AUBURN, Ala. – There’s a joy you experience when you attend your first Auburn football game. From Tiger Walk to the eagle flight to the team running out of the tunnel to cheering on the Tigers with 87,000 other fans, it’s something you don’t forget.
Susanna Scholz certainly won’t forget her first Auburn game.
Scholz, the mother of starting offensive lineman Kilian Zierer, attended the San Jose State game in September. She and her other son traveled all the way from Germany to be there. Most fans left early after a 90-minute weather delay in the second half but not Scholz. She stayed through it all. When Swag Surf came on at the end of the third quarter, Zierer looked up and saw his mom swaying back and forth with the other fans around her.
On the field after the game, you could see that unmistakable joy as Scholz, still soaking wet from the rain, spotted her son and ran to give him a hug.
“She loved everything about it,” Zierer said. “Absolutely everything. I saw her doing the Swag Surf, which was extremely funny. She was out there in the rain, stayed after the rain delay. I've never seen my mom have so much fun at a sporting event.”
Getting to Auburn from Germany is no easy task, but Scholz is already talking about coming back for another game later this season. It’s worth it to see her son doing what he loves.
“I’m proud and excited and happy,” Scholz said Friday before the game.
Zierer’s road to Auburn wasn’t easy either, but it’s a path he would take again if given the choice.