LSWho?

A view frm my seat 

In the grand scheme of things who are we to complain. I mean Hurricane Ivan killed people, destroyed houses and left thousands without power. So my wife and I couldn’t complain when our plans to visit her parents in Pensacola fell through because of the storm. Here her parents worried about when they were going to get their power back and when they would ever get their yard cleared. My wife and I worried about how we were going to go to the Auburn v. LSU game without our trusty babysitters.

First we wondered if they would have the game at all. They didn’t decide until Friday that it would not be postponed. So we searched for a replacement babysitter, but we felt guilty about asking someone to watch Ains for the near 12 hours or so we would be gone. Then we toyed with the idea of brining her…nope, you do not bring a 2 year old to a game that big. Finally my wife (who will henceforth be referred to as MRS. WONDERFUL) insisted that I go to the game alone. She said it’s stupid for both of us to stay home, I mean we already have the tickets.

So off I went to Auburn to meet up with my friends, tailgate for a bit, then sell our extra ticket and watch the game. Sure I felt a little guilty that she was home watching on TV when she would rather be there, but I knew I would never forgive myself if I didn’t make it.

Our tailgate is still suffering from some problems: What used to be a wonderful, organized and fun Tailgate; now is scattered, thrown together and missing our tent and a good location. We made the best of it though; many were missing because of the storm and everyone had a story to tell about damage and power outages. I even had to sell our extra ticket for face value (unheard of for a game this big) because the storm had changed many people’s plans. But all was forgotten come game time.

I was a little late getting into the stadium because I had to sell the ticket, but I caught the buzz in the stadium from the eagle flying. It has been a long time since the eagle flew, but if you ever have a chance to see it, you’ll know why there was a buzz. We just felt like we had a good chance to win this one.

The game was nerve wracking. The Auburn Defense dominated and kept us in it; so much so that it felt like we were ahead, instead of behind. I just knew we were going to score again, but I wondered if the Defense could keep up their pressure for the rest of the game. When we finally scored we missed the extra point that would have put us ahead, but a penalty was called and we kicked again for a one point lead. At that point it felt like it was our destiny to win, but we still sweated out the last 1:40 on the clock.

I raced out of the stadium and ran to my car. Usually a win like this would be celebrated with my fellow tailgaters for a while, but I was anxious to get home and celebrate with my wife and daughter. As I faced the 2 hour ride home alone, I tried to call home, but the cell towers were busy with others discussing the victory. I did get a message on my voice mail from Ainsley saying simply, “I wuv you Daddy.” So I raced home and arrived before she went to bed and told her all about the game.