War Eagle, Auburn Family!

War Eagle, y'all. My name is Emily Rios, and I am excited to be a new contributor to College and Magnolia. I have enjoyed reading posts from Blake, Chris, Peggy and gang for a while now, and I jumped at the chance to be a part of this great site. I'm looking forward to working with Walt and the rest of the team. Walt wanted each of us to introduce ourselves to our readers, so here's my story:

My very first memory is of watching football with my grandfather and great-grandfather, and I've loved football every day since. In the summer of 2001, I met an Auburn man, and as I fell in love with him, I fell in love with Auburn. The Loveliest Village. The Auburn Family. Toomer's lemonade and a Momma's Love, all the way. When I saw Tiger circle Jordan-Hare for the first time, my blood turned orange and blue. For my whole life, I had loved the game of football, but loving Auburn was something different.

Don't get me wrong. I still love "football." I break down game previews with my friends every Friday. I listen to too much sports radio. I'm the only woman in my fantasy football league, placing third more times than I'd like. (I'm coming for that thrift store trophy!) I attended Auburn's first Women's Football Camp in June and came with a list of questions about offensive formations for Coach Lashlee.

But, more than that, I love being a part of the Auburn Family, and I'm excited to share that with all of you. Find me on Twitter (@eorios16), and we'll chat about pre-season watch lists, play calling, awesome highlight videos, game day eats, and all things Auburn. And, soon I'll have some articles up here that I hope you will enjoy.

So, long story short, I married that Auburn man, and we've made lots of great memories together. Maybe if I'm lucky, when our little boys grow up they'll say "My very first memory is of watching an Auburn game with my parents, and I've loved Auburn every day since."