Spread the Cheer

As the Christmas season continues to rush toward us, I began to think about unique and memorable ways to spread Christmas cheer. After all, everyone is putting up their tree, hanging their stockings, adorning their fireplaces…all to add cheer to the Yuletide season. Unfortunately, some people do not feel very cheery this time of the year. In fact, they battle fatigue, depression and hopelessness more in December than at any other time of the year. For those and for the rest of you, let me share a few thoughts on how I like to spread cheer.

First of all, I love the smells of Christmas. Whether it’s pumpkin pie, or hot wassle, or gingerbread, or fresh cut pine…I love the smells. So I say, surround your home with the smells of Christmas. It spreads cheer.

Next, concoct some “seasonal libations”. They don’t have to be of the alcohol kind, but as for me, I prefer a little “nog” in my egg-nog. A little nutmeg on top….oh, man! Or hot chocolate, spiced cider, seasonal coffee…whatever is your “cup of tea”. Makes some. It spreads cheer.

Watch a holiday themed movie. My two favorites are “Holiday Inn” with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, and “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” with Chevy Chase and Randy Quaid. It just wouldn’t be Christmas for me if I didn’t hear Bing sing, or see Chevy Chase begin to carve a turkey that deflates right before his eyes. These movies spread cheer.

And while we are talking about spreading cheer, let’s not forget Auburn football. For with Tony Franklin as the new offensive coordinator, we are definitely going to the “spread” offense, and he promises that we will have lots of excitement to “cheer” for. He states that “in order to win a championship, you have to be able to number one, play great defense and number two, you have to be able to run the football…..we finished the year 35th in the nation in rushing….but I also believe in spreading the ball around….wide receivers, slot backs, tight ends, running backs, quarterbacks….spread it around and attack the entire field.” Spreading the cheer.

And so, as we share a New Years Eve together down at the Georgia Dome…as we ring out the old, and ring in the new…as we sing Auld Lang Syne….as we say goodbye to the West Coast Offense and say hello to the Spread….take a moment to smell the pine. Take a moment to taste the nog. Take a moment to remember the good times. Toast Al Borges as you sing “should old acquaintance be forgot”. Toast Tony Franklin as you look toward the future.

Spread the cheer. And then let’s cheer the spread.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr.

December 29, 1990

Unfortunately, I cannot leave work early on Thursday. Frankly, I fly from New York to Spartanburg and arrive around noon. Then I have to go to my office and fill out some reports and get ready for employee meetings which will begin on Friday. I also have two employees who want to talk with me about their “situations”…. (translated means their recent disciplinary actions taken against them for poor attendance). Such is the life for a Human Resources person. Therefore, I cannot spend the mid-afternoon hours before my television on Thursday.

However, for those of you who can, CSS is replaying the 1990 Peach Bowl. I remember the game well, and I remember how I got tickets for Dad and me. There was a food bank drive being held outside Fulton County Stadium, and if you brought in 10 non-perishable canned goods, you would get two tickets to the Peach Bowl. Such was the demand for Peach Bowl Tickets back in 1990.

Auburn came into the game a respectable 7-3-1, but had lost its last game to arch-rival Alabama. The Tigers limped off Legion Field, having been downed 16-7, and had spent a month licking their wounds. Most prognosticators had predicted that Auburn should win the game big. But most prognosticators hadn’t figured in the weather, mixed with a pretty good Hoosier football team.

Our seats were so low down that we couldn’t see (but what should we have expected…after all, we were in the “green pea donor” section. It was cold and wet, with low hanging clouds and fog hovering all around. I’m not sure anyone on the field ever really saw a kickoff or a punt….it was more like a ball falling from the clouds. Mark Murphy, the editor of “Inside The Auburn Tigers” summed up the day as well as anyone I have ever heard or read: “it was just plain miserable.” We moved and sat in another area of the stadium in hopes of being able to see and stay a little bit dry.

Auburn sloshed around on the infield that day, bogging down much like the dirt bikes and tractor pulls did when they also used old Fulton County Stadium. Running back Alex Smith for Auburn even made the statement that he thought he had found some of the dirt bike ruts when he was trying to cut and run.

Auburn appeared to be in good shape on that day, leading 20-10 with just 11:34 left to play. But Indiana had other thoughts. Coach Bill Mallory’s club wouldn’t give up. With 6:32 left to play, sophomore quarterback Trent Green scored his second touchdown of the day, cutting the Auburn lead to 20-16. The two point conversion failed. And then, with 2:27 left, Green scored again and Indiana led for the first time, 23-20.

