Dysfunctional Family

[AuburnGrad97 37]

Wow, I am really confused right now. It seems that we, the Auburn Family, have no idea how to handle success and the pressure that comes with being an elite program in the best conference in the country. You hear the phrase "Act like you've been there before". Well, we obviously are not used to "being there".

In the last three weeks, I have seen this board go from "the future is bright" and "we are poised to win another NC", to the complete opposite end of the spectrum. On the main page, we have threads that are discussing firing our head coach, firing our offensive coordinator, benching our 1st string QB, starting our 3rd string QB, benching several starters on defense in place of unproven freshmen, and now the latest thread discussing firing our defensive coordinator. All I can say is "wow".

The word Family is an interesting way to describe Auburn. Families bicker, and sometimes fight, but they never stop loving each other. You can be so mad at your mom/dad/brother/sister that you can't see straight, but I doubt you would ever go onto a message board and start talking about how sorry a person they are, or start discussing all the horrible things they have done over the years. Even if you were truly pissed at them, you would still love them, and you would still defend them if someone outside the family tried to talk bad about them, or hurt them in any way. What has happened to us, the Auburn Family? So what that we are 1-2, and our only win was a very close call against ULM. Auburn is still Auburn. Auburn is still the Loveliest Village on the Plains, and the school that I hope that my kids will all attend (I'm out of state now, so that puts a new financial challenge on sending them there, but if there's any way I can, that's what I'm going to do).

I whole-heartedly admit that I was on this board over the past few weeks, venting my frustration just like everyone else. I don't think I have come right out and called for anyone's job (coach or player), but honestly, I might have. I have tried not to talk about players directly, but again, I might have. Last night, I sat down and asked myself "when did I get this way?". It was after we won the NC in 2010. Something changed in me, and I immediately started thinking like a bammer. I haven't been able to see this in myself until recently. During my time at Auburn, 1992-1995, we had ups and downs. Since graduating, we have had good teams/records, and we have had bad ones. The one thing that remained constant during that whole time was my un-dying support for my school, and my team. Why is it any different now? I wish I had the answer to that.

We are not bammer. We do not need the success of our football team to dictate the quality of our lives. If that is what bammer needs to keep from beating their wives, or their children, or to justify their lives, then more power to them. I hope they continue to have success. Last night, I realized that no matter what our record is at the end of the year, I am and always will be an Auburn Man. I have a wonderful family, both immediate and the Auburn Family, and I wouldn't trade it for all the NC's that bammer claims. Do I want to see my team successful on the field? Of course, but if they aren't, I'll still support them.

I am not fortunate enough to be able to make the game this weekend, but I would like to challenge everyone that is going to support the team 100%, during the good plays and bad. And, no matter what the final score is, sing at the top of your lungs "IT'S GREAT, TO BE, AN AUBURN TIGER!!!". Because that is exactly what it is, great.

War Eagle, and beat the mustard off them corndogs!!!

[AuburnGrad97 37]

BTW, sorry about the novel.

[Auctoritas 2,828]

WDE.

[PCK 0]

I am a lurker and rarely post (and no I'm not a bammer)...but well written and WDE!

It would appear this is my first post since my two AE and AUF accounts got merged...

[matt138 0]

Agreed. WDE win or lose, forever and always!

[AuburnGrad97 37]

Glad to see others agree!!! WDE to you all.

Now, how do we convince the other 13,600+ on this message board????

[TigerPaw1 0]

Can u not be both an auburn man and a frustrated fan? Can u not express ur honest opinions about a school and team u hold dear? When did being unhappy with poor performance equate to not being an auburn man?

I think most everyone on this sight is an auburn man or woman. But we are all different. Some like to only discuss positive things and refuse to acknowledge anythig negative. Some are exteme pessamists that have a hard time being positive in good times let alone when we are playing poorly. And there are plenty in between. Just because I express my displeasure with what I am seeing on the field doesn't mean I no long love and support auburn. To me it points to the opposite.

I do not consider the coaching staff truly apart of the auburn family. They are paid to win games plain and simple. Do u still consider Tommy tuberville, Doug barfield, Hugh nall, and Ted roof apart of the auburn family? I don't. I consider them friends who associated with the family for a time. The players should never be bashed. They are full auburn family members that give it all for the orange and blue every week. Coaches however are free game and should have to answer to the state of the program

nevertheless most of us will be in Jordan hare or planted in front of our tv Saturday cheering and egging our tigers on. War Eagle!

