Think back to last season and the five times you dropped your head in shame. The times the team couldn't push hard enough and the times the coaches couldn't think quick enough.
Think back to 1983, if you can, and the time you questioned the SEC's dominance when the best SEC team fell 13 points behind Texas.
Think back to 2004 when everything was rolling the right way. We could have put 50 points on Georgia. We could have put 60 points on Tennessee. We could have hung 40 on Virginia Tech. We could have rolled our way into more serious national championship talks. But instead, you think about the "could have's" and remember the "what we did's" and shake your head at the lack of drive our head coach had.
Think back to 1993 when you discussed the season's success over Christmas dinner with your family. Some of you had to endure other talk from a few family members. Talk of how their team still had one more game to play. Talk of how despite your team's success, it mattered not in the minds of the voters.
Think back to 2008 when everything seemed to be spiraling around and around and around a never ending toilet. An embarrassing display of poor sportsmanship from our players in practice leaving a high quality leader on our team with a neck brace and an oversized left tackle with a poor reputation. A sad showing against our rivals including a long, loud version of Rammer Jammer in Tuscaloosa.
We thought Kodi Burns would be an electrifying quarterback that would be a threat running and passing and would rewrite Auburn record books. We thought Mario Fannin would be the next superstar AU runningback continuing the tradition of Runningback U. We thought Lee Ziemba, Ryan Pugh, and Chaz Ramsey would be the anchors on an offensive line that would pave the field with opposing defenders. We thought Tony Franklin would be the next superstar coordinator with a fast paced, high octane offense that defenses couldn't stop.
But we thought wrong. We were found shaking our heads again at the state of the program. The phrase "Just Auburn being Auburn" rang loud and clear not only from Auburn fans, but from fans in other states as well.
Whether we are on top of the world or in the pits, the same phrase has been uttered by sportscasters, radio show hosts, and sports writers. Message boards, social networking sites, and websites - "Just Auburn being Auburn."
But this year was different.
This year included a quarterback with similar hype to Kodi Burns.
This year included a coordinator with similar hype to Tony Franklin.
This year included a defensive linemen with similar hype to Antonio Coleman.
This year, our offensive linemen received the same hype as they did in 2008.
This year included a freshman runningback that not only has continued Runningback U but has also rewritten the records held by the Dean of Runningback U.
But this year included something different. Something that pushed Auburn out of the phrase "Just Auburn being Auburn." Something that surpassed the Heisman ceremony and the SEC rings. Something that pulled our program into the national spotlight and helped our program grasp the crystal ball coveted by 120+ programs every August.
That something is Gene Chizik. And the man deserves all of the credit.
The credit for forming a cohesive and intelligent staff.
The credit for giving a great offensive coordinator complete control of the offense and not allowing his ego to get in the way when that great offensive coordinator began getting the much-deserved accolades.
The credit for bringing in a superstar who needed a second chance.
The credit for not trying to copy the other "great" coaches in the land.
The credit for making football fun. For taking the team to the water park. And allowing them to dance, to sing, and to cheer even when spots were rough.
The credit for understanding the desire of the Auburn family - to be a real family.
The credit for making that family a primary focus as opposed to making championships a primary focus.
Good things come to those who wait, and to Auburn, the wait has finally paid off. Through the head coach's vision, we have climbed - no - flown to the top of the clouds and have proudly staked our identity on the heads of the college football world.
We are the Auburn family - a family that matters - and a family that all with have to recognize as something more than just another team struggling to make themselves relevant.
War Eagle.
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