Carl & I went to a Christmas party last night at a local steakhouse. We were kind of late for cocktails and were seated right before appetizers were served, so we knew none of the people at the table with us. I was so tired from a long day at work that I was feeling decidedly unsociable, and was really not in the mood for idle chit chat with total strangers. However, after a few minutes of awkward silence, I mentally sighed, gave in and introduced myself to the (rather handsome) man sitting across from me.
Turns out he is British, been in the US for 18 years, and is an executive chef at one of the ultra-exclusive country clubs here in Houston. He was just at the party because his wife was invited.
I apologized for my lack of conversation, and babbled something about being tired, trying to get everything done before our long trip home to visit my family in Alabama.
Him: Alabama? My daughter lives in Alabama.
Me: Really? What took her from Texas to Alabama?
Him: She goes to Auburn.
Carl just rolled his eyes and asked the waiter for another beer.
It was on.
Once I told him I was an Auburn woman, he just started waxing eloquent about how beautiful it was and how glad he was that she was in school there, how perfect it was for her, and on and on.
Then he told me that he had been at the Iron Bowl this year with his daughter, sitting in the student section, and what an incredible experience it had been for him. He told us that he had been to sporting events all over the world – Wimbledon, the Masters, World Cup soccer, etc. – but that NOTHING he had ever experienced was anything like the intensity of the game this year, even though Auburn did not win. He said you could feel the hate and the rivalry, and the passion, and it made him all goosebumpy. The tailgating, the multi-generational families in Auburn gear, the entire experience was incredible. He obviously has gotten into SEC football – they lived in ATL for a while, and that helped with her decision to go to Auburn - and he talked a lot about Coach Chizik and how impressed he was with the turn around from last year’s team to this one.
I just sat there and smiled and nodded and interjected a few times, but it was so amazing to hear this man from England go on and on about how awesome Auburn is and how awesome SEC football is in general and Auburn football in particular, and how he wished he could have gone to a university and had that kind of experience as a young person. It didn’t hurt that even as he has embraced all things Auburn, he has also embraced hatred for Saban and all things crimson. He said he was booing as loud as anyone when Satan walked on the field that day. He called a few friends from the stands and held up his phone so they could hear how loud it was after that first touchdown. He said it was a surreal experience.
We wound up talking all night. The ice was broken, conversation and good red wine flowed freely and Carl even joined in. We parted with a handshake and a War Eagle.
What a great party.
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