For days, weeks even, people have been counting down to this day: Game Day. As I drove through campus this week, the air was abuzz with pre-game festivities. I have to give credit where credit's due: there was electricity in the air even at my new university here on the other side of the state. I didn't get the same chill bumps as I do when I see those RVs drive up Donahue with Auburn flags a-wavin', but it at least got me in an SEC state-of-mind. The sun shone a bit brighter, and the air smelled a little cleaner (yes, even on my side of the state...).
Since my first student ticket got me into a game against County High School... er, San Jose St., I gladly skipped town to meet my parents at the beach. With the immense stress I've been under, this little weekend trip to the Coast has been the light at the end of my tunnel for weeks now. Thursday night after class I got all my ducks in a row and baked a few [dozen] cookies for Dad and I to snack on at the beach, and then I barely slept in anticipation for my Friday morning departure. I jumped out of bed Friday morning, made sure Macy was taken care of, and headed south. I met up with the parentals, feasted on Jim-N-Nick's, and then proceeded to our little beach getaway. After a brief stop at the outlets, we finally arrived at 8:30 Friday night.
I noticed as I approached our condo door that it seemed to be ajar. This was cause for some concern, but I could've never guessed what waited for me behind the door. Immediately as I shoved the door open I saw my twin bed head boards against the hall closet doorway, and as my eyes shifted around the room and adjusted to the dark I saw two twin mattresses in the kitchen along with my dresser and chair, my bathroom sink in the kitchen hallway, my parents' king-size bed atop the dining room table, and their dressers and other furniture in the living room. Along all the walls lay baseboards, nail side up. The most upsetting part was that the water had been turned off, and if I'm within 1-hour of my destination I happen to refuse to use public restrooms. So there I was, in a condo turned upside down, somewhere between peeing in my pants and crying.
As it turns out, the renovations in our time-share condo were supposed to completed a couple of weeks ago but there had been some kind of delay... and, oops, they failed to notify us. Dad went down to do a little man-to-man negotiating with the people at the office while Mom and I sulked and sat atop the luggage carts. We managed to get a condo out of Dad's wheeling and dealing, so after an hour of squatting in the hallway we rolled into our new home (and more importantly, working bathroom) two floors down.
Today all that trauma is just a dim memory. After a morning run with Dad-- hello, I'm training for a 5k now-- I showered and pulled on my favorite Auburn t-shirt. I bought this shirt at my first Auburn game in tenth grade. It's classic navy and softened with age, and the screen-printed orange letters are slightly cracked. I was pleased to find my mom in navy and white as well, and she even accessorized with an orange purse. Dad-- in mourning the loss of his family to Auburn, I suppose-- wore all black. We lunched at LuLu's and headed back to the outlet, all along the way being greeted by members of the Auburn Family with friendly War Eagle's-- there's really no way to describe the instant kindred feeling you get when you have a War Eagle moment. I even bonded with some LSU fans over our Tigers (we're a Tiger family, maybe?) and a few Florida fans because we were all wearing the right colors.
You know, it wasn't the same as being on the Plains for game day... seeing tents set up with the finest tailgating fare up and down College Street, the flood of orange and blue throughout campus, a shaker in every hand you pass... nothing can compare, truly. BUT... seeing all the colors of the SEC out loud and proud here at the coast isn't the worst way to kick off the college football season.
As I write this, the LSU-UNC game is playing on the TV in front of me. Just moments ago Kirk Herbstreit started giving his rundown of the SEC, and I got to hear him say once again that Auburn might just take the West this year. Here's hoping, Kirk, and War Eagle to you too.
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