A winning tailgate
Auburn has had a challenging run in the first five games of this football season. It is not only hard to play five straight games at home, it is equally hard to host five tailgates in a row, particularly in September. It has been hot, cool, rained, hot again and then the delightful Saturday afternoon we had this past weekend.
Auburn played its heart out, left points on the field in the first and second halves, seemed to be putting the game away and then snatched defeat from what seemed to be certain victory. Disappointment was universal in the stadium, except for the Sooners from Oklahoma that seemed intent on losing the game themselves for most of the game.
Mary Lou and I have been Auburn fans long enough to have seen the good, bad and ugly. We have celebrated improbable wins like the Kick 6 game against Alabama and endured heartbreaking losses. Saturday’s loss falls in that category.
A bright light for the weekend was having some 50 Oklahoma fans join our Auburn friends at our tailgate on Sanders Street. It turns out a family connection with an Oklahoma player brought together an unlikely group of friends and foes for this SEC battle.
Our son-in-law’s family was part of a Labor Day group that spent that holiday together at the beach each year. Their children grew up together and then eventually their grandchildren. While Mary Lou and I were not part of this group, we knew many of them.
Jason and Amy Sharp are very close friends of our daughter Elizabeth and her husband, Grant. The Sharp’s son, Bauer, was quarterback at Dothan High, signed with Southeastern Louisiana University, became a tight end and through the portal found himself at the University of Oklahoma this season. He was named a captain and starter before the first game and scored OU’s first touchdown in the SEC.
So, it turns out that this large group of family and friends made their way to the game in Auburn this weekend. After all, it is a lot easier to drive two hours from Dothan to Auburn rather than find your way to Norman, Oklahoma. In doing so, they found their way to Sanders Street and joined our Auburn friends in a wonderful tailgate celebrating the sport, connections and friendships, both new and old.
Win or lose, there are certain things that bring people together. Ribs, bbq, pork tenderloins, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, and enough sweets and deserts to feed an army. Children playing in the front yard. Friends reuniting after decades.
After the game, most of the people found their way back to Sanders Street. There was another game on TV with common enemies for both teams. The Bama and UGA game certainly entertained all those around the television sets. The mounds of food left from lunch disappeared as win or lose, everyone had a healthy appetite again.
How is it that the most disappointing loss of the season turned out to be one of the best tailgates and weekends so far? Perhaps is it just a game. Maybe some of the screaming people posting on social media should come to our tailgate. Could it be that the game is only part of the experience we call college football?
Some 75 people enjoyed time together before the game and after. Some fans’ team won and some lost. But everyone that attended the tailgate on Sanders Street was a winner. There is certainly something to be said about that.
o0o
Dan Ponder can be reached at [email protected]