weekend « Kenny Smith | A remarkable thing happens …

weekend

Samford / site / weekend — Comments Off
5
Feb 11

The bird that wouldn’t tweet

My eyes are going blind from too much staring at the monitor. Too much for a Saturday, anyway. Also the world’s worst bird took up a post outside of our bedroom window this morning. He has not been to any of the chirping conventions and his parents failed him. The thing sounds like a mule that’s just realized it’s fate. That was on top of a night of not good sleep. I’m blaming the cat.

So this will be brief and familiar and perhaps less than inspired.

Reading. Writing. Emailing. All but one of the smaller things are now out of the way so that I can get on to the larger projects.

One of those was the cleaning of the work Email account. It had grown full of data and would soon start kicking out rude auto-replies to people. So out when the junk and the trash and most of the sent mail. There are five pages of Emails in the Inbox. I like to keep that at two, so there will soon come a reckoning.

Made a lot of recruiting phone calls, talked with several enthusiastic high school seniors and a few parents with smiles on their faces. Three of the students were at Samford when I called. One mother wanted to give me her husband’s number, who was also on campus, because she couldn’t remember her daughter’s. “Isn’t that terrible?”

I don’t remember anyone’s number.

Let’s count. I know eight numbers. Two belong to me and two more I’ll never have need to call again. Three are numbers that haven’t changed in my lifetime and the last one is my mother’s. But I bet no one recalls numbers they’ve used since the proliferation of cell phones. They make our lives easier, or make us smarter, in many respects, but not in this way.

Got my Beta from Storify today. I signed up, because it is important to put my name everywhere on the off chance that I find yet another social media tool valuable. This one is an aggregator, of which there are now several. Memolane is one Intersect is yet another. There are, I think, at least three Auburn-themed sites now.) Not sure what I’ll do with Storify, though. It looks clean and simple, but I tend to like things on my own site and I’m overextended as it is with these third-party places.

At some point you aren’t putting yourself on a service, you’re simply helping add content to someone else’s money-making enterprise. The online life is all about being where the audience is, but the audience also has Google and Bing and I have good URL placement. That bird found me, after all.

If he comes back tomorrow I might make him famous on all of those sites.

Auburn / iPhone / photo / weekend — Comments Off
30
Jan 11

Catching up

Yes, a few more Auburn football things. But, hey, we’re about to celebrate the three-week anniversary of the national championship game. You don’t get to do that every day. This poster is on the side of Toomer’s Drugs. It’s prettier because she’s standing there.

They weren’t together — but I think they knew each other. And they shared the same bad taste in robes. What you can’t see well in this picture are the tails.

You know it is serious when they say it in three languages.

I said on Twitter that this car was from the future. One friend said if it didn’t fly I could keep it. Another friend said it looked like robbers from the future had stripped it down. I think we were each right.

This sticker is on the hardwood at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. Wally Tinker, the man that sunk the first official basket, also sank the last. He’s got a great story. The Yankee and I saw the last official athletic event in the place.

Some of the players and coaches miss the old venue, but fans aren’t especially nostalgic about the imminent demise of Beard-Eaves-Memorial. It will be odd when there’s nothing to call by that name any more, but the new Auburn Arena is nice, and it is time.

If they are smart and sell seats out of the old coliseum we’re buying a row of them. End of story.

Auburn / friends / video / weekend — Comments Off
29
Jan 11

Remember to check the lint filter

The day began with what might have been my first ever Honey Do item. I don’t keep track of such things, but this could be that mysterious piece of trivia that will become vitally important in 48 years.

The Yankee was out of town for a family trip and she asked me to make an appliance change while she was gone.

The dryer on one set is getting a bit sluggish and, in the interests of national security and energy bills, the list was handed down, “Would you mind swapping out the washer and dryer while my car is out of the way, giving you room to maneuver?” We have two sets. (Are you surprised? Don’t you have a backup?) But, really, this wasn’t merely an appliance change. This was a change of the set, because it wouldn’t do to have a cream washing machine operating next to a white dryer. There must be uniformity.

I did not mind, and so I did that. Up into the attic I went to retrieve the hand trucks. Cleaned everything out of the way in the laundry room. Disconnected the washer and carted it into the garage.

Disconnected the dryer, slid it over and then hauled it through the door into the garage. I made the baseball’s bullpen motion to no one in particular, touching right hand to left elbow and moved the boxes off the washer and dryer that were about to go into the game.

