Meet the Players 2015

Meet the Players 2015

This year had amazing potential. My mom went with me Although the day did not go exactly as we wanted, it was still a fun day.  There were tons of people there. We were in line with some of the nicest people. Be on the lookout for Carter- a center from Robertsdale who will graduate in 2018.  We had a great time in the line. The first line which was for CJ, Nick, Cameron, and Gabe moved pretty quickly. All the guys were super nice. CJ is A LOT bigger in person than I thought. His smile is even bigger. He was friendly and personable. 

Then next is the line was CAP. Cameron was really nice. He even signed something extra for me. He talked more than I thought he would.

 Nick was really nice and friendly. I got the idea Nick was kind of quiet, but he was really outgoing and nice with the fans. We thanked him for everything he did for Auburn and he responded with a nice War Eagle.

Gabe was what you would expect. He was outgoing and friendly. I told Gabe, "I've enjoyed every minute of watching you play." His response? "I enjoyed playing every minute." My mom took some pictures for me.

 I tried to actually get a picture with the guys this year. My mom is no cell phone photo expert, so my pics are kind of blurry. After we finished in line, the Convention Center staff were bringing a girl around the line in a wheelchair. I recognized her pretty quickly. If you follow her page on facebook, "Team Katelyn" , you know she has osteosarcoma. She actually had her leg amputated earlier this week. She has already been walking on her temp prosthetic. She went to an elementary school where I used to teach. She LOVES Auburn, so it was amazing to see her get to go up to see the Gabe and Nick. I couldn't see around the corner when she got to CJ and Cameron.

When we finished, we went to the restroom, sat for about 5 minutes and ate some crackers, and got back in line. We waited and waited and waited. The line hardly moved at all. At 6:30, they make the players leave and won't allow them to sign anymore autographs. Sammie could barely stand to look at all the people that were disappointed. Reese came by handing out some of his cards and spoke to people but he wasn't able to sign anything  If there had not been rails, Reese might have been mobbed. I am serious. There were Alabama fans, Florida State and tons of others hollering for him. I was really close to him. They were shoving stuff toward him to try to get him to sign. He was politely trying to say he couldn't sign. He was handing out his cards. Someone actually shouted over my shoulder, "Reese, your first grade teacher is right here!" Reese, to his credit, tried to look and see if she was there. He handed me an autographed card, which slipped out of my hands and fell to the floor. Reese leaned down to pick it up for me. He really tried to engage with people, there were just so many he really could not.

 I have mixed emotions. I am disappointed I wasn't able to get an autograph for Sammie and Reese, but it was still amazing to see Reese try to find people. Sammie immediately tweeted an apology for all the people he didn't get to meet. I am still not sure what held the line up for the length of time it did. I did get to get an autograph of Cody Prewitt from Ole Miss for my little friend Harrison. He went by while we were waiting for Reese. I saw him and called him over by his full name. He looked at me funny at first, wondering why someone from the AU line was calling him by name. He was very gracious and kind.  I think next year I will try to go to a practice instead of this event.  It was fun being with Auburn fans and fun meeting the players I got to meet, but there were just SO MANY people there this year.