Scott Fillmer

Today starts the new football season, and probably a new era with Auburn football with Gene Chizick as head coach.  I have spoken to Gene several time over the off season and he is always cool as a cucumber,

I wish him all the best as he starts what has to be one of the most stressful jobs in the south.  So much has changed in my house over the last year, but Auburn football never seems to change, it is timeless.  September rolls around and Tiger Walk strolls down the street 2 hours before kickoff, the band plays marching around the stadium 90 minutes before kickoff, the eagle flies from the rafters and the game is under way.

Last year I spent the entire football season shooting each game, painstakingly documenting each event through photography, this year I am going to watch the games as a fan and nothing else.  I am looking forward to it, next year looks like it might take us even farther away from the football season so we will enjoy each game (just please Lord don’t make it toooooo hot).

To see the photography from Auburn’s 2008 football season you can click on the link here for football.  See you at Jordan Hare.

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This past Saturday we went to the annual A-Day game here in Auburn.  For those unfamiliar with what we (and Bama folks) call an A-Day game, it is when between 40,000-90,000 people come to their respective stadium to see their team play each other.  More like a glorified open Spring practice, but one because it is Auburn or Alabama football is made into an event.

We here in Auburn had about 45,000 people show up (Alabama who had their game televised on ESPN had about 90,000) this year.  It was good to see the new offense throw down the field and although you really needed a PhD to understand the scoring it was fun to watch.  Here are some photos from the day including one of Deb’s sunglasses (I also love the shot of the security guards in the upper deck, what a job).

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Auburn ended their home basketball season on an up note beating #11 ranked LSU 69-53.  This ended a season that started off looking like all the others over the last 10 years and now looks like a possible NCAA bid.  They will head to Tampa for the SEC Tournament and then hopefully on to the NCAA Tournament.  We really enjoyed seeing a full house today.  Last game of the season and finally the fans came out and supported the mens basketball team.  It was loud, packed, and exactly what an NCAA game should sound like.

It was pretty hard to get the normal shots at the game today, but I did get a few below including one of LSU coach Trent Johnson just before getting a technical foul before the half ended.  Looking forward to seeing Auburn finish well in the SEC Tournament in Tampa, War Eagle guys.

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I love walking around in the heart of Auburn sports on campus.  For the basketball game today we parked in the Jordan Hare Stadium parking lot, as many do, and I shot this photo as we walked by the stadium.  Directly across the parking lot is the new $92.5 million Auburn Basketball Arena being built while the older Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum which opened in 1969 sits to the left and directly across from the baseball field, Plainsman Park.  A lot of history and tradition in one small place, and a lot new history being made.

Auburn played a great game today and finally came out on top right at the last few seconds of the game.  It really could have gone either way at the end and the Vols did get off a last second shot at the buzzer and it just didn’t drop.  The season is getting very close to March where it will wind down and give way to the crack of Baseball, and this team has managed to win games they shouldn’t and loose games they should win.

Basketball this year has been as enjoyable as always but I am really looking forward to the opening of the new arena when we can pack the house for a basketball game and at least look like we have some support for our basketball team.  There was a lot going on in Auburn this Saturday and I am glad I was able to spend some time with Deb and my parents as well.

A very busy week coming up starting tomorrow and some exciting new things coming towards the end of the week.

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• Auburn Tigers A-Day Game Photos 2009

Auburn went back to the conference play today and we went to see the 1:00 pm start in Auburn against Vanderbilt.  Perhaps a game Auburn should have won but in the end Auburn came up short.  It was all offense on both sides today with no one playing a tight defense.  As always Deb and I enjoyed the game but as I sit here and watch the Florida vs Tennessee basketball game with a packed house, I would like to see the same thing down here in Auburn.  It isn’t an ACC thing and SEC doesn’t have basketball teams, they have plenty of good teams, Auburn just hasn’t won games in a few years now and not many come out to support the team on a consistent basis.

For Deb and I that isn’t what the games are really about.  It is about spending time together and getting away from the normal routine of work and distractions to enjoy something together.  Out of all the sporting events that take place at Auburn, Basketball is probably Deborah’s favorite.  It is indoors, she can bring her knitting, and no one generally dumps a rum and coke on your camera or throws up their lunch a few seats next to you (both happened at the football games this past season).

Nope, the games are usually quiet, plenty of seats, not a crowded area, generally no commercial time-outs, tickets are CHEAP, and the games only last 2 hours at most.  Of course, we actually hope that changes when the new area opens in 2011, but either way, we will still try to go to the basketball games when the weather outside gets cold.  Here are a few photos I took at the game today.  Click on the images below to see the larger size.

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• Auburn Tigers A-Day Game Photos 2009

Today we went to see the #6 Auburn Tigers vs #10 Tennessee Vols basketball game, which drew an all time record crowd of 12,067 fans.  This was the largest crowd to see a basketball game in Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum ever in its current configuration. Listed as a maximum as a 10,500 feet arena, it was certainly the largest crowd I have ever seen at a basketball game here in Auburn, and oh, did I mention, it was the woman’s basketball team.