[Crouching Tiger 76]

You can be a unhappy fan without getting on message boards that Bambies, recruits and their families can read and slandering our coaches and players all over the place. Please use some level of tact on here. Some of you come across as enemies of Auburn and I for one do not like your attitudes. Hopefully you do not even mean it the way you come across. Yes, I am disappointed too, but lets be patient and support our coaches and players 1000% at least until it is proven that the coaches are truly unable to do their jobs. Some of you need to support them and give them a year or 2 to do their jobs. Are we a family or a bunch of pouty spoiled brats? I'm all in! War Eagle!

[Crouching Tiger 76]

2 posts - what? Where did my posts go?

[johnnyAU 3,668]

"Do u still consider Tommy tuberville, Doug barfield, Hugh nall, and Ted roof apart of the auburn family? I don't. I consider them friends who associated with the family for a time. The players should never be bashed. They are full auburn family members that give it all for the orange and blue every week. Coaches however are free game and should have to answer to the state of the program."

I get what you are saying, but I think I'd still shake the hand of any of those guys and thank them for their time on the Plains. Their allegiances have moved on to the place that signs their respective checks.

I fully agree about not speaking negatively of the players. They are giving it their best effort...although I'd like to see how they would be if they all strapped it on and gave the same effort that OMac brings to each and every game of his career. The dude has the heart of a lion. Can we not take the DNA of Prosch and Omac and fuse them together to create an unstoppable beast? LOL

[AuburnGrad97 37]

Can u not be both an auburn man and a frustrated fan? Can u not express ur honest opinions about a school and team u hold dear? When did being unhappy with poor performance equate to not being an auburn man?

I think most everyone on this sight is an auburn man or woman. But we are all different. Some like to only discuss positive things and refuse to acknowledge anythig negative. Some are exteme pessamists that have a hard time being positive in good times let alone when we are playing poorly. And there are plenty in between. Just because I express my displeasure with what I am seeing on the field doesn't mean I no long love and support auburn. To me it points to the opposite.

I do not consider the coaching staff truly apart of the auburn family. They are paid to win games plain and simple. Do u still consider Tommy tuberville, Doug barfield, Hugh nall, and Ted roof apart of the auburn family? I don't. I consider them friends who associated with the family for a time. The players should never be bashed. They are full auburn family members that give it all for the orange and blue every week. Coaches however are free game and should have to answer to the state of the program

nevertheless most of us will be in Jordan hare or planted in front of our tv Saturday cheering and egging our tigers on. War Eagle!

Not sure if your questions were pointed at me, but my original post was not to call anyone out for their opinons. Mainly it was just a reflection of what I had become over the past few years. I was frustrated, angry, and downright pissed at the state of our program, just two years removed from a NC. A few days ago, it dawned on me that Auburn has been through tough times in the past, and I never felt angry. It's only been since the NC that I have gotten this way. I do expect our coaches to put a winning product on the field, but I now realize they need time to achieve that goal.

War Eagle!!

[bootskii 264]

Great post man. I agree. We are just having growing pains right now. That is going to happen when you change both offensive and defensive coordinators and styles of play. I mean if you started a new job that did everything different than you were used to do you think anyone could pick it up without difficulty and just run everything smoothly ...no. this is what is happening here this year.

[TheFriday23 0]

Great Post AuburnGrad97...took the words right out of my Auburn Family Mouth!!! The thing that has saddened me is when there are discussions about Saturday's game all I hear is OOOHHH there is no chance...uuugggghhhh i am sick just thinking about it. There are so so many people out there...including members of the Family that have already written us off for this game like it has already been played and we got our butts kicked. Haven't we been huge underdogs before and come out on top. It should be inspiring to the players, coaches, and fans to go out there and give it all we as an Aubun Family have and be "ALL IN" and win this football game and shock the entire world. Even during the ULM game JHS was not as rockin as I have seen it in the past! Our team needs each and everyone of us at the game and at home to tunnel our energy to that football field...without us our team would not be the GREAT AUBURN TIGERS that they are!

ALL IN!!! WDE!!!

[passthebiscuits 6,889]

Let's get beat this weekens by 40, then see how happy our family is. I agree support players 100%, but the writing is on the wall people. Family members can be successful at football too...they don't all have to coach like my Aunt Myrtle. War Eagle anyway!!!!

I'll be in my seats this Sat trying to pull one out of out britches.

