COLUMN: Auburn's Better When Baseball is Back
Auburn's really - secretly - a baseball town.
Football and basketball get all the attention, and how could they not?
Football plays in the largest building in Auburn, Jordan-Hare Stadium, and it's a whole production for eight Saturdays in the fall. Roads close, hotels pack out for miles, and RVs and tailgaters overtake every square foot of campus as folks enjoy a Saturday on The Plains cheering on Hugh Freeze's Tigers.
Basketball is led by probably the most beloved figure in Auburn, Bruce Pearl, and Neville Arena is jumping - literally - twice a week all through the winter. ESPN (and College Gameday) comes to town, and we get glamour shots of Acre, and Lucy's, and The Hound on the broadcast while students camp out for days just to be in the building as the Super-Sized Splash Brothers do work.
But there's something about baseball season that's just...different.
Maybe that's just me - I am a self-professed "Big Baseball Guy", and probably care about baseball more than the average person.
But I don't think it's just me.
Because baseball, albeit not the most popular sport on television in today's world, is still our National Pastime. And it's Auburn's favorite thing to do in the spring.
It's the sport that's most accessible to the community - they play four times a week! Tickets are just a handful of dollars, and you get admission to a newly renovated Plainsman Park. Even if you can't get tickets, because these games do sell out surprisingly quickly, there's The Back Forty Deck, sponsored by Outdoor Alabama, that's open to all and overlooks the visitor's bullpen (so you can really be part of the action).
And rest assured, in baseball, you're part of the action. You sit closer to the field in baseball than any sport but basketball, but unlike being in The Jungle, the vibes are more relaxed in Plainsman Park. It's a more leisurely game, with better pacing. You get to simultaneously be close and yet protected from the action...unless you have pop-ups potentially spilling your drink, depending on where in the park you've sat and how close to the net you are.
But in baseball, you're also part of the game.
You see, baseball's the hardest sport to excel in. What other sports take their players who are successful 40% of the time and put them in the sport's Hall of Fame?
Baseball is a game of failure. And because of that, because of the mental grind that baseball can be - THAT'S why Auburn is a sneaky good baseball town.
It's the Auburn Family.
What other sports do you see players turn around their seasons because of a standing ovation?
Baseball's played on the field - you still have to make the hits, and execute your pitches, and get to batted balls.
But baseball's also played in the mind. It's a battle - against the other player, but against yourself. Against your negative thoughts, against failure, and against what those things do to you.
And that's where the Auburn Family comes in.
Because this city - perhaps more than any other, this city just gets it. We call it "The Auburn Family" and it's just brushed off by outsiders. "Oh, it's a family. That's cute."
But it is, though. It IS a family.
And YOU have the power to change this season. Through your cheers, your support, and your passion. Through every "War Eagle" and student heckle during the player introductions. From out on the Tiger Terrace, or K Korner, or the Parking Deck.
The players hear you. The coaching staff hears you. The program hears you.
So show up to Plainsman Park. Be loud. Give them your energy, and your support. Let these Auburn Tigers know what it means to play for the Auburn Family.
Be loud. Be supportive. Be there.
Because Butch Thompson and team are going to put on one heck of a show this season. Chris Stanfield's going to steal bases. Cooper McMurray's going to crush homers. Bobby Peirce is going to throw out way too many baserunners from the outfield. (Seriously, maybe stop trying to run on him, yeah?)
It'll be tons of fun.
And you don't want to miss it.