't going to get any love as long as Chizik was coach (and before him, Tubbs, who essentially told BSPN what they could do with themselves). So I think it could just be a new day with the media. And seriously, I think some of our worst enemies were feeling for us by the end of last season, so they can afford to be a little generous now.

[AUpocalypse 12]

Besides the obvious prime time sell for the game last night that ESPN had to dish out... Malzahn is well respected, other schools are dealing with real versions of their own HBO-4, AU is winning the games that they are supposed to win, making the adjustments that they are supposed to make, and this program is hitting an up-swing. It behooves ESPN to take this approach. AU will be a regular for their programming and a solid top-10 team for years to come.

[doc4aday 1,887]

WIth today's game, good relations to a point is necessary in order to have the complete package of success on and off of the field. I think we have one of today's great coaches in Gus Malzhan. This season will turn out to be a fun one, and the first of many successful seasons to come.

[PCBAuburnaFan 1]

I was glad to hear the announcers for out game towards the end stating they learned a lot about both teams and that we are a lot better than they expected

[TXaubie 567]

I was glad to hear the announcers for out game towards the end stating they learned a lot about both teams and that we are a lot better than they expected

First game I didn't actually mute the t.v. and turn up Rod and Stan because I knew those two tv guys would be fair.

[PowerOfDixieland 3,228]

ESPN doesn't deserve Todd Blackledge. He is way out of their league.

[Eagle Eye 7 2,535]

I do think that hey were a lot more upbeat about Auburn than usual. Even towards the end of the game they were talking about how far AU had come since last year, and that Gus had them moving up. I do agree with other posters, I think it has a lot to do with Gus's style. By the way did you notice the players from both side last night were a lot friendlier to each others. Not to much trash talking. Even noticed players acknowleging each others good plays a couple of times. Thats the way good football should be played. I think it shows the maturity of both teams. Throw in Hills remarks about LSU not slowing down but AU adjusting "like a SEC team should do" was giving credit to AU's defense in the second half.

[selias 2,398]

Blackledge was a big AU fan by the end of the game. He sounded like he came away from the game impressed with what our coaches are building. Not really a fan of "Todd's Taste of the Town" but he's one of the few BSPN guys that seems to really enjoy college ball and embraces the pagentry.

[gman87 404]

I like that crew but if Espn wants my respect, they need to air the actual, proven dirt on their beloved teams instead of ignoring it and chasing made up stuff about others.

[FHeal 4]

showed auburn a lot of love before the game. they advertised us well i know at lest a half dozen times or so in the first half of one of thursday night games. and they showed lee corso wearing an auburn helmet a few times as well from past game days. i think that will go a long way in helping us recruit etc. of course i missed all the post game stuff cus i had a buzz so they certainly had the opportunity to take back some of that goodwill after our loss. but after all the cam bull and then the losing season it was refreshing to me anyway.

Gotta call BS on this...

... on the online version I watched it seemed like a Bama-Houndstooth commercial most every break. To do this not only to fans of Auburn Football but to the LSU fan base as well tells me all I need to know about ESPN... of their grasp of the SEC, of their being fair and impartial reporters, and of their lack of balance concerning all but a handful of media favorites. There is no excuse they can offer for this bastardization of a broadcast right. I most certainly DO NOT look forward to with their partnership in the upcoming SEC Network.

[BornAU76 403]

showed auburn a lot of love before the game. they advertised us well i know at lest a half dozen times or so in the first half of one of thursday night games. and they showed lee corso wearing an auburn helmet a few times as well from past game days. i think that will go a long way in helping us recruit etc. of course i missed all the post game stuff cus i had a buzz so they certainly had the opportunity to take back some of that goodwill after our loss. but after all the cam bull and then the losing season it was refreshing to me anyway.

Gotta call BS on this...

... on the online version I watched it seemed like a Bama-Houndstooth commercial most every break. To do this not only to fans of Auburn Football but to the LSU fan base as well tells me all I need to know about ESPN... of their grasp of the SEC, of their being fair and impartial reporters, and of their lack of balance concerning all but a handful of media favorites. There is no excuse they can offer for this bastardization of a broadcast right. I most certainly DO NOT look forward to with their partnership in the upcoming SEC Network.

Which doesn't make sense cause the Bama game was on at almost the same time (7:00 vs. 7:45). Why would bammers care about our game once their game was on??

[aubiefifty 17,487]

I do think that hey were a lot more upbeat about Auburn than usual. Even towards the end of the game they were talking about how far AU had come since last year, and that Gus had them moving up. I do agree with other posters, I think it has a lot to do with Gus's style. By the way did you notice the players from both side last night were a lot friendlier to each others. Not to much trash talking. Even noticed players acknowleging each others good plays a couple of times. Thats the way good football should be played. I think it shows the maturity of both teams. Throw in Hills remarks about LSU not slowing down but AU adjusting "like a SEC team should do" was giving credit to AU's defense in the second half.

i love the good sportsmanship. its nice to see such class! and i think we earned lsu's respect saturday as well. next time we need to kick off in their behind. what was it some coach said? knock em down and help them up then knock them down again.

[AU64 10,122]

I might have missed something but don't recall any negative reference to Cam the entire game...but then again, the guys calling the game were not the ones that bet their careers and credibility on "Cam is dirty".

The guys back in the studio like May, Lou, etc are a different story and will go to their graves convinced that AU cheated...and will say so whenever they get the chance. But at least those folks listening to the game didn't have to hear the Newton thing re-hashed....maybe they finally realize that only bammers really care about that any more....and the bammers were elsewhere on Saturday night.

As for the commercials, it might come as a surprise that not just LSU and AU fans were watching that game on TV. That was a national game and Bama is ranked #1....so I can't see how anyone from AU has a right to be offended by a commercial....man, some of you are really thin skinned.

[AU! 0]

I know people have mentioned this point in the past but it seems to be lost in this thread: ESPN is out to make money, especially with any material that is planned. The way that an broadcaster talks about a team during the game is mostly subjective based on his observations. As for material that is shown leading up to the game, that is all about making more money.

With Auburn/LSU being just about the only good game this weekend (and Florida/UT having been picked up by CBS), ESPN knew that boosting ratings would require that they hype up this matchup. So they show a cool preview trailer and remind you when the game will be on. Then they talk about it a few teams during the week prior to get other people excited about it.

ESPN does not hate Auburn and they do not love Auburn. They love money and if showing Auburn more attention will boost their ratings, then they'll show Auburn more attention.

This gets forgotten because of the coverage of Cam, but ESPN was basically all Auburn all the time in 2010 after LSU and even before the Cam situation exploded.

[VAtiger12 112]

ESPN doesn't deserve Todd Blackledge. He is way out of their league.

They pay for him to eat a metric ton of food during the season and then film it, he's got a sweet gig.