[AuburnGrad97 37]

Great post man. I agree. We are just having growing pains right now. That is going to happen when you change both offensive and defensive coordinators and styles of play. I mean if you started a new job that did everything different than you were used to do you think anyone could pick it up without difficulty and just run everything smoothly ...no. this is what is happening here this year.

It's funny you mention the job analogy, because that is exactly what helped me realize what changed with me. My wife actually pointed it out to me, while I was ranting about how bad we were playing this year. She reminded me that one year ago, I changed jobs, and went from working as a construction manager building/renovating office buildings, to working as the facility/construction manager at Six Flags, dealing with roller coasters and theme park related construction. I am only now feeling more comfortable with everything in my job.

War Eagle

[sheliag 0]

Auburn will always be AUSOME ----- win or lose!!!! I have several friends who are bammers, but the funny thing is they know nothing about football or the team!!! It amazes me!!! I have one that didn't even know when their first game was and who they were playing ---- but they know when to post all the jokes facebook!!! The Auburn Family will always support our boys -- no matter. IT'S GREAT TO BE AND AUBURN TIGER!!!!

[AUHey 0]

One thing I think we are going to have to learn to accept is that there are now a lot of Auburn football customers who have mixed in with the Auburn family.

Customers have different expectations and responsibilities than family.

Thus, we see people acting in ways that would not represent the way a family member would be expected to act in similar circumstances.

[PapaWill 0]

Excellent post............I am certain many (hopefully the majority here) share your feelings!

[AuburnGrad97 37]

Let's get beat this weekens by 40, then see how happy our family is. I agree support players 100%, but the writing is on the wall people. Family members can be successful at football too...they don't all have to coach like my Aunt Myrtle. War Eagle anyway!!!!

I'll be in my seats this Sat trying to pull one out of out britches.

I'm sure there will be scores of fans that will call for our coaches heads, or to bench players that had a rough game, and that is their right as an American citizen. The intent of my original post was merely to say that I choose not to let it get to me any more. I support my program 100%, win, lose or draw. I have absolutely no control over player changes, coaching changes, etc. Jay Jacobs isn't going to ask my opinion on whether Chizik needs another year or not. Coach Chizik isn't going to ask me if the "light" will switch on for Frazier this year. Van Gorder doesn't care about my opinion on Kris Frost or Cass Mackinzy. I was letting all this stuff get me so worked up that I lost sight of what Auburn means to me. Not everyone will feel this way, and I don't expect them to. If coaches are changed this year, I'll support the guys that come in. If our coaches all stay, I'll support them, too. Regardless, Auburn will be back on top in the near future. There's too much talent in the program not to make it.

War Eagle

[im4aual 489]

Trust the coaches and support the players.

[SuperNova 0]

Nice post, I share your beliefs.

There is lots of frustration with AU fans right now and it kinda varies per person but you right we as fans need to be able to weather the good and bad seasons, the good press and negative press.

WDE!!!

[passthebiscuits 6,889]

Ok. If you say so, it must be true! Hooray!!!

[au81bs 32]

I agree with the OP and I love Auburn and all it stands for, and have been blessed to send both my sons to Auburn (one a sophmore and one starting grad school after graduating this spring, and yes, the out of state costs are painful to bear, but worth every penny and sacrifice for the experience they received). It doesn't mean I'm complacent about the performance of the team, but the way in which many express their thoughts and opinions is a poor reflection of Auburn. As I have taught my sons over the years, you can choose how you respond to negative situations and the proper way to respond to what they can control. As said in other posts in this topic, we have no control over decisions being made about the program, and we have much better options and much more appropriate ways to express concerns about the performance on the field. My grandfather (one of the most loved and brightest man I've known) taught me when he was still alive, "you can tell the character of a man by how he responds when things aren't going his way, or the way he thinks they should go. They can be part of the solution and improvement, or they can whine and complain and add to the problem. Which way do you want to be remembered." I chose to express my concerns, thoughts, and frustrations in a respectful, professional manner, and hope others see fit to do the same, mainly because a lot of what is now being written is done in a way that reflects poorly on Auburn.

I believe in Auburn and love it!

War Eagle

[Crouching Tiger 76]

Thank you AuburnGrad97 for your post

[AUcivE09 582]

Nice post! I have to wonder what our message board bammers will have to say after Chiz takes a big bite off the corndogs? I have a feeling this board could get back to football and talking about the games. The flip side is they seem to multiply after a loss.

I wish we could bring back the toilet/septic tank.

War Eagle and I will see you guys/gals at the game!