On Saturday night around 6:00 PM in Auburn, AL, something happened. Something horrible, terrible, and shocking happened. Something that in the blink of an eye changed Auburn University forever. Rod Bramblett, the voice of the Auburn Tigers, along with his wife Paula, were killed in a rear-end car collision. A 16 year-old was involved in the crash but his name is yet to be announced. And I think most people think it best if it stayed that way. When I woke up Sunday morning, I looked on a website I look on quite often. I clicked the tab that said Auburn Undercover on 247 Sports. The picture of the top headline was of Rod Bramblett. For a split second, I wondered what the news was before reading the headline. When I finished reading it, the whole world felt silent and my heart sank. It felt very surreal. It was very hard to develop. Rod Bramblett, not only a radio play-by-play announcer, but a beloved Auburn man was gone just like that. At the time I'm writing this, it is Monday, May 27th. Two days after the incident occurred and it still feels surreal. In 2003, Rod Bramblett stepped in for Jim Fyffe who'd suddenly died of brain issues. People said there'd be no replacing Jim, and there wasn't. Jim Fyffe was the voice of Auburn before my time. So I never witnessed Mr. Fyffe's play-by-play announcing but I know that he was irreplaceable. When Rod stepped in, he knew he couldn't replace the great Jim Fyffe. But he could still be a beloved Auburn announcer. After a year or two, Auburn fans were used to Rod announcing the football games, the basketball games, and the baseball games. Rod Bramblett made some great memories at Auburn. Including, Auburn's great 2004 Football team, the "Go Crazy Cadillac" moment the Cam Newton era, a National Title in football, the Nick Marshall to Ricardo Louis miracle, the Kick Six, a great 2017 Auburn Football team, the 2017 Kerryon Johnson + Jarrett Stidham + Ryan Davis era, and most recently, the 2019 Auburn Basketball team. I know that Rod Bramblett was the definition of a true Auburn man. I know that I could call him a friend even though I'd never met him. I'm just a 12-year old boy who's passionate about AU and Auburn Athletics but I know that like Jim Fyffe, there will be no replacing Rod Bramblett. But I'm sure that who ever is Auburn's next radio caller, the fans will fall in love with him like they did with Jim and Rod. Memories will be made with this new play-by-play announcer and when his time is up, there will be no replacing him either. And for Paula Bramblett, many who knew her couldn't find very many people who they could say was kinder than Paula. She was part of the AU family and will always be remembered. I have to ask for everyone who reads this to pray and pray and pray for this family. Rod and Paula had two children and we ask that you don't cease to pray for them. Both there parents were taken from them in a heartbeat. I also want to give the kindest, warmest, most thankful Thank You to every non-Auburn fan base that offered support to the AU family. There are no words for how much your support means. It reminds us all that at the end of the day, we're all just people. We're all just regular people who have to lean on each other for support. With that said, Auburn will recover. Rod and Paula will never be forgotten. Rod and Paula Bramblett is a loss for the whole world. Rod's excitement is why Auburn is such an electric and passionate fan base. Paula's kindness showed everyone that in the long run, sports is just a game. In the post above I've made a group of videos from the greatest Rod Bramblett memories. Bramblett family, we're praying for you. Auburn Sports will use this tragedy as motivation. Auburn will use this to be better. To grow stronger. So with all of this said, R.I.P. Rod and Paula Bramblett and War Eagle!
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