Gridiron Belles

Without a cloud in the sky, the crisp 78 degree morning was perfect for Tiger fans setting up a pre-game breakfast tailgate before the Auburn v MsState game.  In true Auburn fashion of well-mannered and tastefully dressed belles, Auburn fans were seen tailgating with State fans over large cups of coffee and stiff bloody Mary’s before kickoff.

The mood in the stadium was calm and eerily quiet.  Maybe coffee should have been served in the concession stand, but even that would not have calmed the nerves that fans in blue and orange were experiencing.  The Tiger’s first game of the season had ended in victory like so many did last year… in the last few minutes and by margins of 4 points or less.

The Plainsmen and women were well aware that Coach Mullen of Miss. State was going to bring some fired up bulldogs and a lot more cowbell.

Fast forward past 3 personal fouls in the form of excessive celebration in the first 6 minutes of the game, answered touch downs and last minute scores and Auburn fans have a 41-34 reason to roll Toomer’s corner.  And I have a chance to show my mama, a first time roller, a two-ply covered intersection.

But more than the game was the win all fans in Jordan-Hare shared before kickoff.

A presentation of  the Color Guard, a salute to Auburn veterans,  an award-winning choir joining the marching band to perform God Bless America and the National Anthem.  In a stadium full of 87,000 fans, there was a reverent period of silence, the most harmonious rendition of our National Anthem and not a single dry eye in a ten-mile radius.

This may have been a rival game full of division ranking implications, but for the 10 minutes before kickoff, we were one nation, one conference, under God, indivisible, for liberty and justice for all.

Xs and Os,

Christie Leigh