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The Samford Game
Posted by
J P
,
23 November 2011
·
930 views
Not all games nor Tiger Tail Team experiences are created equally. Some are filled with excitement and peril. Others are all about the people you meet along the way. This trip pales in comparison to most of the others. For all of us, it was pretty much an off day. With the weekend ahead of us and the one we just left behind it was probably a much deserved break. However, that's not to say some interesting or entertaining things did happen.
This week's trip consisted of a skeleton crew. JP, and his friend Lindsey. Michael is a member of the Auburn Alumni Band and had to be down at Auburn earlier then anyone else was willing to go. If you were at the game you might have seen him during the half time show. He was wearing white. Jason wanted the day off. That's not to say that Jason missed the game. He was there, just on his own accord.
We left Alabaster shortly before 7 a.m. to start our drive down to Auburn. Before we got out on the open road we made a stop to fill that ever thirsty gas tank on the beautiful beast. Usually I wouldn't mention a gas stop except there seems to be a running theme of "who can ask the dumbest question" whenever we stop. People always ask if they can take a picture and that is fine. I somewhat can understand that one.
This particular Saturday the first question I got as I pumped gas came from a fellow that looked like a character straight out of a Robert Earl Keen song. He was pumping gas into his late model Chevrolet truck with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. The first words out of his mouth were "Where you headed to?" I kindly responded with "down to Auburn." With a serious face, he then asked me "Do you really drive with that tail attached to your van?" He was being serious. It was all I could do not to start laughing. I don't know if it donned on him that I had somehow gotten to the gas station with the tail attached. I had to be careful as I did not want to offend the man and have him drop his cigarette or do something to make my self a side note or collateral damage to a Darwin Award winner. "Yeah, it's attached at the hitch and through these cables," I answered as I pointed to them. "Well it doesn't look safe," he responded. I just smiled and finished pumping gas. I wished the man a good day and he gave me a salutation attached to another team. I just had to shake my head and carry on...
What someone competing for a Darwin Award might look like
Our trip down to Auburn was filled with many honks of the new horn and pictures being taking by law breakers in the left lane as they passed us. (We were doing 70 miles per hour) We had to make an impromptu stop at Prattville and chose another gas station to make a pit stop. I went inside to pick up some Dorito's for breakfast (Hey, it's better than another choke and puke) and we got another stupid question. "Ya'll ready to get ya'll's asses beat next week?," the female attendant asked with a creepy grin. I wanted to say "About as much as I'd like to spend my Saturday morning working at a gas station," but my kindness reflex kicked in. Instead, I responded with "Not yet" and smiled as I walked out the door. The Van definitely can bring out the best and worst in people. For every smart alec comment we get from non-Auburn fans there are others who admire and even envy our vehicle and wish that their team had something similar.
We arrived in Auburn shortly before 9 a.m. and made our traditional stop up at J&M Bookstore. We ran into our old friend Miss Mary who had her son, Chris, and grandson Taylor with her. We decided to give them a ride back to their tailgating site and park our Van there. It is always fun to have new people ride in the Van. I enjoy watching their expressions as people respond to them and the Van. In Auburn, it's almost always positive attention. On the road, not so much. This time we made our usual route around campus, pumping our favorite Auburn music along the way. You might not always hear our music, but you can hear our horn. It is extremely loud. Those that have heard it on the interstate and around campus can attest to it. Our friend Miss Debbie could hear it at her tailgate site very clearly despite the fact we were never within two blocks of her or aiming the van directly in her direction.
We were able to park our van fairly close to the stadium and attempted to make our way to Tiger Walk. However, we were too late. We walked back up to my brother's tailgate and hung out doing normal tailgating stuff until game time.
For those of you who were not there, Auburn did a nice little tribute to Pat Sullivan and his Heisman winning season 40 years ago. Samford and Auburn players formed a line on their respective thirty yard lines to salute the coach. They brought him to midfield along with many of his former teammates for a presentation. After a video and presentation all the Auburn players raised their helmets to salute. It was really nicely done. For anyone who is interested, here is the link to that presentation. I highly recommend watching it.