Because this was during the days before overtime, if Auburn wanted to win, it would have to score a touchdown. Auburn’s freshman quarterback Stan White did some quick math and came up with the answer. “We had two minutes and three time outs,” White said. “I said in the huddle, ‘Look guys, this is it. This is what it’s all about. We’ve got 80 yards to go and two minutes to do it in.” White ran the Auburn two-minute drill to perfection, scoring on a one-yard bootleg run with 39 seconds to go. Auburn had 440 yards of total offense that day, and Auburn won the Peach Bowl 27-23 over Indiana.

Few of us realized on that day that the next time we would see the Auburn Tigers in a bowl game would be a full 5 years later, when Auburn played Penn State in the Outback Bowl. You can watch the replay of the 1990 Peach Bowl Thursday afternoon, 4:00 p.m., on CSS.

War Eagle!!

WJLaneSR

Lions and Peaches and Chickens, Oh My!!

The Lions Clubs of Georgia are wonderful organizations. Although I am not a Lion, I know much about their work. I know that they have well over 1 million members through their international affiliates, that they do much charitable work with youth and with persons who are vision impaired. I am familiar with their broom and mop sales, their Lighthouse for the Blind, and their walk for diabetes awareness. How do I know all of this? My dad is a Lion.

My father has been a lion for….well….for a looong time. I can’t tell you how many Lions brooms and mops we have had over the years. I don’t know how many chicken and barbeques that he has participated in to raise money for the Lions. Many international youth traveling with Lions International have stayed in my parents’ home over the years. I have seen first hand the good that the Lions Club does.

There is one other thing I know about the Lions Club. From 1968 until 1985, the Lions Clubs of Georgia was the sponsor of Peach Bowl.

The Peach Bowl was originally created as a fund raiser for the Lions Clubs of Georgia. Unfortunately, the games during this period had lackluster attendance and revenue, and even worse media coverage. During this era of the bowl, it was played at the old Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Old Man Winter never seemed to comply with the bowl, and it was always cold, wet, rainy and muddy. The Lions Clubs of Georgia struggled to cover the costs of the bowl.

In 1986, the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce took over the bowl, and with the completion of the Georgia Dome, the game was moved indoors in 1992. The attendance began to improve, and the media coverage of the game improved as well. In 1998, Chick-Fil-A joined as a sponsor of the game, and it became known as the Chick Fil A Peach Bowl.

Now, here we are in 2007. The Bowl has once again changed its name to “The Chick-Fil-A Bowl”, and the game between Auburn and Clemson was sold-out in less than 48 hours. It is the only game on television during prime-time on New Years Eve. And the payout to the two schools will be approximately $6 Million total. This is a far cry from the days of the empty, cold, wet, muddy Peach Bowl at Fulton County Stadium.

But maybe the Peach Bowl needed the rain and cold and mud in the beginning, in order to enjoy the healthy success it has today. Those of you who read your Bible will remember that Jesus took some mud and put it in the blind man’s eyes in order to restore his sight. In fact, that’s where we get the phrase “Here’s mud in your eye!” when toasting someone….It’s to their health….to their vision. The main mission of the Lions Clubs of Georgia….the original sponsor of the Peach Bowl.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

Auburn and Clemson

One of my favorite Southern Humorists/Satirists was the late Lewis Grizzard. I have read all of his books, listened to most of his works that are on CD, and was a religious reader of his column when it was published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For me, he will always be regarded with the same admiration as other writers of southern literature such as William Faulkner, Sidney Lanier, Pat Conroy, Harper Lee, Mark Twain and Flannery O’Conner.

Lewis Grizzard “cut his writing teeth” as a sports columnist, and it is credited to him with the description that “Clemson is Auburn with a lake”. I am not sure how much Grizzard actually knew about the Auburn/Clemson history, but his assessment was very accurate. Both schools are southern land-grant institutions, both are called “the tigers”, and both had the legendary John Heisman as the coach. During the days of Shug Jordan and Frank Howard, games between Auburn and Clemson were common. However, in more recent history, the two schools with so much in common, may have lost touch with their similarities and, more importantly, their common history. Clemson isn’t just Auburn with a lake, for without Auburn, there would have been no Clemson football.

Walter M. Riggs graduated from Auburn with an engineering degree in 1892, and was a member of Auburn’s first football team. He loved football so much that rather than going into the field of engineering after graduation, he became a graduate assistant coach. In 1895, he was given the task of finding a head football coach for Auburn, and after an extensive search, hired John W. Heisman as the Head Coach of the Auburn Football Team. His negotiated contract (boy isn’t THAT a timely topic!!!) was $500 / year.

