From Mic Man to Mayor: Rare photos of Auburn's soon-to-be mayor during his cheerleading days

Next week, Auburn will have a new mayor for the first time in 20 years, one who has plenty of experience being the voice of the people.

Yes, once upon a time when it was especially great... to be... an Auuuuburn Tiger, Ron Anders (of the Anders Bookstore family Anders) served the community as Auburn University's head cheerleader, and he always showed up prepared. 

"I would pre-plan to make sure that my voice wouldn't get hoarse, that I wouldn't get a headache," says Anders, who cheered for AU from 1984-1985. "So I had a cocktail of Alka Seltzer I would take after every quarter, because if you get a headache, you can't yell. And then I'd have lemons and Halls cough drops that I'd work on all game to keep my throat from getting scratchy and raspy, and sometimes even all that didn't work. But you've got to be active and committed to what you're doing, and staying hydrated was always very important."

Also very important? The name of the school.

Anders says he'd write it on the back of his hand before every game with a Sharpie, just below his wristband--just in case. He obviously knew how to spell it; he's a smart guy. But it's intense down there on the field, he says. A lot of pressure, a lot of moving parts. There might have been 160,000 eyes on Bo Jackson, but there were 160,000 ears on him. Forgetting to ask the stadium to give him a "U" when spelling out Auburn? That would have been bad. 

There are dozens of musts when you're in charge of Jordan Hare, just like there are a dozens of musts when you're in charge of the Loveliest Village, but that's at the top for both: Getting "Auburn" right.

Check out these rare portraits of the new mayor as a young mic man... 

from Auburn Sports Impact http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2018/10/from_mic_man_to_mayor_check_ou.html