Election time is upon us, just think just one more week and all the mudslinging will be over. Oh wait, let me clarify, all the political mudslinging will be over. There will be two more weeks beyond Election Day for the mud to sling over in my state. And another couple more for it to end in Alabama, if is ever really goes away. Georgia fans are already singing the praises of another victory over Auburn, and they have not played Florida yet. Alabama is already hanging another National Championship Banner, and they still have a couple of tough games left.
The point of my story is I guess all this polical advertising is getting to us. Because as I stand in line for almost three hours for the early voting period on Tuesday, within earshot there is myself, a man in an Auburn sweatshirt and plenty of folks donning UGA gear standing in the cold. I strike up the conversation with the Auburn man, about what a rough season we are having. He is only a casual fan, which only takes me about 1.5 seconds to figure out. So I kept the conversation to broad subjects. Well, a not so casual, Dawg fan hears some of the statements made by my new found Auburn brother and starts talking more BS than McCain and Obama combined (or if you are from Georgia, more than Saxby and Jim Martin combined, those two are out of hand). So I had my true moment of standing at a crossroads. I could do what needed to be done and put the UGA fan in his place for launching an attack at my new friend (by stating facts of course), or just let the moment pass. After the Auburn guy just kind of laughed, I followed it up with,
"Well, I guess we will find out for sure on Nov 15th."
Mr. UGA would not let it go. He just kept talking about how UGA was going to blow out Auburn and then have another shot at Bama and embarrass them as well.
"Nothing like demoralizing one Alabama School, and then killing the National Championship of another, he said. That will get Georgia back in the hunt for the BCS Game in Miami. No way are the pollsters going to keep a one loss SEC team out of the Championship Game, especially after defending the only loss we have."
No way could I let this go without some sort of response, so I had to make at least these points.
"Excuse me sir, since you were obviously born yesterday, you missed the 2004 season when an undefeated SEC team was left out of the National Championship Game. Was that a travesty? You bet, but do you hear me talking about it in random conversations with strangers? Nope, but thanks for letting me do it today, I really enjoy thinking about that season. Also I want to point out that whether or not Texas, Alabama, or Penn State win out, UGA will have a really hard time getting to the BCS Championship Game. USC would have to lose again, as well as Oklahoma and in my opinion either of those teams would be favored over Georgia. Don’t get me wrong Georgia is a good team, and if they should get there I will be pulling for the SEC, it is just a long shot. Good luck this weekend against Florida, there are only a few teams in the SEC that Tebow never beaten. Maybe you can join us."
Why all the mudslinging? I am not saying that Auburn folks have not been slinging it at others, especially Bama for the last six years. We have… no doubt about it. Do we deserve some of it back at us? Sure. But does that make it right? What does it say about us as fans to talk trash in a crowded place where no one can walk away such as a polling place? Since I have become an adult, I have always tried to take the "high road" and avoid conversations that turn nasty. In my opinion that is what all Auburn Fans should do. The high road is the best place to be, but sometimes you cannot help it. The mudslinging just comes out.
Please Auburn Fans, no matter how bad it gets this season or any season thereafter… take the high road, let the Bama fans or in my case the Georgia fans have their say. If you must get involved, as I did, please keep it civil. There are always young ears around. People listen to how others react, and it reflects on what people think about us and our schools. Wearing Auburn gear requires your best behavior. You never want to look like this guy (NSFW, language). Also you never know… we might pull off an upset.
Now what you do in the privacy of your own home is another story. J
War Damn Eagle
