“Call God.”
When I hear these two words, an entire season of unforgettable memories and experiences floods my mind.
Five months of exhilarating moments, heartbreaking buzzer drummers and everything else, ultimately, all leading to San Antonio.
Maui Invitational Champions, champions of the regular SEC season, regional champions of the NCAA South, the most winning team in the history of the program, to appoint a few historical stages that this team has accomplished.
Auburn Basketball was not only a team that we watched. It was not only an event that we attended once or twice a week.
It was passion. It was love. It was a lifestyle.
I am only a first year student in my second half in the plains, but I raised a great fanatic of Auburn – even to the point of embarrassing some of my elementary classmates. My father and my sister graduated from Auburn in 1982 and 2007, respectively, I therefore bled orange and blue since my birth.
I had the privilege of covering Auburn’s football match against Vanderbilt on November 2 in the press box and unfortunately, but not exactly shocking, I watched the Tigers undergo their sixth defeat of the season, which was in the morning after the game of the basketball team against FAU.
“At least we have basketball”, I remember thinking myself.
For a football school that traditionally boasted of a rather dull basketball program, these words are probably not familiar to many former students who preceded us.
But it was true. I spoke to a good amount of students who believe that basketball matches are more fun and pleasant than football matches, and we saw it through the way this campus, the city and the community gathered around this team.
I can say with confidence that I have never experienced such an intimate connection with a sports team because I – and the whole student body of Auburn – felt with this group of guys.
There was a real relationship between players and the fans base. The way Dylan Cardwell, Chad Baker-Mazara, Johni Broome and so many others interacted with the crowd was special and not something you see from each team.
This is why students have shown such an overwhelming amount of love for tigers this season.
I now walk on the campus and I see many shirts, hats and of course the new Slamu shirts with Broome and Tahaad Pettiford at the front and center.
Toomers Corner after Auburn’s male basketball beats Michigan State to qualify for the Final Four on March 30, 2025.
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I will even be back to play basketball and see random people hit the celebration of “the God call” in the middle of the game.
It’s deeper than a simple basketball team. It is an adapted mode of expression which is linked to a shared community.
As a first year in my second half of the plains, camping for three nights before the Alabama match and four nights for Florida were the most fun moments that I have had so far as a student. Although Aburn abandoned these two games – which I am still emotionally marked – I slept on concrete for a week in the blink of an eye to start again.
The community aspect and the link with students’ comrades in anticipation of a big game is like no other. Throwing football on the tents, watching the Arnold Palmer Invitational on the big screen at 2 p.m. Friday, staying up to the early hours of the morning to listen to country music, be interviewed by local media and have a good time. Something about life in less than desirable conditions is close to people.
Perhaps the coolest moment was when the coaches and the players visited us in Pearlville to deliver food, take photos and even play a poker game.
Regarding the actual game, the jungle is one of the highest electrifying environments that I have ever been outside. I looked at the Bruce Pearl era of Auburn Basketball because I remember and always admired the Rowduck and Pure Chaos that the student section embodied.
That was exactly what I expected and more. The countless hours of waiting online on the random Tuesdays, the suspense during the media tingling video when the dance team in the pre-match room full of white lights, the echo of “War Eagle, Hey!” In Tipoff, the deafening noise of more than 100 decibels that rings on the walls of Neville Arena, it’s just different.
But the pleasure did not stop in Neville.
My friends and I were lucky to be “witnesses” on the road and watch the team to move away from the story of Auburn. We have traveled in various places, notably Stegeman Coliseum and Colonial Life Arena and looked at these buildings being completely taken care of by Tiger fans. The biting nail victory in South Carolina was legitimately as a home match.
We have experienced historical victories while exploring new arenas, but old, like Coleman Coliseum, where we were witnesses to the very first AP n ° 1 against n ° 2 Clash in the history of the dry and undoubtedly the biggest bowl of basketball stockings of all time. He came from section A, ranged 44, but was worth every penny. With hindsight, it was definitely the most excited regular season game that I have ever seen during my 19 years on this earth, and for a good reason.
Auburn students at Toomers Corner after Auburn’s male basketball beat Michigan State to go to the Final Four on March 30, 2025.
More recently, see State Farm Arena in Atlanta painted 90% orange and blue was incredible. Attending the second birth of the final of the Tigers in front of a home crowd, including the indescribable moment of Broome Renaissance in the locker room in the second half, then hitting the 3 -point shot to freeze the Elite Eight game against the state of Michigan, is only an other example of special moments that this team has provided us.
And then, of course, going to San Antonio for the Final Four was a dream come true. It didn’t even look like real life.
All this to say, what a ride it was.
It seems that yesterday when Miles Kelly drew seven three of Opelika, Al in its beginnings of Auburn against the Vermont, sending the jungle in complete ballistic mode.
It seems that yesterday, the guys sang and dance with “It’s great to be an Auburn Tiger” of songs en route to his first MAUI invitation championship.
It seems that yesterday when Miles Kelly reversed the winning shooting of the match to defeat Tennessee, which led to one of the best post-match celebrations that I have ever seen.
It seems that yesterday, when the Tigers invaded the Rupp Arena and won their first victory in Lexington, Ky since 1988, winning the title of the fifth regular season of the program and five best conference championships in the past eight years.
Oh yes, and not to mention when Auburn saw his name as the seeded n ° 1 of the selection on Sunday for the first time.
I could continue countless moments that will stay with Auburn students for many years to come, but I will conclude with that.
Toomers Corner after Auburn’s male basketball beats Michigan State to qualify for the Final Four on March 30, 2025.
The joy that this basketball team has brought to Auburn as a whole, the constant excitement that it has provided to us in recent months is undoubtedly the highest point of this year.
Do not exaggerate, but I am convinced that this season will be the one I will talk about to my children and that I will come back forever as one of the best stretches of my stay here.
All we can really say is thank you.
Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the ups and downs. Thank you for these magical nights at Toomer’s Corner. Thank you for the joy that radiated on campus every week.
It was passion. It was love. It was a lifestyle.
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Gunner is a first -year student specializing in journalism. He started with Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
You can follow it on X (Twitter) at @ Norene_gunner10
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