After a loss to the California Golden Bears last Saturday, Auburn fans feel heartbroken and unsure of how to support the football team this Saturday in its fight against the New Mexico Lobos. Week one’s ecstatic 70-point win left fans rolling Toomer’s and predicting great things for the Tigers this year, so our question is, what happened?
We all know members of the Auburn Family supports each other and rally behind their leaders and ideals. One of the popular sayings is, “When you love Auburn, Auburn will love you back.” This phrase offers a lot of wisdom for the Tigers and their fans, and it carries two messages: the importance of loving Auburn and the promise to be reciprocated.
The first part of this call is to be a good Auburn fan. People from far and wide gather on the Plains to experience game day and celebrate the Tigers in football or whatever sport they’re playing. Auburn’s game day experience has consistently been praised as one of the best in college football.
Our call to the Auburn Family is: remember who you are and what you stand for, especially in the midst of disappointment. That’s when it matters most. It’s easy to get frustrated with an early season loss, but mistakes are always part of building something new.
If Auburn fans start projecting total failure, obsessing over mistakes or giving up on the team after only one loss, they are not holding true to the values of the institution. Loving Auburn is not about blind admiration, but it’s about consistent support — whether that be celebration of a win or commiseration in a loss.
The second part of the phrase, of course, is “Auburn will love you back.” Auburn has agency, stake and responsibility to appreciate and love its students, employees and fans.
The football team recognizes their duty, and linebacker Jalen McLeod reflected on that in a post-game interview after the team’s loss to Cal.
“We have to buckle up. We’re playing football like we got to. We really have to hone into our craft and not be messing off and playing around in practice," McLeod said. "We’ve got to really focus on this. Everybody wants to come up and come at us. Y’all saw what happened today. Maybe it comes from practice.”
It seems like the Tigers are well-aware of their need to “hone in” and “focus” the talents of the team. Hard work is the expectation and the name of the game. Another thing they ought to keep in mind is stewardship.
Whether it’s through donors or ticket sales, the Auburn football program makes a lot of money. In 2021, the plan to construct a $92 million practice facility was put in place, and the 120,300-square-foot facility officially opened in 2023. In 2022, Sports Illustrated magazine named Auburn’s football program the fourth most profitable athletic department in all of college athletics. The program and players are certainly not hurting for resources, and they need to understand their responsibility to use them well.
Hugh Freeze emphasizes this accountability to his team: “I believe something special will happen with this team this year if we operate out of gratitude and not pride.”
Pride looks like cockiness after a game, slacking off in practice and taking the support of the Auburn Family for granted. Gratitude looks like humility even in an astonishing win and continued stewardship of the Auburn Family’s donations, cheers and encouragement.
Part of Auburn loving back is the work that Freeze did for recruiting. For example, he brought home a new team of desperately-needed wide receivers, including five-star Cam Coleman, who is the second-highest rated recruit in the program's history. Freeze's recruiting season has been one of the best the Tigers have seen, and he added so many talented and hard-working players to the program.
Freeze is committed to repairing the nightmare that was the Harsin era, and his administration is on the road to making things better.
Players are also putting in work for the Auburn Family, such as the 70-point victory on opening weekend, which was a program record for the most points in a season opener in 109 years and the largest margin of victory since 1932. It was also the Tigers’ 800th program win. So yeah, it was record-setting for Auburn Football to say the least.
The Tigers need to operate from a continued place of gratitude, not taking anything for granted. Doing this will yield the best results — not necessarily winning 100% of their games, but giving their all and showing the Auburn Family that their support is worthwhile.
All the necessary components will be present on Saturday’s game against the New Mexico Lobos. More than ever, the Auburn Family will be showing up to support the Tigers because it’s homecoming weekend. More than before, the Tigers will have something to prove to both their fans and to their opponent. That all adds up to a spectacular opportunity to prove the truth of the phrase, “If you love Auburn, Auburn will love you back.”
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Brychelle Brooks, junior majoring in public and professional writing with a minor in information systems, has been with The Auburn Plainsman since August 2023. She previously served as the Campus Reporter and Opinion Editor. She is currently serving as the Newsletter Editor.
The Plainsman Editorial Board for the fall of 2024 is composed of Harlee Meydrech, Tucker Massey, Emily May, Sami Grace Donnelly, Piper Bosart, Connor Copeland, Esther Bindosano, Brychelle Brooks, Patrick Bingham, Grace Heim, Michaela Yielding, Rachel Swan, Ella Walton, Sam Vise, Luca Flores and Madison Champion.
Sami Grace Donnelly, senior in English literature, began writing for the Plainsman in the fall of 2021. She has served as a columnist, writer abroad, Opinion Editor, managing editor and is now Editor-in-Chief of the Plainsman.