Then I carried them, one by one, into the laundry room thinking, Ha! Now I can correct the mistake I made the day we moved! I can put the washer on the left and the dryer on the right, like it is supposed to be!

And I did that, right up to the point where I realized that the washer had been on the right for a reason. Has to do with the exhaust hose for the dryer and a space issue that creates.

So the dryer went back into the garage, and now I’m just playing Tetris. The washing machine went to the right side, the dryer was inched into the space on the left. Hoses were connected. Things were fumbled. Water was dripped. I came to the stunning realization that hoping behind the washer in the narrowest of spaces with a wire shelf inches above your head is not a good idea.

There was a small leak in the washing machine’s supply hoses. I uttered oaths at the manager who called in this lefty. This guy was going to ruin everything!

When I’d tightened those things for all they were worth, I decided to then check to be sure that hot was connected to hot and cold was going to cold. Dodged a bullet there.

And then for the biggest test of all. The towel that has been collecting dust and water went into the machine and was washed in short order.

Stephen visited today. Haven’t spent that much time with him in several years. We had a burger for lunch, walked around campus enjoying the first beautiful spring-like day of the year. Ventured into Beard-Eaves and ran suicides on the old hardwood. (OK, we talked about doing it. As neither of us had gym shoes on, we found a convenient excuse.)

The baseball team was practicing across the road at Plainsman Park. We walked in and watched the last few innings of a scrimmage there.

And then we went back to my place and noticed that the TiVo had recorded the Auburn basketball game. That’s a not-good team, but we started watching it out of morbid curiosity. Before long the Tigers had a little lead over South Carolina and as the game progressed they kept that lead until it become possible that they might win. And then it looked probably and, finally, Auburn won an SEC basketball game for the first time this year. Some had predicted they wouldn’t pick up a conference victory.

Stephen left for dinner with his in-laws. I stayed in for barbecue chicken and to wrap up the Robin Hood series. One of the good guys, Allan A Dale, died, and the Sheriff, the main bad guy reappeared from the dead. The final fight featuring everyone that was still alive in the series began.

During that was the biggest problem. Robin, Much and Guy, two of our heroes, and one bad-guy-turned-decent-by-circumstance found themselves trapped in a room that became filled from above by Styrofoam pellets or aquarium rocks or Tribbles. It was hard to tell. They were finally rescued by their friends through a side door. Out spilled the unnamed nitrogen pellets of doom and the three victims.

The first thing Robin’s new love interest does?

Mouth-to-mouth? An 11th Century peasant beat science to the technique by about 800 years. I’d watched 38 of the 39 episodes of this show and almost stopped right there.

And then the final personal duels, a little more exposition and Robin got knifed in the neck. It was but a flesh wound, but the knife was spiked with medieval drugs. He wandered off and died. Roll credits!

Just checked on that towel. It dried in only one cycle. We’ve now made our home that much greener.

Auburn / iPhone / photo / weekend — Comments Off
23
Jan 11

Catching Up

Allie is learning a balancing act. She’s quite good.

The Yankee at the National Championship celebration at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Estimates ranged between 70-80,000 people in attendance.

Chick-fil-A is closed on Sunday, of course. The cow has to work, though. We caught a promotional item during one of the basketball game’s timeouts. Sadly it did not contain a chicken sandwich.

This is Fletcher Runyan. He was the halftime entertainment at the women’s basketball game today. Allie could teach him a thing or two.

He jumps rope on the wire and rides his unicycle both directions. The unicycle had no tire; we’re not sure if riding it on the rim is cheating.

He finishes with a backflip. He fell on this one. It looked like it hurt. I found a video of him on YouTube falling at an NBA game. Someone in the comments claiming to be his sister-in-law says it is part of the act. I wouldn’t have believed that then, but he does manage to catch the wire with both hands, so maybe so. If it is part of the act it works for the crowd. He gets up, grimaces, points and climbs back up to nail the flip on his second attempt.

Jordan Greenleaf had 14 points for the Tigers.

Alli Smalley led Auburn — along with Morgan Toles — with 13 points.

But it wasn’t enough. Tennessee is too big and fast and talented throughout their lineup. The fifth ranked Vols beat Auburn 72-53. Nice afternoon at the Arena, though, and the Tigers led the students and the band in War Eagle after the game.

