When Auburn takes the floor in opposing venues this year, the Tigers are greeted like the great WWE villains of the past. Johni Broome is Stone Cold Steve Austin, Chad Baker-Mazara equals Ric Flair and, leading them all, is Bruce Pearl in the role of Vince McMahon.
That happens when you have a team that is hard to beat, ranked No. 1 in the country and have started making opponents' courts their own playground throughout the Southeast.
And the funny thing is, the vitriol and curses thrown their way seem only to make this team, this glorious squad of veterans and an out-of-this-world freshman, better. As Dylan Cardwell perfectly put it following Saturday's victory against Ole Miss in Oxford, "BP recruits some killers, man. We've got some guys that ain't right in the head."
Not that this team could be labeled evil. They aren't the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons or even Michigan's Fab Five, although some would argue that Baker-Mazara is the most polarizing figure in college basketball. It's a group with great chemistry on and off the court, working toward the same goal of bringing a national title back to the Plains and destroying anybody that dares get in their way.
The challenges continue to get tougher and tougher, but each has been answered so far emphatically. In the gauntlet of the SEC, where teams are dropping like flies on the road, the Tigers continue to grind out wins and stay atop the standings with each one.
"That was our best road win of the year, and that's a terrific team, a talented team, a well-coached team," Pearl said after the win against the Rebels. "And we didn't play our best. We struggled early with some of our spacing, and we turned the ball over early. That was something that we did not want to do, but the guys, obviously, did not panic."
No, there is no panic in this team, no matter how hostile or loud opposing fans make it. That happens when you have a group of veterans who have been through the battles over several seasons and are led by a coach who puts his entire trust in them.
It helps that Auburn fans, or as Pearl calls them, witnesses, help fill a not-so-small portion of each away venue. That's the new norm for this program and its fan base. It also helps that at many SEC road games, tickets can be purchased for a lot less than the matchups in Neville Arena. However, as the Tigers' run continues, that will not be the case anymore. Everyone wants to see if their David can slay Auburn's Goliath.
That's how this team likes it. They thrive on having that target on their back that continues to grow larger with each win and celebration on the road with the witnesses. When others back down from the challenge, the Tigers step up and hand receipts back to those who just spent 40 minutes trying to get the best of them.
It's what great teams do. Ain't right in the head? These guys have everything precisely correct. Bring the next challenge on.
