'It opened my eyes' -- Tuberville touched by troops' commitmentBy Jay G. Tate - May 28, 2008
Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville didn't expect a weeklong goodwill trip through the Middle East to
affect him like it did -- profoundly.Tuberville discovered an un-paralleled commitment by American soldiers, many barely out of their teens, and even those severely wounded in bat?tle.
"It opened my eyes. I thought people went over there, dreaded going over there and couldn't wait to get back," Tuberville said Tuesday morning. "The leaders over there, this is their fourth or fifth or sixth turn. It's good to know that people in that type of business really enjoy what they're doing. I think we got more out of it than the troops."
Tuberville traveled through Germany, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates during his trip. Fellow coaches Mark Richt (Georgia), Randy Shannon (Miami), Charlie Weis (Notre Dame) and Yale's Jack Siedlecki joined him.
The coaches shook hands, signed autographs, held a skills combine and commanded an intense game of flag football.
The emotional peak for Tuberville came at a hospital when he and Weis approached a soldier with severe injuries to both legs. Tuberville anticipated bitterness.
The soldier was anything but bitter."He told me, 'Coach, this is my fourth term.
I've wanted to come back every time and I want to come back after this,'" Tuberville said. "It was very emotional. There were tears coming down his face."
War is nothing new to the Tuberville family.
The coach's father, C.R., left high school to fight in World War II. That service led Tuberville to imagine battlefields staffed with seasoned combatants.
Things have changed.
The coaches often flew in ma?chines piloted by Americans only a few years older than Tub?erville's oldest son. Tucker Tub?erville is 13.
"It's mind-boggling to think how early we get them out there," Tuberville said. "This kind of brings back to reality who fights the wars for us. It's young people. That's a tough situation."
When it was time for football, though, Tuberville was amazed at the interest. A mod?est skills competition aboard the USS Nassau turned into a well-attended exhibition of le?gitimate skills.
The coaches participated in a flag football game a day later. Tuberville expected to see sol?diers lazily enjoying some time away from work responsibil?ities.
When he arrived to see a field that had been graded, cleared of rocks and topped with soil, the coach paused.
This wasn't a passing interest.
"This wasn't one of those deals that was kind of a joke," Tuberville said. "They were really into this. It was very competitive. We just kind of got out of their way."
Tuberville and Richt coached their team to a 14-12 win that included a last-minute stop on the goal line. As he left the playing area, players hoisted them on his shoulders in cele?bration.
The coach then did something that agitated Alabama fans.
He flashed seven fingers. Tuberville's teams have won six consecutive games against the Crimson Tide and he has left previous Iron Bowls with simi?lar gestures.
"That kind of got to be a big subject, the Auburn-Alabama series," Tuberville said. "There was a lot of kidding between my?self and the Alabama fans, but we went over there to spread goodwill. We didn't go over there to jab anybody."
The trip ended with a trip to the White House and a short meeting with President Bush. Tuberville said Bush was inter?ested in how the coaches per?ceived troop morale.
"He gave us a good speech," Tuberville said. "You can tell he's a very smart guy. It was re?laxing.
He loves college foot?ball."
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