Steven's Notebook

Look Ma - No Hands!

College Football

Auburn Tigers Football Stadium

The younger of our two sons is now also off to college, and my wife & I had an opportunity to visit with him on campus of Auburn University this past weekend. We also used TicketCity to get a couple of seats for the football game, and boy are we glad we did! We’ve been to many High School football games over the past years, and we’ve both attended games at other, smaller, colleges. This was, though, our first SEC Football game, and it was quite an experience.

When I first moved to the south back in 1992 I mentioned to my manager that I had seen cars with flags on them, something I’d never seen before. They’re available all across the country now, but back then this was something brand new for me. “You’ve got to understand,” she replied, “in the south everything revolves around Jesus and college football – and on Saturday, Jesus is number two.” She was joking — or at least I thought she was — but for many it really does seem to be the case.

The entire campus was filled with tailgating fans — cooking on portable grills, partying under brightly-colored tents, playing touch football in any open area they could find. I expected to see college students, but was surprised by the number of families; every age range was represented, from the youngest toddlers through oldest alumni.

Mr. Penny, Auburn Tigers fanOur seats were excellent, down near the field, and we enjoyed watching the mascot as he entertained the crowd and took time to greet every youngster he could. We also got to meet “Mr. Penny,” an Auburn super-fan who’s energy was unstoppable. Though rain fell throughout the evening, the fans were energetic and the game was great.

If you have an opportunity to get some tickets to a big-University football game, especially an SEC game, jump at it. I’m told that gameday is similar at the University of Georgia (and other schools), we’re looking forward to a game there in a couple of weeks.

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