The Day I Went To The ER & My Wife Became An Auburn Tiger...
I was born and raised an Auburn fan by my dad, Class of '64. We watched games together and in my adult years we called each other after each score. From 2000 to 2006, he was in a wheelchair paralyzed from the sternum down and never got to go to another game. He passed away in 2006 and I lost not only my dad but closest Auburn friend.
My wife and I married last year and she became a fan by proxy but was wowed by her first experience in ’09 for the MSU game. So much so that when Auburn won the SEC Championship, she was the first to say 'we are going!'
During the first quarter, the floor under my feet was slick from a spilled drink and I was sitting on the first seat on the aisle. I went to high five a fan in front of me and my foot slipped between the seat in front of me and the concrete. My momentum propelled me forward and I face planted onto the steps, knocked out cold. Nicole was terrified and was afraid to move me, Jeff (friend & co-worker, Class of ’92) and another Auburn fan carried me up the stairs with blood streaming down my face and the OREGON fans summoned EMTs. I was taken by stretcher to the care center under the stands and they informed her I would need to go to the ER.
Somewhere in the midst of this, Nicole found her inner ‘Aubie’ and told the doctor and nurses 'please hurry! I have to get him back!'. So during my stitches and CT scan, she phoned a cab and in a matter of 60 minutes we were headed back. Security said there was no re-entry. Nicole pleaded and said 'please, we came so far, spent so much and this is his dream'. She got through to them and at 12:00 minute mark of the 4th quarter, we were back in our seats. We were in an Oregon section and even they said during and after the game, 'So glad you are okay and made it back!'
When Wes' kick went through the uprights, I broke down in tears missing my dad and for the love and dedication of my wife who made sure I wouldn't miss that moment. She truly gave me a gift as big as the game itself. All day Tuesday walking the streets of Scottsdale people asked about my stitches and cuts and called me a trooper for coming back. Yet, the real Trooper was on the podium and in the stands next to me. She could have justifiably decided to not return, that I needed to rest or just plain needed a moment. For any of these reasons, I would not have blamed her for not going back. All she keeps saying to me is ‘you would do the same for me and I had to make sure you got to see the confetti fly’. I guess that’s why and She is now known as War Nicole Eagle.
