COLUMN | How a historic season became a lifestyle

“Call God.” 

When I hear those two words, an entire season of memories and unforgettable experiences flood my mind.

Five months of exhilarating moments, heart-wrenching buzzer-beaters and everything in between, ultimately, all leading to San Antonio.

Maui Invitational Champions, SEC Regular Season Champions, NCAA South Regional Champions, winningest team in program history, just to name a few historical milestones this team accomplished.

Auburn basketball wasn’t just a team we watched. It wasn’t just an event we attended once or twice every week. 

It was passion. It was love. It was a lifestyle.

I’m only a freshman in my second semester on the Plains, but I was raised a massive Auburn fanatic – even to the point of annoyance to some of my elementary school classmates. My dad and sister graduated from Auburn in 1982 and 2007, respectively, so I’ve bled orange and blue since I was born.

I had the privilege of covering Auburn's football game vs. Vanderbilt on Nov. 2 in the press box and unfortunately, but not exactly shockingly, watched the Tigers suffer their sixth loss of the season, which was the morning after the basketball team’s exhibition matchup against FAU.

“At least we have basketball,” I remember thinking to myself.

For a football school that has traditionally boasted a rather lackluster basketball program, those words are probably unfamiliar to many alumni who have come before us.

But it was true. I’ve talked to a good amount of students who believe basketball games are more fun and enjoyable than football games, and we’ve seen that through the way this campus, town, and community rallied around this squad.

I can confidently claim that I’ve never experienced such an intimate connection to a sports team as I – and the whole Auburn student body – have felt with this group of guys.

There was a genuine relationship between the players and the fanbase. The way Dylan Cardwell, Chad Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome and so many others interacted with the crowd was special and not something you see from every team.

That’s why students showed such an overwhelming amount of love towards the Tigers this season.

I walk around campus now and see numerous “Call God” shirts, hats and of course the new SlamU shirts with Broome and Tahaad Pettiford front and center.

I’ll even be at the Rec playing basketball and see random people hit the “Call God” celebration in the middle of the game.

It’s deeper than just a basketball team. It’s an adapted way of expression that’s all connected back to a shared commonality.

As a freshman in my second semester on the Plains, camping out for three nights ahead of the Alabama game and four nights for Florida were some of the most fun times I’ve had thus far as a student. Although Auburn dropped both of those games – one of which I am still emotionally scarred from – I would sleep on the concrete for a week in a heartbeat to do it all over again.

The community and bonding aspect with fellow students in anticipation for a big game is like no other. Tossing the football over tents, watching the Arnold Palmer Invitational on a big screen at 2 p.m. on a Friday, staying up until the wee hours of the morning listening to country music, getting interviewed by local news outlets and just having a good time with one another. Something about living through less-than-desirable conditions grows people closer.

Maybe the coolest moment was when the coaches and players visited us in Pearlville to deliver food, take pictures and even play a game of poker.

When it comes to the actual game, The Jungle is one of the most electrifying environments I’ve ever been apart of. I’ve watched the Bruce Pearl era of Auburn Basketball since I can recall and always admired the rowdiness and pure chaos that the student section embodied.

It was just what I had expected and more. The countless hours of waiting in line on random Tuesdays, the suspense during the floor-rattling hype video when the team is dancing in the pregame room full of white lights, the echo of “War Eagle, Hey!” at tipoff, the deafening noise of over 100 decibels ringing off the walls of Neville Arena, it’s just different.

But the fun didn’t stop at Neville. 

My friends and I were fortunate enough to be "witnesses" on the road and watch the team make history away from Auburn. We traveled to various places including Stegeman Coliseum and Colonial Life Arena and watched those buildings be completely taken over by Tiger fans. The nail-biting victory at South Carolina legitimately felt like a home game.

We experienced historical victories while exploring new, but old, arenas like Coleman Coliseum, where we witnessed the first-ever AP No. 1 vs. No. 2 clash in SEC history and arguably the biggest Iron Bowl of Basketball matchup ever. It was from Section A, Row 44, but was worth every single penny. Looking back, that was definitely the most hyped up regular season game I’ve ever seen in my 19 years on this earth, and for good reason.

More recently, seeing State Farm Arena in Atlanta painted 90% orange and blue was unbelievable. Witnessing the Tigers’ second-ever Final Four birth in front of a home crowd, including Broome’s indescribable moment of revival out of the locker room in the second half, then hitting the 3-point shot to ice the Elite Eight game vs. Michigan State, is just another example of special moments this team has provided us.

And then, of course, going to San Antonio for the Final Four was a dream come true. It didn’t even feel like real life. 

All of that to say, what a ride it’s been. 

It seems like yesterday when Miles Kelly drained seven threes from Opelika, AL in his Auburn debut against Vermont, sending The Jungle into full ballistic mode.

It seems like yesterday that the guys were up singing and dancing along to “It’s Great To Be An Auburn Tiger” chants en route to its first Maui Invitational championship.

It seems like yesterday when Miles Kelly knocked down the game-winning shot from the corner to defeat Tennessee, leading to one of the best post game celebrations I’ve ever seen.

It seems like yesterday when the Tigers invaded Rupp Arena and claimed their first victory in Lexington, KY since 1988, clinching the program’s fifth SEC regular season title and a league-best five overall conference championships in the last eight years.

Oh yeah, and not to mention when Auburn saw its name as the No. 1 overall seed on Selection Sunday for the first time ever.

I could go on about countless moments that will stick with Auburn students for many years to come, but I’ll wrap it up with this.

The joy that this basketball team has brought to Auburn as a whole, the constant excitement they provided us throughout the past few months, is undoubtedly the highlight of this year.

Not to exaggerate, but I’m confident this season will be one that I will tell my kids about and forever look back on as one of the best stretches during my time here.

All we can really say is thank you.

Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the highs and the lows. Thank you for those magical nights at Toomer’s Corner. Thank you for the joy that radiated around campus every week. 

It was passion. It was love. It was a lifestyle.