The last time Auburn traveled to Knoxville (2004), the Chattanooga Chapter of the Auburn Alumni Association arranged for the Marching Band to put on a pep rally downtown. Well, this year there was no such pep rally. At first, I was pretty bummed about this. Then an idea struck me: if I could find out when the band leaves Auburn, I could drive out to I-75 and wait for the convoy to pass. This way, I could get my rightful photo-op with the band (neglecting the 100-yard distance in between).
Well, it was hard, but I was able to find a few band members on Twitter and at about 12:00 Eastern one of them tweeted that they were hitting the road. I also received an email from my friends over at The War Eagle Reader that someone had seen the buses leave around 11 Central (For you Bama fans out there, 11 Central is the same as 12 Eastern).
A quick check with Google Maps told me that they’d be passing through between 3:00 to 4:00. So, I packed up the family and headed out to find a spot to wait. We settled on a still-under-construction rest center just north of the TN/ GA line on the north-bound side of I-75. We lugged our folding chairs, baby stroller, and Auburn blanket out near the interstate and waited. We were very popular with the drive-by traffic.
At about 3:20, a car-full of Auburn fans stopped to see what we were up to. After we explained who we were waiting for, they informed us that they’d seen the convoy stopped at a rest area about a half-hour earlier. Encouraged, we shot the breeze for a bit then returned to our vigilance.
At about 3:50, my wife spotted the string of tour buses off in the distance. We leaped to our feet, Auburn blanket held high, and cheered the trooper-led convoy as it raced by. Cars honked (even some troopers), passengers waved, and Auburn hearts delighted. And then it was over. Forty-five minutes of preparation + nearly one hour of waiting + thirty seconds of loyal Auburn Spirit = a fine way to spend the afternoon. War Eagle.
Photos on Flickr.