Utah State vs. Auburn: Legions of Fans Leaving Early a Disgusting Sight

My initial intent for this article was to break down the opening game and evaluate how this young team performed. There was no doubt there would be a learning curve, but with so many young faces and names, that is to be expected. The poor play of the Auburn Tigers, however, was quickly upstaged by a much more disturbing observation: the exodus of Auburn fans from the stadium with almost four minutes left on the clock.

Yes, we were down by 10.

Yes, the odds were stacked against us.

Yes, we were outplayed most of the game.

But was it over? Not by far.

Admittedly, the game was hard to watch at times.  We couldn't move the ball at times. We couldn't stop Utah State at times. We looked lost at times. It was frustrating. It was demoralizing.

I watched the TCU/Baylor game last night to wet my whistle. I was glad I did because it was an amazing game. Something I noticed, though, was that Baylor didn't know how to win. When TCU started their amazing comeback, the Baylor fans seemed to roll over and die. They were deflated. Watching Auburn fans rock the stadium as the play clock dwindled down the next day I thought to myself, this is a fan-base that knows how to impact the game. The Auburn fans know the game and last year they would start the game loud and end in a frenzy.

Today, when Auburn was down and out, it was obvious who the true fans were. The one's who left the game early, thinking getting to their car first was more important than the support of a young team playing their hearts out, let their true colors out—and they weren't orange and blue.

These fans only cheated themselves. They missed one of the greatest comebacks in Auburn history. They missed the maturation of a young but talented team. These were not the fans cheering in the stands despite rain and lightning last year. 

Last year we didn't start the year as the National Champs. We grew into it. We grew into it with gritty comebacks and by facing adversity. I cited this year's team as lacking that same fire. We had seniors that came back from a losing season and faced many critics. That was the kind of team that could come back against Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

True Auburn fans are not the "entitled ones" that are okay with losing a bowl game because they didn't make the National Championship Game that year. We are the ones that cheer until the last second ticks off the clock and who shed tears after a hard fought game. How can you expect your team to fight until the end if you're not there yourself?

Observations:

Nosa Eguae is a beast. Dee Ford will be unblockable. Jake Holland is going to be the leader of the defense.

We're going to be the underdogs all year long, and that's a good thing for this young team.

Trotter will be our starting QB all year.

Tre Mason: I would have yanked him after he jumped in front of Bray. I love the enthusiasm, but you are on a TEAM for a reason. Then he took it to the house.