How Sweet It Is

I decided a little over a week ago to not go out to Arizona for the BCS National Championship game.  In the end, I'm glad I didn't go.  It was the right decision for me to make for myself.

Instead, I watched the game last night huddled around a T.V. with the friends and fellow Auburn fans that I've watched the majority of Auburn games with for the past three or four years.  Together we watched Auburn trudge through the lows of the 2008 season.  Saw the firing of a once beloved coach and the hiring of a new coach that no one was sure of.  2009 was better than I think any of us had hoped for and when the 2010 season began, we were cautiously optimistic that we might have a great year.

It hasn't been easy being an Auburn fan this year, especially for someone with a heart condition.  The close games, last second finishes, the come-from-behind wins and yes, the Cam Newton "controversy" all made for a hard season.  Through it all, I think this team proved that they were forged in fire.  Made stronger by those things that they faced.  It wasn't always pretty, but in the end, this Auburn team always found a way. When it mattered most, the kids on this team answered the call.

This was a special team.  One that doesn't come around very often.  One that, when watching, you could almost feel that this was how it was going to end for them.  What more appropriate ending could you have asked for?  This team was never meant to win in a blow-out.  Anything less than a heart-stopper would have been out of character for this team.  What's not out of character for them is the heart and soul that they showed on the field last night.  That is why I'm an Auburn fan.  We may not have the most National Championships, we may not have the most SEC Championships, we may not always beat Alabama or Georgia but Auburn fans, players, coaches: We're family and we're all in.

--Paul