Why I am an Auburn Fan

BY Kevin Ives
25 September 2009
Tigers Corner

I am an Auburn fan because of family. It never is said enough and it never rings hollow. Auburn is family. I know that where ever I am, whenever I hear a friendly “War Eagle,” I just met another of my brothers or sisters.

I am an Auburn fan because of friends. From the best friends I will ever make while I was a student to the 87,000 friends who make those eight Saturdays in the fall worth drudging through the other 357 days of the year.

I am an Auburn fan because of Shug Jordan. A soft spoken gentleman who coached for the right reasons. Lewis Grizzard once asked Georgia Coach Harry Mehre if Shug Jordan would ever retire. The response remains the truest words ever spoken about Coach Jordan: "Shug will coach as long as he can. He still loves the things most coaches don't think about anymore. He still loves the rah-rah part of this thing. He walks onto the field and hears all that War Eagle business they do down there, and Shug knows it's all worthwhile.”

I am an Auburn fan because, I too, hear “all that War Eagle business” and, I too, know “it’s all worthwhile”.

I am an Auburn fan because “The Amazins” and “Punt, Bama, Punt” and the story of a team that seems unbelievable when told today, but happened, and happened to Auburn.

I am an Auburn fan because of Sullivan, Beasley, Carnell, Bo, Ronnie, and Rocker. Of “Little Train”, Nix, Sanders, Dameyune, “Red”, Zeke, “Iron Mike”, the “Phantom of Union Springs” and the players before, the players since, and the players yet to come.

I am an Auburn fan because of Kevin Greene, still my favorite Auburn player. A walk-on who became an All-Pro and a player who still reminds me to never quit.

I am an Auburn fan because of Monk Gafford, a humble man with amazing talent, who made his mother proud.

I am an Auburn fan because of my Dad and some of my favorite memories involving a red Mazda truck, parking at the amphitheatre, and lifetime lessons taught on unforgettable Saturdays.

I am an Auburn fan because of other Dads. Who beam on game days teaching their children about Auburn. Who carry their little Tigers on their shoulders and make the same memories I made years earlier.

I am an Auburn fan because of my Grandfather, an Auburn grad and Auburn grad who called me his own “Little Tiger” and whose API class ring remains my most cherished possession.

I am an Auburn fan because of Jim Fyffe and the love he had for Auburn. August 30, 2003, my first game without Jim Fyffe, is the only time I’ve ever cried at an Auburn game. I still, to this day, wish he could have seen the 2004 team.

I am an Auburn fan because of Carl Stephens and “The Correct Jordan-Hare Stadium Time.”

I am an Auburn fan because of pain and how every Auburn loss ruins my week until the next Saturday.

I am an Auburn fan because of joy and how every Auburn win makes the following week fly by.

I am an Auburn fan because of Tiger Walk, and the eagle flight, and traditions that are uniquely Auburn.

I am an Auburn fan because “The Auburn Creed” and how simple words, written by an inspired coach, have moved me more than Keats, Coleridge, and Shakespeare ever could.

I am an Auburn fan because every Auburn man and woman has their own reasons, their own stories, and their own list of why, they too, are Auburn fans.

I am an Auburn fan because of whatever mistakes I may make in my life, I did one thing right: I went to Auburn and became an Auburn man.