2 things.

1.) Hey.

2.) Lowell, Jonathan Ryan, and I all work in the same office. We sit 10 feet from each other. We have all three come to the unanimous decision: We need more updates on the Auburner.

Each day, one of the first things we do is discuss Auburn football. Naturally, this involves going to the Auburner and getting all of our talking points. Your website is a beacon of light in what normally would be a dreary day. Whenever Obama talks about hope, i think of the Auburner. Whenever a child laughs, I think of the Auburner. Whenever a bell rings, I think of the Auburner.

But waking up to find nothing new on TheAuburner is like being six years old and waking up on Christmas morning to find that Santa didn't come. I know you have a job now, but let's don't kid ourselves...NO job is more important than witty, dialogue-driven football / anti-alabama commentary. Plus, engineers on average only work 50% of the time that they spend at work. Trust me, I know...I was a co-op. So I don't want to hear any of these "oh I'm so busy, work is killing me" type of excuses.

Anyways, dude, just wanted to say hello, and let you know that you are still my hero and the Auburner is still my favorite website of all time. Keep the good stuff coming.

Litho 4 Life,

Ryan & Lowell & Jonathan

This touched my heart, because it was true. Since my last article, Auburn has struggled against Mississippi State and lost a heartbreaker to LSU. Naturally, most of the players like to read our articles before the game to get them pumped up and remind them why they are awesome. A lot of people have been looking for places to point the finger over the past two weeks, and the blame rests solely on my shoulders. I’m sorry, Auburn Nation, can you ever forgive me?… but seriously, keep blaming Tony Franklin, I don’t have the self-esteem to survive the back-breaking scorn I deserve. However, I HAVE been completely swamped at work!

So in case you didn’t notice, I was a special guest on College Gameday Saturday morning. Its no big deal, I’m used to this kind of publicity, being a local celebrity and all. Being a special guest, I decided to do some actual reporting; I noticed a Washington State flag flying about all the Auburn signs (All the best ones could be found on the ground near the entrance to Gameday, for they were completely inappropriate yet equally hilarious), the same Washington State flag that seems to be at EVERY College Gameday broadcast.

Ryan's apperance on Gameday.

My guess was that it was some WSU alumni who had a ton of money, and nothing better to do than follow Gameday around each weekend to celebrate Lee and Kirk hand out their kiss of death (predictions) at various locations. I had to find out the truth.

I searched for seconds and SECONDS on end to find the source of the flag, and just as I suspected, there was a person at the bottom of that flag. “Hey, what’s the story behind this flag? It’s in the background of EVERY Gameday.” And then he told me a tale I would never forget… to this point at least, it’s only been a couple of days. “A few years back, Gameday was supposed to come to Washington State for the weekend that we were slotted to play Oregon State. However, the week before, Oregon State lost and dropped out of the rankings so Gameday went somewhere else. So from that day forth, we said ‘If Gameday won’t come to us, then we’ll go to Gameday.’ So every year we make a new flag, and ship it to the closest alumni to that week’s Gameday.” So that’s why there is always a Washington State flag at every Gameday! Don’t say we’ve never taught you anything new.

I don’t know why, but I’m not that upset over Saturday. Normally I would be incredibly devastated from such a heartbreaking loss. Some people might suggest that I’m growing up, but whoever thinks that is a big fat poopy-butt. However, I left the game Saturday proud of Auburn. Our boys played lights out and only lost because LSU’s trick play worked and ours didn’t. If you play this game 10 times, Auburn wins 5 of them. Chris Todd played well, Tony Franklin did some great play calling, and our defense was awesome with the exception of a couple of drives. We took a HUGE step forward this week from last and we showed that we can play with the best of them. War Eagle.

The LSU fans were much MUCH classier this time around than they were when I visited Baton Rouge last year… at least individually they were. My friends and I had several friendly conversations with some LSU fans and we were able at the end of the day to genuinely wish them a safe trip home. HOWEVER, there is no excuse why you should EVER EVER EVER chant your school’s name over and over when one of your opposing team’s players is injured. When Brad Lester went down, the crowd was completely silent, except for the arrogant chiming of “L-S-U! L-S-U!” Shame on you LSU fans. That is seriously pathetic.

On to happier thoughts, like Auburn’s future. Think about it, Auburn is still very much a work in progress. Our offense is moving at what I’d guess is about 60% of its full potential. Our defense isn’t going to get much better though, but we could do a little better at pumping up our D in the second half. What I’m getting at is that Auburn over the next 6 weeks will start to build momentum and will be humming on all cylinders by the end of the season when we have to face Georgia and Bama back to back. Tennessee and West Virginia are both very winnable games, and now Vanderbilt looks to be our toughest test leading up to the Georgia game. We could very likely be 9-1 as we start to round out our season, when we’ll be at our best. This season can still be VERY good, and I’m more convinced now than a week ago that it indeed will be.

Speaking of good seasons, it’s starting to look like Alabama might actually be as good as they looked in week 1. What does this mean as Auburn fans? Not much. In fact, it might actually be a good thing. So maybe we can’t make fun of Alabama for sucking anymore. The fact that Alabama sucked was like #8 on the list of things wrong with them. We still get to make fun of them year round for their corrupt staff, offseason arrests, delusional fanbase... “But Ryan, Bammers are so annoying when they win!” My response to that is: were Bama fans not annoying when they sucked? The only real difference with Bama being good this year is that the Iron Bowl actually matters this year. How is that a bad thing? If Auburn and Bama are both top 10 teams at the end of the season, it will be an epic battle which the entire nation will care about. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?

And as far as having to root for Alabama to beat LSU, it’s going to be tough. However, I’m an Auburn fan first and Anti-Alabama enthusiast second. If you would rather watch Alabama lose at the expense of Auburn’s trip to the SEC championship, then I’m not really sure you’re an Auburn fan as much as a Bama hater. And this is coming from the guy who skips dinner because he’s too full of Hater-ade. You don’t have to hate Bama less, just love Auburn more. If this article makes you doubt my Bammer hatred, then I don’t think you’ve read much of what we write. War Eagle!


E-mail Ryan at ryan@theauburner.com

By the way, we have a new sponsor with TicketYard, a ticket selling site featuring Auburn tickets. The old and reliable Ticket City is still around too.