What's it like to travel with Auburn football? Senior writer Jeff Shearer is giving fans a look behind the curtain this season as he tags along with the team for road games in a new series called "Truckin' with the Tigers."
This weekend, it's on to Louisiana for a battle with LSU at Tiger Stadium. The game itself won't kick off until 8 p.m. CT (ESPN), but stay locked in here for updates.
SATURDAY: TIGER WALK BANNERWhen the Auburn buses arrived Saturday at Tiger Stadium, Ron and Cindy Terry were waiting for them at Gate 12, holding a white Tiger Walk banner, carrying on a tradition they started in 1993.
Wanting to boost morale in the aftermath of Pat Dye's resignation, the Terrys made a banner and started bringing it to Tiger Walk, an Auburn tradition that began decades earlier and matured on Dec. 2, 1989, when tens of thousands of fans exhorted the team as the players and coaches walked down Donahue Drive to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first on-campus Iron Bowl.
When Auburn introduces a new coach, the Terrys unveil a new banner. They have two this season: blue for home games, white for road games.
To increase buy-in, the Terrys ask players and coaches to sign their banners.
"We just want them to know the fans are there," Cindy says.
"Wherever they see the banner, their fans will be below."
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) October 3, 2021
For nearly three decades - home & away - Ron & Cindy Terry have carried the banner for @AuburnFootball 🐅 Walk. #WarEagle pic.twitter.com/vh7cj041bl
In addition to Auburn football games, the Terrys also took the Tiger Walk banner to New York City in 2010 for Cam Newton's Heisman Trophy win and in 2013 when Tre Mason was a finalist.
"So they'd see it and know their Auburn fan base was there," she says. "We try really hard to honor special events that Auburn needs notoriety for, for the players to understand it really is about them, and there's so much fan support."
After spending Friday evening in Lafayette, Louisiana, the Tigers bused to Baton Rouge Saturday evening, arriving at Tiger Stadium two hours before kickoff at 6 p.m. CT.
By then, Ron and Cindy had already been set up outside Gate 12 for 90 minutes.
Before road games, they meet with stadium security to let them know about Tiger Walk and the banner.
Through their faithful support, the Terrys want to send a positive message to Auburn student-athletes to counteract any negative feedback players may see online.
"Quit reading social media because you don't know who's posting," Cindy says. "Don't let it get in your head. If you go to a game, and see the banner, this is how the true Auburn fans feel about you."
Two weeks ago in State College, Pennsylvania, the Terrys were among several thousand orange-clad fans at Penn State's Beaver Stadium, a show of support that impressed Auburn's players and coaches.
"That's why we don't quit," Cindy says. "It takes one parent of a player or one player to say, 'This means the world to us,' and we'll keep doing it."
FRIDAY: TRUCKING
On the road to Baton Rouge.@AuburnEquip @AuburnFootball 🛻 pic.twitter.com/cJZ9xWs2yb
— Jeff Shearer (@jeff_shearer) October 1, 2021
Equipment truck drivers Mark Sheppard and Gary Dodd departed the Auburn Athletic Complex at 6 a.m. Friday, embarking on a 420-mile, six-hour journey to Baton Rouge.
By 4 p.m., setup in the Tiger Stadium visitors' locker room was complete, uniforms and equipment awaiting Auburn's arrival on campus 26 hours later.
Originally scheduled to stay in Baton Rouge, cleanup efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida necessitated a change of plans, with Auburn spending Friday night in Lafayette, 55 miles west of LSU.
In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina caused catastrophic damage on the Gulf Coast, Auburn spent the Friday before the game in Montgomery, flying to Baton Rouge on the morning of the game.
Two weeks ago, Central Michigan flew in on game day when it played LSU, an option Auburn considered before settling on Lafayette, where Auburn director of football operations Joshua Thompson had previously worked and knew of properties that could accommodate the team's lodging and meeting space needs.
Auburn flew out of Columbus, Georgia, Friday afternoon, with a meal, meetings and a movie on the agenda upon arrival.
Delta Air Lines lead flight attendant David Johnson has worked Auburn football's charter flights for 10 seasons.
A Delta flight attendant for 42 years, Teresa Love (left) has been an Auburn fan since 2010, when her son was a student video staffer for the national champion Tigers.