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Auburn fan’s reaction to receiving NCAA Tournament tickets goes viral
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Auburn earned the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region of the NCAA Tournament this year, following a season in which the Tigers won the SEC regular-season title.
Now, they’ll head to Greenville, South Carolina, for their first-round game and, Auburn fans hope, a second-round game as well.
One young Auburn fan, 11-year-old Sam Kyser, received tickets to those games as a birthday present. As you can see below, he had an epic reaction to the surprise:
@coachbrucepearl @AuburnMBB We surprised our Auburn loving son with tickets to the first and second round in Greenville for his birthday! He is beyond excited!! The only thing that could make it better would be to meet Coach Pearl and the team!!! pic.twitter.com/CdccLMQoSd
— Kelly Kyser (@kellykyser) March 14, 2022
Auburn freshman Jabari Smith Jr. saw that video and shared it from his Twitter account:
— Jabari Smith Jr (@jabarismithjr) March 14, 2022
According to Kyser’s mom, Kelly, said that even though she’s an Alabama fan, Sam and his dad are War Eagle all the way (via AL.com):
“He’s a very animated and joyful child,” Kelly said. “He’s real passionate. Sam is the ultimate Auburn fan. We are actually a house divided. I went to Alabama and bleed crimson and white. My husband is an Auburn grad and a huge Auburn fan.
“Sam is the youngest. We attend Auburn football games. Anything that is Auburn-related, he’s a huge fan. He’s a sports fanatic. He knows stats for everything. He’s been following the basketball season this year. He’s the kid everyone knows. Sam Kyser loves the Auburn Tigers.”
After a quarterfinal exit in the SEC Tournament, the Tigers will be looking to avoid an early departure from the NCAA Tournament. Auburn tips off against No. 15 seed Jacksonville State on Friday at 12:40 p.m. Eastern time. The game can be seen on truTV.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