Riggs left Auburn in the hands of J.W. Heisman in 1896, and headed for Clemson, South Carolina to start a football program. Clemson had no uniforms, no mascot, no colors…nothing. So what did Riggs do? He brought some old Auburn practice uniforms with him (orange jerseys and navy jerseys) that, because of washboard washings, were no longer navy and orange, but looked more purple and orange. He also brought the name “tigers” with him, and named his brand new football team the Clemson Tigers. He chose orange as the dominant color, because those jerseys weren’t quite as faded as the navy ones. And from that time forward, Walter M. Riggs has been known as the “father of Clemson Football”.

But the story BEHIND the story is….without Auburn, Clemson would never have been Orange and Purple, would never have been “the Tigers”, and would never have begun a football program in 1896. Maybe Lewis Grizzard is right. Maybe Clemson is Auburn with a lake. But Clemson is even more than that. It is the beneficiary of the great, grand and storied history of the Auburn Tigers.

War Eagle! Beat Clemson!

WJLaneSr

Rumors

Neil Simon is one of my favorite playwrights. He is one of the most reliable hitmakers in Broadway history and one of the most performed playwrights in the world. A few of his most famous plays include “The Odd Couple”, “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers”, “The Sunshine Boys”, “Biloxi Blues” and “Lost in Yonkers”. In 1988, his farcical play “Rumors” hit the Great White Way. Basically, it involves the shooting of a New York Mayor, and the rumors of “who done it”.

Because the play is centered on rumors, the play is funny and grabs at your emotions. But that is the way it always is with rumors….those pieces of purportedly true information that circulate without substantiating evidence.

In 1977, Fleetwood Mac released an album entitled “Rumours”. It was a particularly difficult time for the band, as Mick Fleetwood has separated from his wife Jenny. Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks, who were in a relationship when the joined the band, were now separated. And John McVie and Christine McVie were separated. Yet all five were still in the band. Christine McVie says that they were all music writers; they were all writing about each other, that most of what they were writing was based on feelings, not on substantiated facts….hence the name of the album. Rumours. Or, in American English spelling….Rumors.

Rumors can be funny. They can be sad. They can be vicious. But mostly, rumors can be true….and they can be false.

There are many rumors going around about Tommy Tuberville and the Arkansas Razorbacks. In fact, many news media in and around Fayetteville were reporting yesterday that Tommy T. was going to be named the new Head Hog as soon as yesterday evening, or as late as this morning. Fact? Fiction? Rumor.

You may not be an Auburn news junkie like me, and if not, you didn’t know that Tubs was in Arkansas yesterday and today hunting. Evidently, when Tubs left the woods yesterday from a day of “not-any-luck” deer hunting, he became quite irritated at the rumors coming from his home state.

Syndicated Columnist and Opelika resident Philip Marshal spoke with Tommy T., and Tubs told him “neither he nor his agent, Jimmy Sexton … has had any contact at all with Arkansas officials about the job vacated by Houston Nutt. By the way, he and assistants Eddie Gran and Steve Ensminger were planning to hunt ducks but ended up hunting deer. Gran bagged a deer. The other two have struck out so far.” Substantiated. Not Rumor.

Of course there is a lot of work to be done to get the contract renegotiations and future plans/agreements settled. But one other thing Tommy T. has asked of all the Auburn Family. Have a little patience. And I would add….don’t pay much attention to the rumor mill.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

November 28, 1987

Because we are having such a good week enjoying the sweetness of another Iron Bowl victory, I thought I would take you down memory lane for a few moments.

Tomorrow is the twentieth anniversary of the 1987 Iron Bowl which determined the champion of the SEC. These were the days prior to the SEC Championship game. If Auburn beat Alabama, the Tigers would be the outright SEC Champion. If Alabama beat Auburn, then Bama would share the title with LSU.

There were 75,808 people at Legion Field on November 28, 1987. The tangled significance of the game was an indication of the infighting in a conference with (at that time) 10 schools that would send six teams to a bowl. That was unprecedented for the SEC up until that point. Auburn, ranked #7, was 8-1-1 while Alabama, ranked #18 under first year Alabama Head Coach Bill Curry was 7-4.

The story of the game could be summed up in the first half, when Derrick Thomas of Alabama blocked an Auburn punt out of bounds at the Tiger 9-yard line. Three Alabama plays moved the ball to the 1 yard line, and Bill Curry decided to go for the touchdown. On fourth down, Alabama attempted a pass that fell incomplete and Auburn took over.

