My Thoughts from the Stadium (Western Kentucky 2022)

[abw0004 10,139]

Good morning all,

I hope this email finds you well.  This past Saturday was our last home game for the 2022 season and it was a fun one.  For the final time this season, here are my thoughts from the stadium:

Weather:  I always enjoy the cool weather for football games.  Extremely hot in the direct sun with 100% humidity just doesn't do it for me like the cool/cold Fall weather in Jordan-Hare.  It really did not get too cold until the middle of the fourth quarter, which I am fine with.  One of the hot chocolates the stadium sells always does the trick.

Senior Day:  Saturday was senior day for the football team, marching band, and cheerleaders.  It is bittersweet to see this as the seniors have been through hell and back.  Every step of the way, however, they gave it our all.  They never stopped fighting for this team, no matter the noise surrounding them.  Each one of them deserved a standing ovation and I am happy it was Cadillac out there giving them a hug and the football instead of Harsin.  They deserved better than Harsin.

Fans:  Even though the game was close for three quarters, I did not feel the fans getting anxious or frustrated.  Everyone just seemed happy to be there.  I certainly was.  It is amazing how resilient we are as a fanbase, and we, as fans, have been through a lot.  That is part of what makes Auburn special.  We love our players and university, no matter what.  Even if our stadium burned down, all of us would be out there helping to rebuild, brick by brick.  For that undying love you show each week, I call each one of you a part of my Auburn Family.

Post Game:  When the game ended, something very special happened that I think deserves its own paragraph.  No one left.  All of us stayed to clap and show our appreciation.  Colby Wooden stayed on the field on one knee near us and it was difficult for me to watch as I know how much he loved this place.  I wasn't going anywhere until he got up.

Special Moment:  If you don't know, Trey Lindsey's fiancee, Emmalyne, sits diagonally from me one row down.  She is there every game, rain or shine, for the full game.  As the clock was approaching two minutes to go, she bolted down, telling her parents they needed to come down as Trey will be taking the field soon.  Sure enough, for the final snap of the game, Trey came out to take a knee.  For me that was emotional to see with how supportive she has always been for him and when he finally took the field nothing was going to stop her from getting as close as she could.  That was the best moment for me for this game and I hope to see you both next year in those seats.

Looking Forward:  I said back in July that this season was putting us on the path to success one way or another and it is quoted below.  Harsin was either going to succeed and shut everyone up, or fail spectacularly and get fired so a better coach could come in.  Harsin did do one great thing for us though.  He seemed to have united our fanbase and put all of the arrows pointing in the same direction.  I have not seen that since Tubberville/Chizik.  So if Harsin did one thing correctly, it is uniting the entire fanbase with a brain against him.  If it took $10 million in his buyout to get us united moving forward then so be it.  I am really excited for our future at Auburn.  With the right coach, our continued NIL program success, and our fanbase, watch out.  We are about to shoot across the bow of a lot of programs.  You think Tennessee is excited for their future?  Just wait.  "We takin over."

[abw0004 10,139]

On 6/14/2022 at 10:07 AM, abw0004 said:

I am not sure why anyone pays any attention to predictions.  They are in fact predictions, or guesses.  An educated guess, sure, but they are only based on tangibles.

Worrying about what we might win now will only make the summer miserable.  Just control what you can control and enjoy your summer, and show up to the football games if possible.

We will be better because of this season.  If we lose bigtime, Harsin is gone and we can bring in a coach who will understand what it takes to be our head coach.  If we win, Harsin has righted the ship and we are on the path to success.  This season will make us a better program, one way or another.

 

Edited November 21, 2022 by abw0004

[aubiefifty 17,374]

man i love love love these game threads you do! thanx so much!

[HAYinthemiddleoftheBARN 210]

Great read!