Messi in Auburn. Yes, That Auburn.
- Jon Nelson
- 2 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Traffic going into Jordan-Hare Stadium was just like your normal college football Saturday...
Get into town a few hours early and get to your parking spot just like a normal college football Saturday...
Prices of the gear are just like a college football Saturday... concessions the same... the eagle flyover...??? The same...
But it wasn't Auburn... It was Argentina... and it wasn't South Carolina... it was Iceland for the last movements heading into the 2026 World Cup.
Auburn had its moments as host where the crowd could make the evening their own and the interaction between the three cultures, even in the weather-challenged environment, was an interesting cross-section of sport. Messi jerseys, of all varieties, were everywhere and the visiting press applauded after each national anthem in the press box.
Mix that with the orange and blue of the hosts and you end up with over 80,000 people watching the beautiful game in a location not necessarily common but just as open and appreciative for the experience.
Rhett Hobart, Auburn Deputy AD/External Affairs and Chief Revenue Officer, said going in that it would be a "unique milestone" at the introductory press conference, and it was that. The field was fully regulation at 110 by 75 meters. The university made a point to add sod beyond the corner flags and trimmed the greenery folks were used to seeing during the other football season to get the pitch to the necessary lengths.
Iceland National Team Head Coach Arnar Gunnlaugsson told assembled press, "I really like the mentality of the town. Everything is geared towards supporting the athlete, so the athlete's responsibility is obviously to work hard and do well. And I mean, you have outstanding facilities for all sports." The Icelandic side was practicing on the Auburn campus for a few days ahead of the match itself and, rumor had it, got to sample the golf at the Jason Dufner-created course attached to campus.
Auburn mayor Ron Anders knows that events like this can be an "economic driver" and when more than 80,000 fans show up to the Plains in early June, he's not wrong. The lines are out the door for Toomer's Lemonade and the experience was shared. The only disappointment, frankly, was the inability to have Argentine chefs share their knowledge with southern grillers.
Jack Patterson, Sports Director at WRBL-TV in Columbus, grew up in this part of the SEC, schooled in Columbus and now covering everything on both sides of the Chattahoochee. He understands it as well...
"In a city that has brought home three state championships in the last month, this just really adds to the momentum that the beautiful game has gained not just in Auburn, but the Chattahoochee Valley over the last decade."
Compare the attention to the sport over the last decade in the region and it's "mindblowing" to Jack to see how it has evolved in a very short period of time, across all levels.
The matchup itself was almost secondary. ValentÃn Barco scored in the 8th for Argentina and Iceland was playing the way viewers had become accustomed to watching for the first 45. Every time Lionel Messi popped up on the scoreboard, the pop was understandably huge, twice on the bench in the first half and five in the first eight minutes of the second half, seven total before he checked in with a little over 20 minutes to go.
When Messi did check in, it took the sum total of less than two minutes for him to get on the scoreboard. An Iceland takedown of Lautaro MartÃnez inside the 18 sent Messi to the spot for the second goal of the match, and one of the louder cheers in the building for an announced crowd of 88,043, the largest soccer crowd in Alabama state history. Messi would add a hockey assist on the third goal on the night, a Thiago Almada slam dunk with a few minutes left in regulation in the 3-0 win.
As the sporting public saw with almost 180,000 in College Station, Texas, and the "Loveliest Village," we all get to be reminded about where we are right now. It's a place of growth and the zip code doesn't really matter anymore. Cross-sections have intersections and two big Southeastern Conference markets have shown their names on a list of interested locations shouldn't surprise on any level.
