Last weekend, we were able to finally have Robert, Jennifer and baby Emma come by for a game. I could not wait to see my niece again, and I must say that she is growing into a heartbreaker. Perhaps the most enjoyable part of our visit with the Boullys was when the three of them stopped by on Sunday before we left town and we got to see Emma interact with Trooper. Even though Trooper got restless after a little while (he had to potty something fierce), it was good to see him being so gentle and just allowing Emma to pat him continuously.
But, back to the tailgate. We had a solid group for the Ball State game, especially considering that we were taking on Ball State. It was nice to go into a game not wondering if we'd find a way to lose and enjoying the win for what it's worth (of course, none of us were happy with the defensive effort, but apparently neither was Antonio Coleman: http://auburn.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=995722).
For the first time, we featured a burrito bar with homemade salsa, rotel, white cheese dip and birthday cake. The cake, and I hesitate to say this with Andrew not being able to join us, was a double-doozy chocolate chip cookie cake, much like those that Robert, Andrew and I enjoyed from the cookie store at the mall during our AU tenures.
Joining in on the fun were: Robert's parents, Nancy and Bob as well as Evelyn (one of my favorite folks); Jennifer's brother Joseph; Andy Shores plus a brief appearance from his woman; Tammy and Summer; Brad, Amber and Jarrod Gregg plus Caleb; and the three of us. We were able to watch lots more football than I had done so far through the first three tailgates, and as stated before, it was great to have so many first-time visitors for 2009.
Katy Braden was sorely missed, but those of us at the tailgate understood her reasons for not being there. Tailgater of the Week goes to Emma just because she's that awesome. Honorable mentions go to Brad and Jarrod for all their help during the setup outside on Saturday morning as well as Amber for her continued assistance in the kitchen with Super Rita. Amber, you should know how much that means to her and to me.
Looking ahead to Tennessee this weekend, it's going to be nice to get on the road and see what kind of team we have in the face of a hostile environment. While I'll never feel comfortable knowing that this is our first road game and we have to go somewhere like Neyland, if we play like the better team, we will win because we are the better team. Simple as that. Regardless, Calhoun's on the River is calling my name, and I can't wait to get back to Knoxville - somewhere we always have a great time.
Tailgate will not be big in number of people but it will be huge in effort. Frank Buttler will be taking his RV to Knoxville, and we plan to meet up with him. All Auburn, All Orange, All Facebook, All Kirk and I will travel to Brad and Amber's Friday night, and the four of us will head to east Tennessee Saturday morning. There is no official Tiger Walk, but I plan on having our group at Gate 7 when the team leaves the buses to go into the locker room. Hope to see you there if you are making the journey.
Do what we do and War Eagle.
Chris
P.S. Congrats to Ben and Ashia Good for the arrival of their beautiful daughter, Austin Rivers Good. You guys had better send me some pictures soon and have her meet me soon.
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