my name is Justin Stephen Robinson. i was born August 2nd, 1978 in the shitty northern Alabama town of Fort Payne during the reign of terror of Bear Bryant. the year i was born Bama were champs and even early baby pictures depict a young Justin in Alabama baby clothes given to my folks by my mother's family...all die hard Tide fans. to be honest the entire northern part of Alabama were Tide fans...well most of it, my father on the other hand being a contrary sort of person had long ago pledged his allegiance to Auburn University. like any good son, i took up my father's team as my own as soon as i was old enough to understand what the fuck football was.
luckily for me becoming aware of football also happened to coincide with some guy named Bo Jackson coming to Auburn and things like SEC championships and beating the Tide on a regular basis. my first live Auburn game was the 1987 season opener where the Tigers destroyed Texas. that moment pretty much made me a Tiger for life.
in 1989 i can remember crying from happiness when Auburn defeated Bama for the 4th time in a row and giving them a win at Jordan-Hare for the 1st time the game was ever played there. that might always be my favorite Auburn moment of all time. i was still young and not yet broken and jaded from years of disappointment to understand just how special that moment was. but as i got older disappointment is what i learned to expect as a fan of Auburn. i always remembered my dad being pissed about Auburn being screwed in favor of Miami in 1983 but i didn't care about such things. well of course probation came along and robbed me of the 1993 season and any chance at a national title. it wasn't fair. flash forward to 2004 and another crushing blow. now i could relate to the old man. rooting for Auburn meant you'd win some big games...but in the end you are gonna get fucked by the Powers That Be.
when the Tuberville era came crashing down and Alabama re-established themselves i began to resign myself to the fact that i was probably NEVER going to see Auburn win a national championship. it just didn't seem even remotely likely.
...and yet here we are, just one more win away from having a shot for a BCS title. and that's all i've ever wanted for Auburn. a motherfucking chance. if they lose to Oregon then so be it...but just give them the chance. some of my friends have been quick to tell me that if Auburn wins the title then it's probably going to be taken away, something i could honestly give a fuck about. you can strip away a title but you can't take away my memories. just give me some memories Auburn. that's all i'm asking.
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I try to keep this kind of thing in perspective, but it's hard. After all, should it really matter? I love Auburn. I love it for so many things other than just football, but football is a big part of it. I see people with bumper stickers for LaTech or North Texas or Memphis and I think "that person probably loves their school just as much as I do, despite the fact that they'll never play in an NC game". I think just a smidge of the desire for the crystal ball has nothing to do with my love of my team, but with my hatred of a certain other team. I'm reminded of one of my favorite movie quotes, from "As Good as it gets", "What makes it so hard is not that you had it bad, but that you're that pissed that so many others had it good."
i can agree with that.
Right on man.. it is all about the memories and just for once having the team you pull for go all the way...I think several years ago when the White Sox won the Series, they interviewed some random guy after the game and he said it all came down to the memories he shared and that boyhood dream of your team going all the way(this was all said with him sobbing like a child). I, like you, just want Auburn to have that chance to win the whole thing. And Holy Shit if they do? I will party my ass off and no doubt bust out crying because...DAMN, the memories of my youth coupled with the horseshit Auburn fans have had to endure this year, would be almost too much to handle. War Damn Eagle!
Fuck yeah.
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