It’s Week 10 and we’re getting closer to answering the question everyone has been wondering the answer to: Can Auburn win another game? All kidding aside, this weekend gives us the “rubber match” between LSU & Alabama and with it an answer to whether or not anyone can slow down the Tide’s march toward South Beach. If the Local Favorites in Baton Rouge are any indication, the Bayou Bengals look to hijack the Tide’s bus and ride it in to Miami.
Fans in Baton Rouge have been waiting on this game since January. Of course, Coach Les Miles is quick to point out that there are many players on this season’s team who weren’t even a part of last season’s games, but the fans are excited nonetheless. They are ready to get the bad taste out of their mouth after watching their team lay an egg in the BCS Championship Game against the Tide in New Orleans early this year. To prepare for the madness, mayhem and carnage they’ll see Saturday Night in Death Valley Tiger fans have been watching Sin City. Make no mistake, fans in Red Stick are ready for “That Yellow Bastard” (Saban) and his crew to come to town and give the Tide’s title dreams “The Hard Goodbye”.
If there is a theme to be found among the top Baton Rouge favorites, it’s revenge. Gangs of New York is a wonderful example of how to do revenge the right way. The Scorcese flick confirms the Old Klingon Proverb that “Revenge is a dish best served cold”. LSU can’t let their emotions get away from them. They must remember there are 60 minutes in the game, so they can’t afford to get too high or too low against a very machine like Alabama team. If one Baton Rouge favorite makes me believe the Tigers can pull out the win, it’s Friday the 13th. The film’s inclusion has to be a sign of good fortune as LSU fan “Evil Twin” gave one of his famous “speeches” at the Les Miles show Wednesday night and mentioned how Tiger stadium would be filled with 90,000 Jason Voorhees’ looking for revenge against Little Nicky Saturday night. Evil Twin really nailed it Wednesday Night, word’s can’t do him justice…check him out at the 1:44 mark.
Things in Tuscaloosa are much more business as usual. Confidence is high in Tuscaloosa and the local favorites reflects that. It seems Tide fans are expecting their team to continue on their winning streak, even going so far as to celebrate in advance by watching Red Tails, the film their team watched before manhandling LSU in New Orleans in January. How high is confidence? They’ve already broken out the Christmas movies, Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas, a sure sign they’re ready to get past the SEC Championship Game in December to move on to their title defense in Miami.
Fans are acknowledging their team will be on the road this weekend, having watched Intruders, but other than that there are no significant signs of concern amongst Tuscaloosans. Perhaps they’re confident Saturday night’s result will be more of what happened in January, with the game taking 30 Minutes or Less. Of course, with the way they’ve been playing all season and even at the end of the last, it’s hard not to see why fans wouldn’t be confident in their team. So far Alabama has proven to be on another level than their competition. Saturday night could prove to be the last legitimate test they face before the SEC Championship Game. The nation will be watching to see how they grade out.
From Nick Saban’s homecoming to LSU, we turn to homecoming on The Plains. Auburn hosts New Mexico State this weekend. Fans in Las Cruces have watched their team limp to a 1-7 record, with their first win coming on opening day. In most years this might anger fans extremely, but this week at least, they are showing hope that their team can pull off the monumental upset by beating fellow 1-7 team, Auburn. A win on Saturday would really salvage some bit of the season for The Aggies. Fans know this and have been watching Out of the Ashes to ignite their passion for the upset.
Although they lost their last game against Louisiana Tech, The Aggies and their fans are probably feeling pretty good about themselves, as they only lost by 14 points to a nationally ranked team. Now that the team has shown an ability to compete with top tiered teams, fans are looking forward to their team Facing the Giants. The one win Aggies will present a tough challenge to Auburn as their fans know that the season can only get better from here. They’ve been circling the wagons by watching westerns and have found a new calling for the season, upset Auburn. For beating an SEC team on their homecoming would be the perfect way to show what they’ve learned from The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption.
Most times you might say that homecoming is a fun week for teams like Auburn as they’re able to have everyone come back to Auburn to see old friends and family while getting a look at the young talent that will be the future of the Tigers football team. This year, Auburn definitely has much more to lose than win in this game. Losing to Vandy was bad, getting destroyed at home against Texas A&M was worse, losing homecoming to a 1-7 New Mexico State team would be THE WORST. Fans in Auburn are looking for answers to their current situation. They hope Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum can provide them. 21 Jump Street shows how disorienting things can be when your world is turned upside down. Just two years ago Auburn was marching toward a BCS Title, now they appear to be running backwards. In quicksand. Can the guys get things back on track like Hill and Tatum or will New Mexico State ruin homecoming?
Last week’s loss officially cemented Auburn’s bowl hopes as Gone, starring Amanda Seyfried (pictured above), but there are still games left to be played and I expect our young guys to step up and make us proud. At Auburn we love our football team, but we love our university even more. People Like Us know there will be struggles over the years, but we must not forget how special Auburn is. I know many have speculated over the future of the football program, but this weekend, let’s forget all of that and get back to basics by enjoying the company of our fellow Auburn Men and Women. This weekend take time to celebrate homecoming and Auburn University. Take time to remember why you believe in Auburn and love it.
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.
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