The good folks of Columbia, Missouri will play host to the Alabama Crimson Tide on Saturday afternoon. In preparation of the top team in the land’s visit to town fans are gearing up by watching Kick-Ass. Tiger fans can only hope that their team is more Hit Girl than Kick-Ass…otherwise they’ll get their ass kicked pretty hard. Speaking of ass kicking, perhaps Kick-Ass’ inclusion is also a reminder that Missouri is the new kid on the SEC block and it’ll take them some time to find their place. Endure a few beatings from the “old men” of the league and you’ll be able to be a super hero in no time, so chin up Sheldon Richardson!
Although their team still hasn’t quite found its footing in league play, fans in Columbia appear optimistic about facing Alabama. Fans have been studying up on how to hunt and kill monsters by watching Van Helsing. I’m sure Nick Saban is hoping to avoid A Nightmare on Elm Street as his team goes on the road to face a team that utilizes his mortal enemy, the spread offense. The Tigers will no doubt take a Catch Me If You Can approach on offense, trying to wear down the nation’s number one defense
In Tuscaloosa fans are happy it’s October Baby. We’re through the first month of the season and the Tide appear poised to defend their national title. After a week off, fans have to be looking forward to seeing their team back in action, even if it is on the road. Tuscaloosans are ready for their team to roll into Missouri and dominate, turning Faurot Field into a Silent House.
So far the Tide has been pretty dominant, causing fans to wonder if anyone can challenge them in their quest to repeat. This fatalistic view of Tide domination is evidenced by the inclusion of What to Expect When You’re Expecting and The Five-Year Engagement on the Tuscaloosa local favorites list. The monotony of beating opponents week after week has some Tide fans speculating on whether or not their team can beat an NFL team. These are the type of hypotheticals that are essential to maintaining a championship attitude; basically it’s what to expect when you’re expecting a championship. Of course, Alabama fans aren’t delusional by any means. They’re smart enough to know that their team has enough firepower stockpiled to make a title run every year from now until the foreseeable future. Championship winning will be a five year engagement…at least.
It’s Homecoming week in Oxford, Mississippi, which means Auburn is coming to town! Although the day is bound to be filled with fun, fans in Oxford seem to know the reality facing their football team, they haven’t won a conference game in some time. The fans have been watching Then She Found Me to prepare for the laughs and cries that are bound to be had throughout the day (they hope more laughs).
Rebel fans seem to be in a rather upbeat mood though, considering their team’s woes in conference play. Perhaps they’re drawing inspiration from Real Steel. First year head coach Hugh Freeze has his team playing inspired football and fans must sense that a program once resigned to obscurity is close to once again making noise in the SEC. Hugh Jackman’s sparring bot was found in a junk yard, but with hard work and a little belief, he made the little guy a contender. Talk around The Grove these days has to be of a similar sort. It seems they’ve found their man, now they just need to give him some time.
Raise your hand if you expected Auburn’s season to turn out like it has so far? To say Auburn has underachieved would be putting it lightly. No one really expected Auburn to win the SEC with a first year starter at quarterback, but no one on The Plains expected to be on the edge of a losing season so early. It seems the recent struggles have some fans ready to throw in the towel. These fans have been watching The Expendables in their misery. They think Chizik and his staff are the washed out heroes of yesterday. I hate to tell them, but Expendables 2 kicks major ass. Perhaps it’s too early to give up on this team and their coaches.
The top movie in Auburn this week is The Wizard of Oz. It’s a good reflection of the struggle going on amongst Auburn fans at the moment. The doom & gloomers are probably watching to see the little person hang themselves in the background. They just can’t handle all the positivity from their fellow Tigers and can’t stand to watch any more. Those who are still excited about the team are watching because they understand that sometimes life is a bit difficult. You have an old woman take your dog, you get whisked away to a far away land and accidentally kill a witch’s sister; things look pretty damn bad. But at some point, things break out of dull, depressing gray and into color. You gain self confidence and start to turn things around. You learn to ignore the naysayers and the man behind the curtain who is telling you that you can’t make things better. There are plenty of Dorothy Gales in the Auburn Family. They’re standing behind our young men, win or lose, proudly “All In” shouting, “It’s Great to be an Auburn Tiger!”
Stephen Savage, Auburn Man exiled to Baton Rouge, is currently working on his PhD in Political Science. In his free time he enjoys watching movies and writing about them on his blog, Movies N’ Munchies. For more evidence of how Netflix movie rentals reflect the psychology of local fan populations, click here.
Related: The Auburn flag in ‘What To Expect When You’re Expecting.
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