Gridiron Belles

On Saturday morning at 8am on Auburn University’s campus, grills were cooking, tailgates were set up, crowds were gathering and fans were getting their weekly breakfast of champions—a Big Blue Bagel washed down with fresh lemonade from the counter at Toomers Corner.

And so the relaxed tempo stayed for the next few hours.

In true Southern fashion, no one in Auburn was in a rush. Not the fans at J& M and not the players on Pat Dye field. As was evident by the first two quarters when Auburn was trailing Georgia—clearly in no rush to seal the deal. Sometimes it even looked like Cam Newton was slow, but that’s just because his strides are 4.6 times as long as every other player.

During the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, there was a level of calmness. The tailgates were energized, but no rambunctious. During the game, the fans were loud but not deafening. The players were precise, but not perfect.

It came as no surprise that Auburn’s win over Georgia was going to be closer than a number 2 ranked team should allow. I was told not to be too nervous when Auburn was trailing going into the second half because it was only a matter of time before the bulldogs wouldn’t be able to answer an Auburn score. It was like over time—the whole time. Slow and steadily, inch by inch, first down by first down, Auburn put points on the board and sure enough, Georgia couldn’t keep up.

But the Auburn fans could. Their stamina was impeccable.

With another W, a trip to ATL to plan and toilet paper hanging from the Magnolias, the Auburn fans headed back to their tailgate for more celebrating. The white lights strung on the tents meant they were going to be staying for a while. Mainly because they have paced themselves the whole day and they were fully prepared for the marathon. A slow and steady day of fandom allows them to celebrate with tailgates late into the night on The Plains.

Just as we were told as kids, slow and steady wins the race. Coach Chizik’s mantra is “slow and steady wins the West.”