The sixth annual Sports Illustrated Heisman House, a tailgate tent presented by Nissan, featured two-time Super Bowl champion Kendall Simmons and Carnell 'Cadillac' Williams at Saturday's LSU vs. Auburn game.
The tent resembled a fraternity house and was in tune with the promotional Heisman House Nissan marketing campaign. The commercials feature previous Heisman winners living together in one house, with filming based on a "Big Brotheresque" story line.
LSU vs. Auburn was the fourth stop on the road for the tour as it hits the top 10 major SEC games this season.
"The biggest ever was here with Bo Jackson," said production manager Brad Burns. "You couldn't move inside the tent."
The tent's spectacle comes from its brand-name backings, celebrity appearances and its social media-integrated fan events: a picture with the Heisman trophy, a picture on a lifesize Heisman stand, a new generation Nissan Pathfinder, a virtual field goal powered by lasers, informational touchscreens with access to Sports Illustrated covers and articles and a drawing for a trip to the BCS national championship game.
"That was neat," said Simmons, a former offensive lineman for Auburn and the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. "I think doing things like this can keep the fans involved. Gives you something to do on campus, especially for the kids."
Upon arrival, the brand ambassadors helped visitors register with a name and email address and, if they wished, signed them into Facebook. Facebook then checked them in to the Auburn Heisman House.
Guests were given a lanyard with a "credential" and a bar code connected to their respective profiles.
"We started that last year," said Susan Storey, public relations representative.
"We've always had some sort of technology and we've sort of amped it up. Part of the deal was try to draw in a younger crowd, who are very technology oriented."
The celebrity aspect incorporates Sports Illustrated with its "SI Chalk Talk" session. Sports Illustrated writer Andrew 'McLovin' Perloff interviewed Simmons and Williams from 1 - 2:30 and 3:30 - 5 p.m., respectively. Afterward, each signed autographs for fans.
Simmons was excited for the game and predicted an Auburn win 28-21.
He said he believes in this year's team.
"I know most of the offensive line men are pretty young," he said. "I like what McCalebb is doing. I think Kiehl will come along. He's just young, so it'll take a few games to get experience on the field. You've got the defensive guys--Jeffrey Whitaker--he's one of my guys."
Being back in Auburn gives Simmons a different perspective: one from the stands.
"I look at it totally different than a fan would, and I still get pumped up when they are running out of the tunnel," he said. "The juices get flowing again."
Williams, Auburn's second-leading career rusher and all-time leader in touchdowns, reminisced on his original choice in Auburn University, coming from a family of Alabama fans.
"I came down here to Auburn; I started going to games, met the Auburn people, and I just fell in love with the place, and it felt like home," Simmons said. "Everybody back home was pushing me to go to Alabama. I actually saved my last visit for there, but it didn't feel quite like Auburn. I knew, 'I gotta pick Auburn.'"
He said he has advice for the team.
"As long as everybody stays together and believes in each other and build on every day getting better, I mean, you can't help but get better," he said.
Williams said he anticipated a physical game with a lot of running the ball and incorporating a great defense.
He, too, predicted an Auburn victory, 21-17.
Coming back to Auburn nearly brought tears to Williams' eyes, he said.
"Just driving here knowing this is where I went to school at," he said. "This is where a lot of my manhood started. This is where a lot of our values and things started, right here at this university. So just driving around and seeing places I usually hung out at was amazing."
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