It’s a familiar story by now. Auburn beats Bama. Student rushes field. Student breaks ankle. It happened in 2013. It probably happened in 2017. And it definitely happened in 2019.
Call it the agony of victory.
Except the guy on Saturday night seemed to feel no pain. He kept smiling. He kept shouting. Photo journalist Dustin Gilley couldn’t believe it.
“I was trying to go interview Gus Malzahn, and I saw four or five people trying to block off this guy,” says Gilley, who shoots for WDHN in Dothan. “I was going to take a shot just to show what can happen when you jump the bushes. But the guy was waving at me. He kept saying ‘War Eagle.’ He was just so happy and wanting the attention.” Not wanting the attention were the Jordan-Hare Stadium workers trying to secure the scene and keep the War Eaglin’ wounded from further harm.
“The stadium workers were freaking out,” Gilley says. “The shot I have doesn’t do it justice. He was moving his legs and it just kept flipping over. I kept trying to talk to the guy, but they kept pushing me back.
“My favorite thing was that his girlfriend was standing by him the whole time. He just kept waving and yelling ‘War Eagle.’”
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