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If H.G. Wells' Time Machine was operational, it would be interesting and fun to go back 100 years, pick up George Petrie and John Heisman and let them see what has become of the new game they brought to Auburn.
Petrie, a history and Latin professor, was Auburn's first football coach. Heisman, the man for whom the Heisman Trophy is named, coached at Auburn from 1895-99.
<P>
We would pick them up on Ross Square, behind Samford Hall just after compulsory military drill. Heisman probably wouldn't want to go because of football practice or play practice. He was an accomplished Shakespearean actor as well as a good football coach.
<P>
As we traveled through time and space, bypassing Hitler and his atrocities, Vietnam, and even the sinking of the Titanic, Heisman and Petrie discussed the fall football schedule which consisted of three games, all played in the month of November. Georgia, Georgia Tech and North Carolina provided the opposition.
They would leave a time when there were 17 men on the football team and there was no such thing as the forward pass. There would be no such thing as pads, and football's most exciting play was the Flying Wedge, roughly the equivalent to today's quarterback sneak.
<P>
We would bring them down on the lush green grass of Jordan-Hare Stadium. They would be convinced they were in Auburn only when they saw Samford Tower in the distance. Realizing where they were in the Auburn of their day, one would say, "Why this used to be a gully and a goat pasture"
<P>
They would be intimidated by the crowd. Neither would have ever seen so many people at one place before. They would be shocked, perhaps a bit fearful, as the players came out of the locker room, looking more like gladiators than football players.
<P>
Heisman would meet Coach Bowden, and the man who invented the forward pass would talk strategy with the man who has lived by the forward pass. Petrie would talk with Dr. Wayne Flynt, distinguished professor of history at Auburn. Petrie would be concerned that more of the football players were not studying Latin.
As we survey this scene from a distance, we ask ourselves where Auburn Football will be 100 years from now, on Sept. 19, 2098. Some of you, because of advances in medicine and health care, will be here. Most of us, however, can only speculate what the world - and Auburn - will be like in that far away day.
Will we still be playing football in Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2098? Parts of the stadium will be 159 years old.
<P>
Will we have built a domed stadium and moved away from the congestion of the campus and downtown Auburn? Would that stadium be located somewhere on 280 West, between Auburn and Waverly or Camp Hill, or would it be on 1-85 between Auburn and Montgomery? In Shorter, for example.
<P>
And if we are still here at Jordan-Hare, what will the stadium look like? How many will it seat? 150,000? Will attendance be determined by actual game attendance or by pay-per-view subscriptions? Pay-per-view prices will depend on the quality of seat you desire, 50-yard line, 10-yard line or end zone seats, and the game will be brought to you in virtual reality. The technology is already being developed. All the thrills of Jordan-Hare Stadium right in your own home. Just like being there.
One thing is certain. If this or any future Auburn stadium seats 150,000, roads into and out of Auburn will have to improve - if we use roads in that far off day. Today's RV or mini-van may well have been replaced with mini-airships that fly fans to Auburn.
<P>
If battery or nuclear powered automobiles are still in vogue, we will have long since used up the earth's supply of fossil fuel. Will there be 16-lane highways leading into Auburn, eight lanes in, eight lanes out? Will there be rapid transit service between Auburn, Birmingham, Montgomery and Atlanta? "Beam me up, Scottie" doesn't seem so far out anymore.
<P>
Will the Atlanta suburbs begin 30 miles away on the banks of the Chattahoochee? Will the 51 miles between Auburn and Montgomery be one long strip mall except for the glistening "New" Jordan-Hare Stadium?
<P>
What kind of protective gear will the players of that day wear? Will football resemble the game we play today or will the injury factor cause football to resemble soccer or rugby of today?
<P>
Don't laugh.
<P>
One hundred years ago, nobody had ever heard of a helmet and the forward pass had not been invented.
<P>
And the place you now sit was a gully and a goat pasture.


