Saturday marked the first spring game for Auburn under new head coach Hugh Freeze. And let’s just say, it wasn’t exactly a hot ticket.
The Tigers not only decided to hold their annual spring contest the day before Easter Sunday but in messy weather as well. The whole state of Alabama was covered with rain showers all day which put a damper on Freeze’s debut as Auburn’s head coach.
Most SEC spring games are held around mid-to-late April, but the timing of Auburn’s spring game couldn’t come at a worse time.
Rain and cold temperatures affected attendance greatly. While the announced crowd was said to be about 16,000 paying fans, the stands painted a different picture. It looked like less than 100.
Naturally, when a video of the spring game went viral, college football fans had a lot to say. And most of it wasn’t exactly nice, although some Auburn fans tried to explain away why their fanbase didn’t show up for Freeze’s first game.
You would think the opportunity for Auburn fans to watch their home run hire HC get to coach in his first Spring game might bring out the fans in droves, but that doesn’t appear to be the case here. Bad look.
— Andy Shaw (@AS4RTR) April 8, 2023
16,367 raindrops?
— Steven Chappell (@GrammarPurist) April 8, 2023
Some Auburn fans came to their team’s defense and explain away the lack of attendance Saturday.
40 degrees on Easter weekend in the south I’ll just leave this here
— JR (@JR_Mix77) April 8, 2023
I think that has to do w tickets sold. Also, one shot of a stadium in the rain means nothing. Don’t worry, Auburn has plenty of fans rain or shine 🙃
— jennifer moore 🦚 (@jennaunp12) April 8, 2023
Yet despite the protest from Auburn fans, there were still fans having much fun at the Tigers’ expense which did not sit well with the Auburn faithful. At least Hugh Freeze thank the few fans who were in attendance.
Tens of people to come see their new coach.
— Magical mama (@funny_layde) April 8, 2023
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