Bama fans are, of course, out in force mocking us today for “celebrating beating the worst team in the SEC like they done won a world championship.” Of course they conveniently forget their own hearty celebration when they survived this same team with a stop at their own two in the final minutes, but that’s irrelevant.
What they don’t get is what hope feels like after you’ve stared into the dark abyss and questioned your own soul. That’s how far down the fizzle of the last few years of Gus Malzan and the off-balance oddness of Harsin had driven us.
Harsin nearly cost us everything. He didn’t recruit. He didn’t appeal to fans. He alienated players, coaches, peers, media and decision makers. His gaudy, trashy, nouveau-rich family (who handled his sudden wealth about as well as a Beverly Hillbilly) were on full and constant display, a plainly visible refute of everything the Auburn Creed claims us to be. He and the administration that hired him weren’t just losing football games, they were chipping away at who we are.
That’s what last night’s celebration was about. Not beating a moribund football team. It was about hope… hope that things can change.
Yeah the road back is a long one. There will be setbacks and victories along the way. But last night was a small step.
We know people make steps every day. We know a bunch of other teams have beaten A&M and didn’t think much of it. But for us, it was a step.
When a man who has been paralyzed gets up out of the chair and takes that first step, his family celebrates. Yeah, billions of other people around the world put one foot in front of the other that same day without thinking about it at all. But when the man who had been stagnantign in the chair, questioning his future, takes that same small step it opens the door to the possibilities of a different future. It represents hope. It deserves to be celebrated.
So, fuck them.
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