How many of you went to the game this past Saturday? If you went, what did you think? (Besides the score) Now granted, this was a huge game. #2 FUGA coming in for the Oldest Rivalry in the Deep South. There were more top shelf recruits on campus than had been in a while. Auburn needed to put on a show. They needed to impress. And I guess that other than the outcome of the game, it was definitely a production.
Over the last few years, many of you have bitched about what's been happening, not only in and around the stadium, but on the Loveliest Village on the Planez overall. After Saturday, I'm now 100% in agreement. That place is barely recognizable anymore.
I drove in on Wire Road, and as I topped the hill and drove down toward the softball field at Wire and Samford, I noticed they had staked off about 100 yards of area on the left, where we have parked numerous times. Why? I have no idea. It looked like somebody threw out some wildflower seeds and there were some scraggly flower/weed things growing. That took away quite a few parking/tailgating spots. Thanks Auburn. You continue to push fans further out.
My sister and her husband were at one of the white tents in White Tent City, so I ventured around there to meet up with them. I had made a stop at a tailgate at Donahue and Thach, and afterward, started up Thach toward her area. As you know, Auburn has converted one whole side of the area outside the stadium to a tent city. It's a huge money maker as businesses pay outrageous sums to have a small, white tent erected with their name on it. As I began walking, I noticed that Thach had now been inundated with the tents and you literally couldn't walk on the sidewalk anymore. The tents are numbered and the ones on Thach were in the 900's. Thanks Auburn. You've sold out the entire campus game day experience for the sake of money.
Inside the stadium, the pre-game and atmosphere during the game, are a shell of what they were. They still have the same band traditions, but they seemed to be drowned out by the noise. The XXL Jumbotron 6,000 is quite possibly the worst piece of shit that has ever landed on JHS. You can call me an old man and dare to set foot on my lawn, but gawt damn, I was so sick of that monstrosity blaring non-stop at 40,000 decibels for 4 hours, I wanted to blow that shit up. It's not good for anything other than a replay and 3 hours and 56 minutes of fan-cam, while unrecognizable music blasts you in the face.
That's just scratching the surface. I love Auburn, I love being around the people. I love Auburn football and I love our traditions. I'm still going to go, but this keeping up with the Jones' shit is going too far. It's not even close to being the same place.