There's No Place Like Home

I drove back to the North Georgia Mountains this morning after being home in Montgomery and going to Auburn for "the football game".  To my Alabama friends, and enemies, Alabama has a great team and you certainly deserved the win. To my Auburn loved ones, great friends, special people who are so deserving of all wonderful and delightful things, I say, oh well. Its funny how losing isn't all that big of a deal any  more in my life.  You stand there with 80,000 people who want what you want, singing and dancing and having a great time, especially after sampling the Alcohol Punch on the corner of Samford and College Street, and its easier to take a loss. You can enjoy a good run, a fumble by the other guys and sing with the band and in the end, what really matters is that you were there with those you love.  I guess that's why often you read in someone's obit about being comforted in death surrounded by their loved ones.  Neither death nor an absolutely terrible football team can overcome the comfort of family and friends. Watching the excitement on my grandson's face at Tiger Walk, high 5ing young men who looked like giants to him.  The beauty of  Nova's flight. Looking at the trees at Toomer's Corner.  Taking my grandson by the freshmen dorms for his mom's stories. Seeing the old trailer parks and the new Athletic Complex was fun and no loss of a football game could replace knowing that we were all there, together.  For many years I was married to an Alabama Fan( the second one and final one!).  I have held back "Punt Bama Punt" and said almost nothing but kind words when I wanted to Laugh or Cry. Now I know that I could have said all those mean things I thought and really it wouldn't have mattered.  Except to me. I am glad that I was kind.  That I was often overly patient and that I never rubbed his face in it all those years when Auburn dominated the stats.  I am proud that I have not been a fair weather fan nor wife.  Driving back to Atlanta last night we listened to talk radio where fans who last year called in to say Chizik was brilliant and Auburn was spectacular, especially offensive coordinator, Gus Malzahn , now were talking firing coaches, changing game strategies, ya da, ya da. You notice these guys are never at the game or tailgating in the parking lot. They are armchair quarterbacks who never leave the sofa except for another drink. They complain and complain over a loss and dominate the talk shows with grips but they'd have to pull out a map to find the campus. To those fans, I say, "thanks for not coming to the game, we didn't miss you and we had a great time".  There's no place like home, and being at home in Auburn with all my family was great.  It really was ALL IN for the Auburn Family.