Nearly 80,000 fans show for Auburn's national championship celebration

Almost 80,000 fans packed into Jordan-Hare Stadium, for what you’d think was Auburn getting ready for another Saturday of SEC football. As it were, they were celebrating the victory of one game, the BCS National Championship. Cam Newton, Nick Fairley, coach Gene Chizik and Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley were among those who spoke to the crowd. "You never stopped believing in me," Newton said. "People have asked me over and over, how did I handle the distractions. The simple answer is, God, family and you, my Auburn family. You never lost faith in me and that means more to me than words can ever say. You will be in my heart forever."

The biggest applause came when Auburn introduced Fairley and Newton. Both took turns at the podium, along with Gov. Robert Bentley, who is from Tuscaloosa, and others. Coach Gene Chizik related a story that he said demonstrated what kind of teammates Newton and Fairley were. "Thirty minutes before the national championship game, and I didn't know whether they were going to come back or not," he said. "I called them in and said, 'I want you guys to be team captains.'

"I didn't know if they were ever going to get a chance to walk out on that field again. They looked at me simultaneously and said, 'Coach we can't do that. You've got to pick two more seniors.'"

Former players presented Newton with the Heisman Trophy and Fairley with the Lombardi Award on the stage. The Southeastern Conference and various national title trophies also were presented, before fans gathered for a reverse Tiger Walk back to the football complex.

The scoreboard clock had 20:10 remaining. And the board read 22-19, the final score of the title game against Oregon.

Auburn topped rival Alabama in one category. The Crimson Tide's similar event last year drew an estimated 38,000, but those fans hadn't waited nearly as long.