The road to madness
What a journey. The road began in Maui and took us across the country, ending in San Antonio. Not the way we would have liked the trip to end, but in all honesty a journey that exceeded all expectations. It does not happen by accident.
I have been a so-so basketball fan for a long time. My own career ended before I could drive, when I went up for a rebound, landed on the back of another player, and found my kneecap on the back side of my leg. The 7seven inch scar on my right knee has been with me for a long time.
I was tall for my age, but my slow speed was exceeded by my lack of ability to jump very high. When I say tall, I mean 6’ 2”. Thanks to 50 additional years of gravity, I am now 6’ 1”. Not tall at all on the court these days.
Nevertheless, I am an Auburn Tiger, whose love of basketball has grown each and every year since we retired to Auburn. Mary Lou and I do not miss a home basketball game in Neville Arena, the hottest ticket in town. We have made a huge sub-set of new friends, whose common love of the team and the game has brought us together in locations all over the country.
I did not realize how much basketball had infiltrated my life until I found myself watching any basketball game I could find on the SEC Network, while recording the women’s basketball games we could not attend. I watched half the teams play on TV during March Madness though my bracket was busted pretty early on, with the exception of my Auburn Tigers.
When I say “my” Auburn Tigers, it is intentional. This was a special year where the team and fans came together in a way that was hard to describe. Thanks to the Tip-Off Club luncheons, we got to meet many of the players, coaches and other insanely enthusiastic fans.
We attended Tiger Walks and Reverse Tiger Walks. We saw the team leave and return, and joined fans in supporting our team all over the footprint of the SEC. We supported the team, and they supported us. It seems trite to say, but I find it to be true to it’s core. It was the Auburn Family in the best sense of the word.
The SEC Tournament in Nashville is always a favorite, then on to Lexington and Atlanta, where I heard the loudest group of Tigers yell “War Eagle” in a basketball setting in my life.
Along this journey, we visited historic sites, hunted for strategically located hotels and cheap airfares, then sat around and made new friends. We also enjoyed old friendships that have been built on and reinforced by our common love of all things Auburn.
It has been a journey, this thing they call March Madness. By the end, I was tired. The team and coaches were tired. Any team, player or fan that has made this four month journey has to be tired.
Auburn came up short and, in just a minute, I will watch the Championship Game between Houston and Florida. I will probably pull for Florida because of the SEC, but my heart will not be in the game like it has been for the previous 38 games Auburn has played this year.
The goal was always to win it all, as it was for so many other teams. However, I leave this season immensely proud of the Auburn basketball team, and their own journey. A journey of faith, accountability, friendship, and bonding as brothers. Along the way, the players embraced their fan base, and we embraced them.
The Auburn Family took a long trip on the road through this March Madness. We did not win it all in the end, but we won, nevertheless.
At the end of this journey all I have left to say is Thank You to a team and staff that fought so hard, did so well, and yet came up just a few buckets short. Well done, War Eagle, and wait until next year!
o0o
Dan Ponder can be reached at [email protected]