After weeks and weeks of pouring over opponents’ viewing patterns, it’s finally time for this guy’s favorite week, Iron Bowl Week! Although this year’s matchup doesn’t hold as much luster as season’s past, it’s still the greatest rivalry in college sports and for the 5th year in a row a team is hoping to avoid not only a loss to their bitter rival, but ensure they keep their national championship hopes alive.
So what are fans in Tuscaloosa watching to prepare for Gene Chizik and his Tigers? Well, at first glance, it seems they’re less worried about Auburn and more excited about their second lease on life. The Revenant is a tale about a soldier who is killed in battle, but magically reawakens as a creature that must feast on human blood to survive. If this film doesn’t perfectly capture the essence of the resurrected title hopes of the Tide, I don’t know what does. Dead, you magically receive new life through no work of your own and in order to sustain this life you must feed upon the hopes and dreams of others (granted in the movie the guy feeds on criminals, but in real life the Tide’s title hopes hinge on beating down the school that represents all that is good and right in this world, Auburn).
Another local favorite is either proof that Bama fans love Nicholas Sparks like their coach loves Little Debbie, or they know exactly what everyone is thinking. If fans outside of Tuscaloosa had to pick the top movie in the Tide’s backyard, The Lucky One would be a unanimous choice. There’s no denying The Tide is a talented football team, but what are the chances that two years in a row a loss at home is erased by teams who had yet to stumble, falling after the Tide?
Of course, the most pertinent movie on the list is The Raven. The film centers on Edgar Allen Poe as he tries to help the police solve murders based on his dark stories. Of course, we all know why this little gem is near the top of the list in Tuscaloosa, fans remember the last time Auburn came to town. Make no mistake, 28-27 still lingers in T-Town and the Tide have vowed that such a comeback (collapse?) shall happen, “Nevermore”.
The good news for Auburn is they won convincingly against Alabama A&M last week to boost confidence and send the team’s seniors out with a win in their final home game. The bad news is that Alabama A&M is not, The University of Alabama. I’d hoped that Friday Night Lights would be at the top of the Auburn Local Favorites list, but it isn’t. It’s not even in the top 25. Fret not though. Auburn fans have been motivating themselves in ways that aren’t likely to get Peter Berg mobilized to Toomer’s for a protest.
Auburn fans know Chizik 3:16 says “You lock and load, and do what we do”. Winning in Tuscaloosa is going to require each and every man, woman and child in the Auburn Family to be “All In”. To have Maximum Conviction. The name says it all. Sure beating Alabama seems a near impossible task, but as Shug said, “David was a 40-point underdog to Goliath”. If you’ve lost your positive AttitUde for Auburnized slogans, you can always think back to that cold November 2010 afternoon in Tuscaloosa, gain a little strength from it and watch as The Tigers go back to Tuscaloosa and remind the Tide of what Austin 3:16 says.
If the all out in your face aggression of Maximum Conviction doesn’t get you ready for the Iron Bowl, it’s alright. Most Auburn fans have been seeking motivation from the most unlikely of sources, Meg Ryan. The Women is the top movie in Auburn not because it was an Oscar contender (in fact its cast was nominated for several Razzies), but because it shows how friends banding together can achieve the impossible. Sure, Meg Ryan could’ve given up the fight and let Eva Mendes run off with her husband, but she didn’t. She dug deep and with the help of her friends worked to reclaim what was hers. Auburn fans know what these things symbolize, but in case there are any Bama fans reading, I’ll lay it out for you. Meg Ryan is Auburn. Her husband is the James E. Foy, V-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy and Iron Bowl Bragging Rights. Eva Mendes is you guys, the conniving “witch” who is coming between Meg Ryan and what is rightfully hers. Meg’s friends are the Auburn Family. We still believe in Meg Ryan..forever and always!
If you remember one thing this weekend, let it be this: “It always has been and always will be great to be an Auburn Tiger!” War Damn Eagle!
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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