A Day of Firsts

I refuse for my first blog post to be about my first blog post. So I got sucked in to the black hole that is blogging, there are worse things one could do online (I'm casting a condescending look at you, facebook.) Here it is, my first blog post. Moving on.
Let's talk about the other first for me today: the A-Day game. That's right, I've never been to one before. My dad came down this morning, we went to FarmHouse to indulge in the satisfyingly spicy tail muscles of freshly boiled crustaceans, and then walked to the game. We settled in at the fifty yard-line to gaze on Auburn athletic mediocrity in all its splendor. I've never been one to kneel at the altar of Auburn football like so many of my friends and family. Don't get me wrong, I love an Auburn football game. I really do. But for me, it's nothing more than that, another Auburn football game. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, what are we eating afterward? It's more about the experience then and there. I have a good time while I'm there, soak it up for all it's worth, and then move on with my life. After all, if I do need to recall the fourth string tailback's number or the final score of the 1983 homecoming game, my brother the Auburn Football dictionary is only a phone call away.
So what did I take away from my first experience at an A-day game? Stats? Rising star players? Nah, it had surprisingly little to do with football. What I took away from today's spring football game was a strengthened sense of community with what we that are part of it call "the Auburn Family". I saw people tailgating, kids with painted faces, and had lunch at a fraternity house I haven't been back to in months. The A-Day game is about so much more than football. If anything, the football takes a backseat to the overwhelming desire of Auburn people to come back to Auburn. To come back together. To reconnect with each other and with the sights, sounds, and scents of game day. So welcome back, and enjoy the football.