As a girl raised in Alabama I grew up watching football. I
remember when my father got me a book about the rules of football. He felt this
was a necessary read before I went out for cheerleader in the 6th
grade. I love Saturdays in the fall, I love everything about football; I even
love the crazy rivalries. And when I fell in love with Auburn football I fell
hard. I was just an average girl who loved football and could talk stats with
the boys, until the 2010 football season.
The fall/winter of 2010 was pretty life altering for me. I
felt some major changes coming for my family but I never expected what
happened. I remember how that football season felt different. Every win felt
personal, every win lifted my spirits higher and higher and gave me something to
look forward to each week. The morning of the SEC championship game verse South
Carolina on December 4th, 2010 I got a phone call that rocked my
world. I can still remember my Aunt Bess coming to spend the day with me so I
wouldn’t have to be alone. I remember barely eating and staring out the cold
window heartbroken and terrified of what might happen to my family. When it got
closer to kick off I told my sweet Aunt B that I was okay, and thanked her for
coming. I got to a friends house and was memorized as the boys who had carried
my spirits through the season did it for me again! That night I was able to
completely forget all of my pain and worries and focus on something positive. I
knew brighter days would come.
Unfortunately it got much darker for my family before it got
better. Yet the Auburn Tigers football season hit a high! We won our second
National Championship and I had fallen even more in love with my team. They
helped me survive even though they didn’t know my name.
Fast forward to the 2013 football season. Again this season
of my life has been tough. All though not to the level of 2010, but on a
personal level it has been rocky. On November 14, 2013 my position was
eliminated at work. I was just in shock. I went home and saw Auburn take on Georgia.
That game completely occupied my mind! With 30 some
seconds left in the game we took back the lead and won. That catch was referred
to as the miracle in Jordan-Hare. In the 2 weeks following that game I was
hoping for a job interview, which I am still patiently :) waiting for. Then, all of that went out the window when 2:30pm came around on Iron Bowl
Saturday. I watched a team of young men fearlessly fight the odds and have
faith in each other on a national stage. This year’s team is so special to me
because they continue to show the people that if you refuse to give up, and if
you can believe in something bigger than yourself…anything can happen. You can
start off a season not on anyone’s radar and prove yourself over and over until
you have everyone’s attention. In this season of my life I don’t have a job, I
applied for unemployment before turning 24. But I have faith that my God will
lead me. I have faith that it will get better, and that I won’t get left
behind. I think sometimes God lets us have faith in something tangible like a
football team to remind us how to believe again. Auburn may not win the next
game, but I am just so grateful for what they have done for my spirits once
again.
I love my God, I love my alma mater, and I love my team!
They have reminded me just because you are knocked down doesn’t mean you can’t
get back up. And no matter how bad things used to be, they don’t have to be any
more.
War Eagle, and Hire Me Please!