This was actually the first woman’s basketball game we had been to in all the years of going to games, and at a time when the men’s basketball team is lucky to have a crowd of 5,000 show up, the woman played a fantastic game, shot well, made free throws, and overall totally impressed the over 12,000 people that showed up for the game.

At the beginning of the game that had a moment of silence for Kay Yow, the North Carolina State’s Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach who won more than 700 games died on Saturday of breast cancer at the age of 66.  The first photo was of one of the woman holding up the warmup shirt they all wore today that said Kay Yow.  It was a great game that left the Auburn Tigers still undefeated for the season with a 84-68 win.

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• Time Again for the Start of Auburn Basketball // Friday Feet

What a great game Auburn played today.  It was a total domination by Auburn and Alabama never really got going at all.  Where was this team when they played the Florida Gators last week?  They hit 3-pointers, free throws, played a great defense and actually stepped it up on offense.  Mark Gottfried (see photo below) seemed to have a tough go at it right from the tip off when the almost immediately went down double digits.  I tried several times to get a good shot of Mark Gottfried as he went into the tunnel but he never once took his eyes off the wood.

Some Alabama fans are going to come back and say they don’t really have a good team this year but it doesn’t matter to the Auburn fans, they are happy with any win, and any SEC win is better, and any time we beat Alabama is a good game.  It was nice to see a packed house.  This crowd would have sold out the new arena by a long shot.

I did manage to get a three frame sequence below of Korvotney Barber taking down court and slam dunking the ball in a great extension.

You can click on the images above to see the larger size.  To see a few more images from the game you can go to my flickr account.  War Eagle.

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• Auburn Beats Tennessee at the Buzzer 78-77
• Auburn Basketball vs Vanderbilt in a Tough Loss 82-75
• Time Again for the Start of Auburn Basketball // Friday Feet
• Auburn Tigers A-Day Game Photos 2009

The game was much better than I would guess many expected, but Auburn had a chance to win the game at the end with 15 seconds to go on the 14 yard line with 3 plays to punch it in and just couldn’t do it (see AP story).  No help from the refs in this game and all there is left of the 2008 season is the Auburn vs Alabama game on November 29th.

Here are some of the photos from the game today.  I am in the process of uploading the remainder to my gallery.  You can check the Auburn vs Georgia 2008 gallery later today and it should be completed some time tonight.  In the mean time, here are 4 photos from today’s game vs Georgia.  The one shot below is Mario Fannin scoring the first touchdown of the game as he dives into the endzone.  I just love this shot of Mario Fannin who is so focused on the end zone that you can just feel his momentum.

It seemed like a long season this year, and at this point the program can probably use a break.  I hope to see Tommy Tubberville back next year but this was a tough season for any coach.

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Today Auburn finally ended up with a win after 4 straight losses starting with Vanderbilt back on October 4th and ending with Mississippi last week, a 37-20 win is a still a win.  The weather was great and the game moved along nicely since it was not on TV this time.  No “red hat” referee was even on the field which was nice and the pre-game and homecoming festivities were enjoyable as well.

This week was the Ag Roundup in Ag Heritage Park where Auburn showcased the Auburn University Mobile Gasification Unit which converts wood chips and woody biomass into electricity (see more at the NRMDI website or their blog) and they also offered up some great southern food at the Taste of Alabama.

Below are some of the photos I took throughout the day.  You can see more of the photos from today at the Auburn vs Tennessee Martin gallery.  (Sorry for those who are not on DSL here).  Most of the day was spent in the sun (the North endzone will do that) but it was not so hot you couldn’t stand it like previous day games.  I was able to get some pretty good shots of the band this week.  The Auburn band is usually pretty accessible and this week was no different.  So for those band mom’s out there, just click on the gallery above to see more like the ones below.

The next two weeks will probably prove to be very difficult for Auburn.  All we have left in the season is Georgia, who always seems to be able to win in Auburn no matter what kind of season we are having, and of course the Auburn vs Alabama game on November 29th in Tuscaloosa.  I am sure all those Bama fans are licking their chops at this point.  For them, I would hate to get over confident and loose out on a national championship birth by loosing to Auburn but stranger things can happen.

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It is still Friday at the moment, so I didn’t miss my Friday feet post, just came later in the day this time.  Tonight Deb and I went to the opening game of the 2008-2009 basketball season here in Auburn.  It was a long day and it was nice to sit down for a few minutes and watch a game.  Below are a few shots from the game tonight against Morehouse College.

This season starts much like many others here in Auburn, with a reluctance of sorts.  Will we ever be able to throw free throws and get past the Thursday game at the SEC tournament?  When is the new arena going to open and can we finally start to get some fans at the games?  For now, we are here in the same arena my dad watched games in when he was in school in 1963.  It feels old, but still a great place to watch a basketball game.

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• Auburn Tigers A-Day Game Photos 2009