Now that's what I call a football game. Would have loved it if our offense could have produced something. If they played at the level our D played last night, could have been a very different ball game.
Auburn fans were pleasant to be around and I hope the feeling was mutual. One group was disappointed that they didn't have any candy for our Trick-or-treaters, and insisted on giving LilDDS and BabyDDS a tenderloin biscuit (this was early).
Trick-or-Treating in the Grove--an experience my kids won't soon forget. They had a blast last night, although LilDDS was terribly let down by the loss (moer on that later). LilDDS (the 7yo) was Tinkerbell and BabyDDS (the 4yo) was Raggedy Ann. After we trick or treated, they changed back into their cheerleader outfits. I will say with no bashfulness whatsoever that I had two of the cutest kids in Oxford yesterday, bar none.
Rebelettes were painting kids' faces outside the Union in the afternoon. $2 a face, raising money for the band. A little girl from Auburn ran up and asked would they paint "AU" on her face. Her dad caught up and started explaining to the kid that they were painting Ole Miss stuff. One of the Rebelettes told him they had some orange paint for doing pumpkins, and they'd do it for her, that after all she was just a kid. I thought that was nice. I thought it was even nicer when the dad gave them $10 instead of the $2. Of course, he did get to stand over her and gaze down the front of her Rebelette costume while she painted the kid's face--that might be worth $10, I don't know. :)
Auburn fans near us kept apologizing for walking over to see the scores on our TV. I finally told them that as long as they didn't step on a kid or spit in our food, they were welcome. Hell, eat something while you're here.
I hate to use the c-word, but...doubt they showed this on TV, but during halftime, they had a ceremony dedicating a plaque for Chucky Mullins that will hang in the new IPF. I had just asked MrDDS what was going on at midfield--you could see this big mob of people, but the sound wasn't working and we couldn't figure out what they were there for. When the sound finally came on, the announcer said that this was Chucky Mullins guardians (he was an orphan) and their extended family. In one of the classiest displays I have ever seen in a college stadium, before the announcer could even continue, as soon as people realized who they were, almost the entire stadium stood up and began clapping. In our area at least, even the Auburn fans were participating. As the announcer continued with his speech, everyone clapped--not so loud that you couldn't hear him, but the family recieved a standing ovation through the entire dedication speech and it continued after it was over. These days, I don't know that I can say that's what SEC football is all about, but that is what the collegiate spirit is supposed to be about and I'm glad my kids were there to witness it. Yesterday was 15 years to the day from the game in which Mullins was injured.
And on a similar note, I was all set to b1tch about the fans in the Auburn section who cheered loudly when an Ole Miss player went down with an injury. Particularly since we had just memorialized a player who died from injuries sustained on that very field--in fact, almost on the same yard marker. However, later, when an Auburn player was hurt, a bunch of Ole Miss fans started yelling Hotty Toddy, so I will have to chalk that up to everyone having their share of a$$holes.
What was the half-time thing about? At the end of the first half, the Auburn team was slow to leave the field. They seemed to be making the Ole Miss band run around them to get into position on the field. Somebody with a radio near us said that something happened with one of the AU assistant coaches. We could tell there was some kind of commotion going on, but couldn't figure out what it was. Not just pointing fingers, but since almost all of the Ole Miss team seemed to be in the tunnel already, it appeared to be something with the AU guys.
Did anyone else at the game see the referee who was standing too close to the cannon after the first Ole Miss TD? When the cannon fired, he jumped about 5 feet forward. MrDDS said as close as he was standing, the concussion may have knocked him forward.
As for the below post, no I am not pissy this morning. Disappointed, yes. But we weren't embarassed on national television, and going into the game, I wasn't really expecting much. As I was carrying my sleepy kid out to our tent, she asked me, "Mama if you were magic, what would you do?" I said I didn't really know, that was a hard question. She said, "Right now, I'd make Auburn disappear." An old man walking along behind us said, "You and me both, sugar." He offered to carry her for me, but he looked about 75 and I didn't want to be responsible for him keeling over with a heart attack.
Also, on our walk back, I saw one of those Mack trucks made into an SUV. I really thought that was just something someone had made up on the internet. I was hoping against hope that this would turn out to be an AU fan, but as we got closer, they were flying a Mississippi state flag, so I suppose they were one of ours. Now THAT's embarrassing.
