Auburn Tigers Video: Watch Confused War Eagle Crash Twice into Stadium Skybox

That eagle can take a punch!

Don't undersell how much of an impact seeing something like that has on the players.

First of all, nobody wants to be upstaged by an eagle. If you're looking at an eagle take a header into a window, shake it off and fly off, don't you have to feel like that thing is showing you up?

The good news for Auburn is that they were the main event. They had plenty of time to go out and put on a show of their own, making everybody forget about Spirit's impressive display of resiliency.

The Tigers did just that, standing up Mississippi State quarterback Chris Relf on the goal line on the game's last play, preserving the victory for the underdog defending national champions.

But from a positive perspective, that has to be somewhat inspiring. After seeing such a display in a common pregame ritual, wouldn't you be pumped up to go out and have a good game?

Really, how often to we see two teammates headbutt each other before a game? This eagle was just trying to show everyone that he's part of the team. There wasn't an eagle around for him to headbutt, so why not go after a window?

But really, if this isn't a pregame ritual defining a team, I don't know what is.

Auburn lost a lot of players from their national championship team. Even in a win, they took a pretty serious hit in their opener against Utah State. They staggered around for a bit, heard everyone's concerns, came back and did what they needed to do on the field.

If that's not what Spirit was doing today, I don't know what is.

Good job, Spirit. You not only inspired the team that you represent, but you mirrored them in your own way. You should be commended.