At a train station in Verona, Italy, we sat near a group of young people, all looking very European and speaking fluent Italian. One of the young men kept glancing at my son and gesturing to his friends. As we stood to board our train the young man called out to us “War Eagle!” We replied “War Eagle!” and smiled and waved. He laughed and explained, “I’m an Auburn graduate. I was telling my friends about our custom of calling out War Eagle to one another and that if I said that to you, you would certainly say it back. I’ve tried to explain what it’s like in Auburn…but, I think I will have to take them there. It’s just something you can’t understand unless you experience it.” We agree.
Sarah and Dan

My favorite “Auburn Moment” actually happened when I was a student studying abroad with the School of Architecture. At the time, the program was 3 months long, and we traveled all over Western and Eastern Europe studying art and architecture. While in Venice, Italy I got up early one morning and threw on my Auburn t-shirt and went to an Internet cafe to check my e-mail. I entered the Internet cafe, which was flooded with mostly Italians, and sat by the front window. While intently surfing the computer, I heard the cry….”War Eagle!!!” I immediately looked up and saw two older alumni peering their head into the Internet cafe smiling. I responded with a ‘War Eagle’ and got up from my computer and went over and introduced myself to them. The couple, probably in their late 60’s, was from Virginia and traveling Europe with some friends from back home. Apparently, my orange Auburn shirt caught the eye of the husband as they were passing by the Internet cafe window. We stood there and chatted about traveling and the Auburn family all over the world. Unfortunately, I cannot remember the couple’s name. To this day I still get chills when I think about the unique Auburn family and how you can be thousands of miles away in another country and hear those sweet and soothing words….”War Eagle!!!”
That experience had such a huge impact on me that from that day on I have made it a point to go out of my way and shout “War Eagle” when I see another person with Auburn paraphernalia…let others question our greeting to one another, but in the end that is what makes it UNIQUELY AUBURN!!!
Kent