Auburn / football / history / iPhone / photo / Twitter / weekend — Comments Off
22
Jan 11

National Championship celebration

The We’ve-Never-Seen-It-And-Therefore-It-Was-Perfect Because We-Have-No-Basis-For-Comparison Review of the National Championship Celebration. The War Eagle Reader asked me to compile my tweets for posterity’s sake. And since they’re so kind to do so I add a few thoughts after the fact, which are in bold below.

Think of that feeling of the opening weekend of the season. Players are perfect, the sun has been shining, your kids are darling and the tailgating is top-notch. Anything is possible and the opponent isn’t one you’re really very concerned about. You’re just full of optimism about what you’ll see that season. It is a carefree feeling, heading inside when it isn’t LSU or Georgia or Alabama across the way. That’s a great way to walk inside the old stadium. This was like that, but perhaps better, maybe happier. You didn’t get to see the Tigers play, but you got to celebrate all the same.

At the national championship celebration. (With about 45,000 others.)

We walked in about 45 minutes early and caught the end of the BCS game replayed on the big screen. The crowd was still streaming in, the students (and others) were filling up a significant section of the field. The championship logo was brilliant. There was ice in the upper deck.

We sat near the place where we sat when I took my wife to her first game. (As an out-of-stater, she declared her allegiance after Tiger Walk that night. (I had the good sense to marry her a few years later.)

There are hundreds of little stories like that tied into this experience. Most of them, sadly, will never be heard.

They should clear the field and recreate the final drive.

It was obvious they weren’t going to fly Nova — or Tiger, since this was as much about history as it was about the present — because of the crowd. But in my undying attempts to add to the pageantry I’ve come up with an alternative plan. Instead of landing at midfield, they should fly the eagle from the north end of the stadium, over the admiring crowd and then atop AUHD. The eagle would then grab the rope from the flag pole firmly in a talon and then hoist a championship flag into the sky.

The champion Tigers are about to take the stage set up at Jordan-Hare. There must be close to 60,000 people in here.

And they just kept coming. I finally and officially guessed somewhere in the neighborhood of 70,000. I’m guessing that others that picked a number out of the air are likewise not crowd estimation experts and so I’ll disagree with their 78,000 figure. The number doesn’t really matter once you get beyond that threshold of A LOT.

Athletic director Jay Jacobs is at the microphone, introducing President Gogue.

Gogue recalls Jan 10, 49BC, and discusses Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon. Apparently Caesar said “All in.”

Gogue, perhaps, wasn’t just offering a history lesson because he’s the president and felt the need to be academic. Caesar blew into a trumpet, crossed that river and, according to Roman historian and biographer Suetonius, said ”Let us go where the omens of the Gods and the crimes of our enemies summon us!”

And then he said “aquila di guerra.”

Having explained what War Eagle meant, he then began to build the Roman Empire.

Caesar, that day, is thought to have also uttered that famous phrase “Alea iacta est,” which has long been interpreted as “The die is now cast.” And so, I guess, it is. Let Tide fans and Hannibal have their elephants. Apparently Auburn is Rome. Rome defeated Hannibal.

Dr. Gogue is an ambitious man.

(And you don’t get this kind of football analysis on just every site.)

Gogue: Auburn was 14-0 and at every one of those games two great teams were on the field, the Auburn offense and the Auburn defense.

Apply that to whomever you’d like as a playful dig and admit it, you like Gogue just a little bit more now.

Gov. Bentley is here. He almost issued an executive order a football game be played today.

Gov. Bentley says the entire country is “fascinated by the orange and blue.”

This is a celebration and not political, of course. Bentley has a responsibility to both Auburn and Alabama. So while I’ll share a little Italian I won’t get involved with your politics. But. A fellow alumnus said “He’s a Bammer and thus not my brother.”

Individual player intros, with the seniors last. So far the biggest pops have been for BCS (offensive) MVP Mike Dyer and Philip Lutzenkirchen.

Rumors of fans doing the Lutzie remain unconfirmed.

Etheridge, Burns, Caudle, Ziemba all got huge cheers.

Nick Fairley was just introduced, speared Aubie, Georgia complained.

Gus Malzahn’s wife retweeted this, and so did several of her friends. She spoke highly of Fairley. Who are we to disagree?

Cam Newton is the fifth Beatle.

They apparently told Newton, or the team at large, that the crowd wasn’t that big. I bumped into Newton at an area restaurant after homecoming. That guy has been in a crowd for a long time. Not sure why this surprised him.

