June 20, 2018
By Greg Ostendorf
AuburnTigers.com
NEWNAN, Ga. -- During the Q&A portion with Auburn coach Gus Malzahn at Tuesday night's AMBUSH Tour event, a fan in the back of the room stood up and referred back to the 26-14 win over in-state rival Alabama in the Iron Bowl last fall.
"Coach, that was an ol' fashioned whooping."
"Yeah it was, wasn't it," said Rod Bramblett, the voice of the Tigers, who was on stage with Malzahn.
That drew a loud applause from the crowd of 200-plus people at the Newnan Center.
It was the fourth and final stop on the AMBUSH Tour, and Auburn pulled out all the stops by bringing Malzhan, Director of Athletics Allen Greene and Auburn University president, Dr. Steven Leath. All three spoke, beginning with Leath, who was celebrating his one-year anniversary on the job.
"We really liked including Dr. Leath on this one because it steps outside of athletics," said Blair Decoux, the Auburn Clubs Coordinator who helped put on the event. "To be able to introduce Dr. Leath and Allen at such a pivotal time when they're both so new, it was a huge opportunity for us to bring that to an area like this.
"It's about engaging, getting people excited, keeping them interested in the university, the alumni association and really just giving them this opportunity to have a one-on-one interaction."
Photo: Todd Van Emst/Auburn Athletics" style="width:100%; height:auto;" class="imported_image" legacy-link="http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/aub/sports/m-footbl/auto_a_storywidenew/13338487.jpeg">
After Leath spoke, it was Greene's turn to take the stage. And though he's been on the job since February, this was the first time that most of the people in the audience had seen him in person and gotten the opportunity to hear from Auburn's AD, who at one point was asked how long it would be until he scheduled a home-and-home with his alma mater, Notre Dame.
For one fan, in particular, Greene was the highlight of the night.
"I think the biggest thing is to have a young man from Notre Dame come down here and buy into the Auburn family the way he has," longtime Auburn fan Mark Pass said.
The last person to speak was Malzahn, who joined Bramblett on stage, and talked everything from depth chart to the new locker room to what music is currently playing in his car. It was clear, though, that the sixth-year Auburn coach is excited about the upcoming season, and that energy rubbed off on the fans in the audience.
"With Coach Malzahn talking about how hungry the players were and the returning players and the depth at all the positions that are really important, I really can't wait for this fall," said Hartley Smith, a student at Auburn. "I'm excited to see what we can build on from last year."
Smith was one of the many who took a photo with Malzahn before the event began.
Sometimes I get to do cool stuff pic.twitter.com/wHV539y9uw
-- Hartley Smith (@Hart1ey_Smith) June 20, 2018
"It's good to get an update on the team, see how excited Coach is," added Jay Roberts, a resident of Columbus, Georgia. "That pumped me up."
Roberts and his sister, Susan Dieckmann, have been Auburn fans since they were little. They've been through the good times and the not-so-good. So when Malzahn spoke about finding that consistency and how the football program is on the cusp of competing year in and year out for the College Football Playoff, that stuck out as much as anything from the evening.
"What Coach Malzahn said about 2010 and then we took a dip, then 2013 -- that's been going on since I've been keeping up with Auburn football," Roberts said. "What did Daddy say? `It's not always easy being an Auburn fan.' But you've got to love it, and we do."
"Daddy also said, `Don't worry about Auburn. Just love it,'" said Dieckmann. "And that was real important to us all through the way because we can second guess everything, we can worry about everything, but bottom line, if you love a program, it's going to thrive just due to the sheer love and support for it. So I think that's important."
"But [Malzahn] is right," Roberts continued. "We're very close to having a consistent -- win 12, win 10, 12, 11, 12. That's where we need to get. If that comes, the championships will come."
The upcoming football season is just 73 days away.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: Follow @greg_ostendorf