There is power, power, wonder-working “power”
October 19, 2019
Nina Thompson
Last night the Auburn University fight song was looping through my grey matter like a crazy lullaby. Not all the lyrics exactly. No, that might make too much sense because I was already looking ahead to this week’s visit to Arkansas and those cute, cuddly Razorbacks.
For anyone who has watched as much Auburn Football as I have through the years knows, it is never smart to discount any opponent. And I do mean any.
After all, 2015 wasn’t all that long ago when Jacksonville State (Ala.) of the FCS made their FBS big brother Auburn’s life flash before its eyes on The Plains. The final overtime score was 27-20 thanks to the grittiness of former Auburn running back Peyton Barber whose TD in OT helped the Tigers dodge a bullet the size of a football.
But I digress, the part of the fight song which took up residence in my mind was, “…Win for Auburn, Power of Dixieland!” But more specifically, ‘Power of Dixieland.’ After all, I’m writing this story, my first, for PowerofDixieland.com so of course I’m going to be curious about the origins of the expression. And about the 32nd time it looped through mind, I began to think about what the phrase actually means.
The term “dixie” goes back to before 1860 when the French-speaking population of New Orleans used $10 bills which had the French word “dix” (ten) printed on the reverse side. Though the term “Dixieland” initially meant New Orleans and the surrounding area, eventually the phrase encompassed all the southern states, which on a side note in 1933 became the home of the Southeastern Conference.
It’s also interesting that the state of Alabama’s nickname is actually the “Heart of Dixie.” The Alabama Chamber of Commerce developed the phrase in the 1940’s and 1950’s and it has been around ever since, except for a brief period when “Stars Fell on Alabama.”
But…what is the ‘Power’ of Dixieland of which we sing so proudly?
Yes, I know our Tigers are the “power” 💪 of Dixieland, but The Power is so much more than that.
What is that intangible thread which runs through Auburn fans wherever they may be on game day? What is the emotion which swells into a hearty “War Eagle” every time one sees the ‘AU’ logo emblazoned on someone’s shirt, cap, or cup? What makes our players get up and fight again…and again…and again, some times even after a heartbreaking loss? What makes us want to keep encouraging all of Auburn’s student-athletes to keep on striving to be the best they can be?
What is the Power in Power of Dixieland, you ask? It is love, honor, pride, encouragement, the acceptance of diversity, and the wherewithal in overcoming daily struggles that each of us are faced with as Auburn men and women.
The Power is Auburn — the faith we possess in something bigger than ourselves — it is the combination of all these things which make us family, the strength of our connections give us the power we need to believe in, not only in ourselves, but in Auburn. This is the true “Power of Dixieland.”
War Eagle!