What posing for pictures with random peoples kids might have looked like
After the game, we ventured up to Toomer's Corner to pay our respects. It's amazing how many memories I have tied to that place. It's also amazing how one person's bitterness, hatred, and ignorance can ruin it for everyone else. Never the less, Auburn people celebrated the win over Samford. The corner was filled with many families, some bringing their children to their first game. We wandered around Toomer's for awhile and I was occasionally asked to pose for pictures. During the course of making our rounds we ran into The Blue Menace. We talked for probably about ten minutes and it was probably an interesting sight for anyone who was around. We were just two guys in full body suits decked out in Auburn gear carrying on a serious conversation and intermittently posing for pictures.
Might still be mad at us for not visiting him this week
Afterwards, we walked back down to our Van to find people taking pictures of it. On the way out of town, McDonald's was calling my name. Thankfully, in my old age I have developed selective listening. Instead we stopped at the Philly Connection. I'm sure Ronald noticed our absence this weekend along with the Smiley face thingamajiggy from Wal-Mart. Hopefully they won't rain down destruction on us this weekend for our disobedience.
Our drive home was a nice relaxing one. We honked the horn at least fifty times as passerby's waved at the Van and took pictures. It's always a good day when you get to go down to Auburn. Coming home a winner just makes it all that much better. We are hoping to have that same feeling this next weekend.
While you are here, you should click on over to JP's Politically Incorrect Predictions: Week 13: Rivalry Week: Colons are Absurd for entertaining picks filled with humor and uneducated guesses.
Tiger needs a new piece of Tail. Can you help?
Our fundraiser is still ongoing and several people have already participated and we are very thankful for them. We are going to refurbish/rebuild the tail on our beloved Tiger Tail Team Van. The old tail is falling apart as the outer layer is disintegrating. Jason's sewing skills have kept it together and we have been able to patch the few major holes up to now. As many of you know, a piece of tail is not cheap. We are now accepting donations at our PayPal Account (Tigertailteam@gmail.com and mark it as a "gift") or by clicking this Link. Everyone who contributes and gives us a name will have his or her name featured on our "Van" page for contributing and be entered into a chance for you and a friend to go to a home game next year in the Tiger Tail Team Van. We appreciate ANY amount of money that we get. For anyone willing to donate $50 or more, you can own your very own piece of the current Tiger Tail along with a certificate of authenticity. It's the cheapest piece of tail you will ever buy! As always, thanks for reading and please share our stories with your friends.
This week's trip consisted of a skeleton crew. JP, and his friend Lindsey. Michael is a member of the Auburn Alumni Band and had to be down at Auburn earlier then anyone else was willing to go. If you were at the game you might have seen him during the half time show. He was wearing white. Jason wanted the day off. That's not to say that Jason missed the game. He was there, just on his own accord.
We left Alabaster shortly before 7 a.m. to start our drive down to Auburn. Before we got out on the open road we made a stop to fill that ever thirsty gas tank on the beautiful beast. Usually I wouldn't mention a gas stop except there seems to be a running theme of "who can ask the dumbest question" whenever we stop. People always ask if they can take a picture and that is fine. I somewhat can understand that one.
This particular Saturday the first question I got as I pumped gas came from a fellow that looked like a character straight out of a Robert Earl Keen song. He was pumping gas into his late model Chevrolet truck with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. The first words out of his mouth were "Where you headed to?" I kindly responded with "down to Auburn." With a serious face, he then asked me "Do you really drive with that tail attached to your van?" He was being serious. It was all I could do not to start laughing. I don't know if it donned on him that I had somehow gotten to the gas station with the tail attached. I had to be careful as I did not want to offend the man and have him drop his cigarette or do something to make my self a side note or collateral damage to a Darwin Award winner. "Yeah, it's attached at the hitch and through these cables," I answered as I pointed to them. "Well it doesn't look safe," he responded. I just smiled and finished pumping gas. I wished the man a good day and he gave me a salutation attached to another team. I just had to shake my head and carry on...
