I’m starting to wonder what exactly Auburn ever did to Pete Thamel to make him hate the university, athletic department and, especially, the football program so much.
Was he not accepted into the school? Did he get beat up by a kid in high school who went on to play at Auburn? Did he get mauled by a tiger? Did Pat Dye not offer him a bourbon?
We may never know but the “writer” was at it once again on Sunday when talking about Auburn and the possibility of Hugh Freeze coming to the Plains, something that isn’t likely to happen since, well, the Tigers are currently 4-2 and Gus Malzahn is owed $21 million in a buyout clause.
Liberty coach Hugh Freeze has been fired for calling escorts from his school phone and set Ole Miss’ program ablaze with NCAA sanctions. There are plenty of opinions about his situational sanctimony, loose ethics and ability to be willfully ignorant of NCAA violations.
But few have ever argued about Freeze’s ability to coach football and call games, a talent he’s taken to one of the few schools who’d overlook his dodgy history by allowing him to be the head coach. (Cue the predictable forgiveness banter here.) ….
But there are places where winning has long trumped integrity – Auburn comes to mind – that would take the publicity hit for the wins Freeze would deliver. At 7-0 and with Malik Willis playing as well as any quarterback in the country, Freeze has fast-tracked those institutional scruples questions.
Thamel, we are sorry that you were never able to find the bag man that supposedly paid Cam Newton back in 2010 no matter how hard you and your cronies looked for it. Yes, Auburn has had some trouble with the NCAA in the past but … wait … are you telling me that we are the only one? Not Alabama that was as close to the death penalty in the 2000s than anyone since SMU? Not Kentucky basketball which was featured on a Sports Illustrated cover due to harrowing infractions back in the 1980s? Not Florida? Florida State? Clemson and IPTAY? USC? North Carolina and its fake classes? BAYLOR?
Oh right, you have nothing against them. You, Pete, showed once again that all you have going for you is being a foolish troll. Hugh Freeze (Full disclosure: I am good friends with him) has paid his due and what he did fails in comparison to what Art Briles and others have done as head coaches. Your cheap shots show that what you lack on substance you definitely lack on class.
Whenever Auburn wins, it must kill you. It must make you so angry that your keyboard can’t be close enough for you to send out a disparaging tweet or comment. Heavens knows even when Gus Malzahn was leading the 2013 team to a miracle season, you couldn’t help but think, “Yeah, but how long until he leaves for a better job?” because Auburn treats its coaches like crap. You’ve had an agenda for 10 years now and it is becoming more and more pathetic each and every article you write.
If you hate covering college football like you seem to do, stop covering it. We don’t need your judgment and need to feel like you are on a higher moral ground than the rest of us. Your bitterness comes across in so many things you write. Have you ever thought about being a food or movie critic? That would be the perfect job for you.
Most of us aren’t perfect like you. Most people, like Freeze, make mistakes in life and he paid dearly for it. I know. We have had personal conversations about it.
But keep going after Auburn. It’s fine. We can take it. What you call journalism is something that we have learned to ignore for a long time because we expect it from you. I have the platform to write how I feel about you so I am using it to say what I’m certain the majority of Auburn fans would like to tell you.
You are a hack. Plain and simple.