Gene Chizik comes out in long coat and blue jeans, pretty casual for him. Players on the stage, and now for the speeches.

Jay Jacobs just thanked the Board of Trustees for “latitude.” Where am I?

Pat Dye reference! Auburn Creed reference!

1957, 1993, 1994, 2004 teams recognized. Apparently three section of the stadium are devoted to former players today.

They weren’t in my line of site, but I’m assuming they all got rings and were wearing pads and eye black.

Auburn mayor stands up and thanks everyone for the day’s economic injection. Did I mention the RVs are here?

Mayor Ham: “This celebration is for Shug Jordan.” The man knows, that’s why they re-elect him.

Former athletic director Dave Housel’s image has been rehabilitated. He’s now on the microphone.

Housel’s WWII, Iron Bowl cross-pollination continues, recalling Churchhill and the comeback last November.

And now Housel is reciting his own “What is Auburn?” passage. Quoting oneself is always a little awkward.

The man is as erudite as they come, so this was all a bit deflating, honestly. Not to worry because …

They showed video from the perfect 1957 national champions. Dr. Lloyd Nix, that team’s quarterback, is stealing the show.

Nix: When you put this ring on, wear it with pride, wear it with class and remember what it means.

Lloyd Nix, Auburn man.

Tracy Rocker gave Nick Fairley his Lombardi award … again.

Maybe it says something about the award, or the individual, or maybe a little bit about both, but that’s one happy little scene that took place down in the south end zone. He’s had that trophy for a while now, but everything still seemed kind of new.

Stan White and Randy Campbell “present” Cam Newton his Heisman. Both (Newton and Fairley) spoke. Fairley is a clown.

Newton: “There is a reason Coach Chizik has been undefeated not once, not twice, but three times in the last seven years.”

You think they’ll be playing that clip to the high school recruits?

“Hello, young man. My name is Gene Chizik. I’m the coach of the national champion Auburn Tigers. Perhaps you’d like to see what a Heisman trophy winner says about me.”

As endorsements go that’s pretty strong stuff.

Former Auburn great Karlos Dansby presents the SEC Championship trophy.

Five Super Bowl rings are on the stage right now. No big deal.

The Fiesta Bowl representative just invited Auburn back. There were many witnesses.

Somewhere in all of this Gordon Stone, the president of the Letterman Club turned to the team and spoke. I can’t recall much of what he said, I was too busy tying up the laces on my Under Armour cleats. (I don’t have any Under Armour.)

Lee Ziemba briefly spoke. Jacobs said “Gotta love a left tackle that’s straight to the point.”

Everyone quiet. Kodi Burns is about to speak. They are chanting his name.

I’m predicting they name one of those springtime team awards after Burns before long. The story and lesson are both just too good to ignore.

Burns: “I came to Auburn for two reasons. One, because of the Auburn Family. Two, to win a national championship.”

Some parents, somewhere, are now naming some as-yet unborn child Kodi.

Lloyd Nix, of the 1957s, is bringing out the crystal football. Good form, too.

Four points of pressure. No swagger, just a casual determination befitting a man who’s committed his life to improving the world around him. Google Dr. Nix and be impressed.

And now Gene Chizik … calls his the best coaching staff in America.

Chizik: “This is a journey … This is about a very selfless team.”

Journey, process. Family, factory. Romans, Carthaginians. You figure it out.

Chizik says he wanted Newton and Fairley as BCS captains, but they turned it down saying seniors should get the honor.

Chizik: I will say it again, and it’s not kinda, sorta, almost, you are the best fans in America.

They played the season’s highlight video and all the players stood to watch @AUHD.

Great video on @AUHD. Top notch as always.

I suspect that it will make its way online eventually, but doesn’t seem to be up as of this writing.

And now over the scoreboard is a national championship flag.

I told one friend online that it was just about a perfect event. It had nice portions of a fun and playful atmosphere. There was humility and gratitude and just a little red meat for the fans. The players that spoke were silly, happy and nostalgic already. Reverse Tiger Walks are cool. Rolling Toomer’s again was a bit much. On a crisp January afternoon, though, Auburn students, alumni and fans had one more chance to come together and enjoy this team. Gogue and Jacobs and Chizik may see great things coming — and maybe they are right — but this season, for many, will always be a peerless experience.

It is a shame the eagle didn’t raise that flag, though.