What someone competing for a Darwin Award might look like
Our trip down to Auburn was filled with many honks of the new horn and pictures being taking by law breakers in the left lane as they passed us. (We were doing 70 miles per hour) We had to make an impromptu stop at Prattville and chose another gas station to make a pit stop. I went inside to pick up some Dorito's for breakfast (Hey, it's better than another choke and puke) and we got another stupid question. "Ya'll ready to get ya'll's asses beat next week?," the female attendant asked with a creepy grin. I wanted to say "About as much as I'd like to spend my Saturday morning working at a gas station," but my kindness reflex kicked in. Instead, I responded with "Not yet" and smiled as I walked out the door. The Van definitely can bring out the best and worst in people. For every smart alec comment we get from non-Auburn fans there are others who admire and even envy our vehicle and wish that their team had something similar.
We arrived in Auburn shortly before 9 a.m. and made our traditional stop up at J&M Bookstore. We ran into our old friend Miss Mary who had her son, Chris, and grandson Taylor with her. We decided to give them a ride back to their tailgating site and park our Van there. It is always fun to have new people ride in the Van. I enjoy watching their expressions as people respond to them and the Van. In Auburn, it's almost always positive attention. On the road, not so much. This time we made our usual route around campus, pumping our favorite Auburn music along the way. You might not always hear our music, but you can hear our horn. It is extremely loud. Those that have heard it on the interstate and around campus can attest to it. Our friend Miss Debbie could hear it at her tailgate site very clearly despite the fact we were never within two blocks of her or aiming the van directly in her direction.
We were able to park our van fairly close to the stadium and attempted to make our way to Tiger Walk. However, we were too late. We walked back up to my brother's tailgate and hung out doing normal tailgating stuff until game time.
For those of you who were not there, Auburn did a nice little tribute to Pat Sullivan and his Heisman winning season 40 years ago. Samford and Auburn players formed a line on their respective thirty yard lines to salute the coach. They brought him to midfield along with many of his former teammates for a presentation. After a video and presentation all the Auburn players raised their helmets to salute. It was really nicely done. For anyone who is interested, here is the link to that presentation. I highly recommend watching it.
What posing for pictures with random peoples kids might have looked like
After the game, we ventured up to Toomer's Corner to pay our respects. It's amazing how many memories I have tied to that place. It's also amazing how one person's bitterness, hatred, and ignorance can ruin it for everyone else. Never the less, Auburn people celebrated the win over Samford. The corner was filled with many families, some bringing their children to their first game. We wandered around Toomer's for awhile and I was occasionally asked to pose for pictures. During the course of making our rounds we ran into The Blue Menace. We talked for probably about ten minutes and it was probably an interesting sight for anyone who was around. We were just two guys in full body suits decked out in Auburn gear carrying on a serious conversation and intermittently posing for pictures.
Might still be mad at us for not visiting him this week
Afterwards, we walked back down to our Van to find people taking pictures of it. On the way out of town, McDonald's was calling my name. Thankfully, in my old age I have developed selective listening. Instead we stopped at the Philly Connection. I'm sure Ronald noticed our absence this weekend along with the Smiley face thingamajiggy from Wal-Mart. Hopefully they won't rain down destruction on us this weekend for our disobedience.
Our drive home was a nice relaxing one. We honked the horn at least fifty times as passerby's waved at the Van and took pictures. It's always a good day when you get to go down to Auburn. Coming home a winner just makes it all that much better. We are hoping to have that same feeling this next weekend.
While you are here, you should click on over to JP's Politically Incorrect Predictions: Week 13: Rivalry Week: Colons are Absurd for entertaining picks filled with humor and uneducated guesses.
Tiger needs a new piece of Tail. Can you help?
Our fundraiser is still ongoing and several people have already participated and we are very thankful for them. We are going to refurbish/rebuild the tail on our beloved Tiger Tail Team Van. The old tail is falling apart as the outer layer is disintegrating. Jason's sewing skills have kept it together and we have been able to patch the few major holes up to now. As many of you know, a piece of tail is not cheap. We are now accepting donations at our PayPal Account (Tigertailteam@gmail.com and mark it as a "gift") or by clicking this Link. Everyone who contributes and gives us a name will have his or her name featured on our "Van" page for contributing and be entered into a chance for you and a friend to go to a home game next year in the Tiger Tail Team Van. We appreciate ANY amount of money that we get. For anyone willing to donate $50 or more, you can own your very own piece of the current Tiger Tail along with a certificate of authenticity. It's the cheapest piece of tail you will ever buy! As always, thanks for reading and please share our stories with your friends.