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	<TITLE>David Housel Column</TITLE>

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	<H1 ALIGN=CENTER> <IMG ALT="Housel's Desk " ALIGN =CENTER WIDTH=434 HEIGHT=102 BORDER=2 SRC="../pic/housldsk.jpg"> </H1>
	<BR><BR>

	<P>
	If H.G. Wells' Time Machine was operational, it would be interesting and fun to go back 100 years, pick up George Petrie and John Heisman and let them see what has become of the new game they brought to Auburn.
	Petrie, a history and Latin professor, was Auburn's first football coach. Heisman, the man for whom the Heisman Trophy is named, coached at Auburn from 1895-99.
	<P>
	We would pick them up on Ross Square, behind Samford Hall just after compulsory military drill. Heisman probably wouldn't want to go because of football practice or play practice. He was an accomplished Shakespearean actor as well as a good football coach.
	<P>
	As we traveled through time and space, bypassing Hitler and his atrocities, Vietnam, and even the sinking of the Titanic, Heisman and Petrie discussed the fall football schedule which consisted of three games, all played in the month of November. Georgia, Georgia Tech and North Carolina provided the opposition.
	They would leave a time when there were 17 men on the football team and there was no such thing as the forward pass. There would be no such thing as pads, and football's most exciting play was the Flying Wedge, roughly the equivalent to today's quarterback sneak.
	<P>
	We would bring them down on the lush green grass of Jordan-Hare Stadium. They would be convinced they were in Auburn only when they saw Samford Tower in the distance. Realizing where they were in the Auburn of their day, one would say, "Why this used to be a gully and a goat pasture"
	<P>
	They would be intimidated by the crowd. Neither would have ever seen so many people at one place before. They would be shocked, perhaps a bit fearful, as the players came out of the locker room, looking more like gladiators than football players.
	<P>
	Heisman would meet Coach Bowden, and the man who invented the forward pass would talk strategy with the man who has lived by the forward pass. Petrie would talk with Dr. Wayne Flynt, distinguished professor of history at Auburn. Petrie would be concerned that more of the football players were not studying Latin.
	As we survey this scene from a distance, we ask ourselves where Auburn Football will be 100 years from now, on Sept. 19, 2098. Some of you, because of advances in medicine and health care, will be here. Most of us, however, can only speculate what the world - and Auburn - will be like in that far away day.
	Will we still be playing football in Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2098? Parts of the stadium will be 159 years old.
	<P>
	Will we have built a domed stadium and moved away from the congestion of the campus and downtown Auburn? Would that stadium be located somewhere on 280 West, between Auburn and Waverly or Camp Hill, or would it be on 1-85 between Auburn and Montgomery? In Shorter, for example.
	<P>
	And if we are still here at Jordan-Hare, what will the stadium look like? How many will it seat? 150,000? Will attendance be determined by actual game attendance or by pay-per-view subscriptions? Pay-per-view prices will depend on the quality of seat you desire, 50-yard line, 10-yard line or end zone seats, and the game will be brought to you in virtual reality. The technology is already being developed. All the thrills of Jordan-Hare Stadium right in your own home. Just like being there.
	One thing is certain. If this or any future Auburn stadium seats 150,000, roads into and out of Auburn will have to improve - if we use roads in that far off day. Today's RV or mini-van may well have been replaced with mini-airships that fly fans to Auburn.
	<P>
	If battery or nuclear powered automobiles are still in vogue, we will have long since used up the earth's supply of fossil fuel. Will there be 16-lane highways leading into Auburn, eight lanes in, eight lanes out? Will there be rapid transit service between Auburn, Birmingham, Montgomery and Atlanta? "Beam me up, Scottie" doesn't seem so far out anymore.
	<P>
	Will the Atlanta suburbs begin 30 miles away on the banks of the Chattahoochee? Will the 51 miles between Auburn and Montgomery be one long strip mall except for the glistening "New" Jordan-Hare Stadium?
	<P>
	What kind of protective gear will the players of that day wear? Will football resemble the game we play today or will the injury factor cause football to resemble soccer or rugby of today?
	<P>
	Don't laugh.
	<P>
	One hundred years ago, nobody had ever heard of a helmet and the forward pass had not been invented.
	<P>
	And the place you now sit was a gully and a goat pasture.


	<P ALIGN=CENTER><A HREF="./" target="_top">TABLE OF CONTENTS</A> \| <A HREF="../" target="_top">PROGRAM INDEX</A> \| <A HREF="../../index.html" target="_top">HOME</A></P>

	<P ALIGN=CENTER><I>© 1999 Auburn Network, Inc.</I></P>


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