With Jeff Burger at the helm, Auburn drove the ball 99 yards for the game’s only touchdown, which came on Harry Mose’s 5-yard run around left end with 58 seconds remaining in the first half. During the drive, Burger threw a 44 yard pass to Lawyer Tillman and Stacy Danley had an 18 yard run. The drive was aided by two 15 yard penalties against the Tide.

Late in the game, Auburn drove 69 yards to the Alabama 9 and Wyn Lyle kicked a 23 yard field goal. Bama got one last chance to score, but lost the ball when Clay Whitehurst caught a pass and fumbled at the Alabama 45.

Like many Iron Bowls to come, the game was dominated by the defenses, with Auburn linebacker Kurt Crain halting Alabama with an interception and Alabama’s Mike Smith picking off a Burger pass at the Alabama 25. In the final quarter, both teams missed field goals when Phillip Doyle of the Tide missed a 53 yarder, hitting the left upright, and Wyn Lyle of Auburn missing a 47 yarder.

The Tigers defeated the Tide that day, winning the Iron Bowl 10-0, and winning the Southeastern Conference Title outright while securing a Sugar Bowl Berth to play the undefeated Syracuse Orangemen.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

Six

Mrs. Young was my 6th grade teacher. It was the fall of 1970, and she had just graduated from Auburn University. Being at Auburn during the Pat Sullivan years, she was a huge fan of Number 7. In fact, she told our class that her entire sorority would answer their telephone, not with “hello”, but with “Pat Who?” Number 7 from that time forward will always live in Auburn lore as a special, important number. So much so that it was retired.

But I want to make the case that not only is the number 7 important to all Auburn people, but the number 6 is, in many ways, even more important. And it isn’t because I was in the 6th grade when Mrs. Young shared her passion about Super Sully.

Six has been an important number to a lot of people. Prior to Saturday evening, I think the number six was most important to me because of Clint Eastwood. Perhaps you are not the Spaghetti Western fan as I am, and therefore don’t watch all of the TBS reruns of “The Good, the Bad and The Ugly.” But I do. I don’t know why I love that movie so much….it is kind of silly….but if it is on; I am going to watch it. There is a line in the movie, where Clint Eastwood’s character realizes he is facing six villains in a saloon. His remark to this is, “Six is my favorite number. There are six of you, and I have six bullets left in my gun.” Of course, the rest is history. Clint always gets his man (or six of them).

But the number six isn’t just for the gunfighters. In fact, six is Bert’s favorite number on Sesame Street. (Hey, just because my four children are about grown doesn’t mean I don’t still keep up with Bert and Ernie!! There’s a little bit of Big Bird in all of us!)

And lest you forget what your Sunday School Teachers taught you, the book of Genesis tells us that man was created by God on the sixth day.

And if the number Six is that important to the Big Guy, then it must be pretty darn important!

Auburn had never beaten the Crimson Tide 6 years in a row. Never. Ever. Until now. The world of Iron Bowl history changed on November 24, 2007. For the first time in forever, Auburn beat Alabama in football for the SIXTH STRAIGHT TIME. Dang that feels good to write.

It is so sweet, that there ought to be a song written about it. Something to capture this feeling forever. In fact, did you know that on most Rock Albums, the feature track is usually the sixth song? And if this ride Auburn has been on were an Album, the sixth track might have to be called “Taking Care of Business.” Because that’s what Auburn did. They went out, on a chilly and windy Saturday evening, and systematically took care of business by beating Saban and his Crimson Troops.

So today, I am celebrating Six. Six straight wins over the Tide. As Jackie Gleason used to say, "How sweet it is!"

Oh, and Seven? Why, the Bible refers to IT as the Perfect Number. More on that next year.

War Eagle
WJLaneSR

War Eagle from Korea

It is 3:52 a.m. Tuesday morning at home. For me, it is 5:52 p.m. on Tuesday evening. I am sitting in the Korean Air Lounge at the Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Korea. I arrived from Atlanta about an hour ago, and will be departing for Shanghai, China in an hour and a half.

It's Iron Bowl week, and I am looking at a clay bowl of Kimchi. But just so you know that I have my game face on, I am wearing a navy blue sport shirt with an orange "A-U" on it. And yes, I have gotten a few comments.

One of the flight attendants on my 15 1/4 hour flight from Atlanta to Seoul (yes....over 15 hours!!) was a Tennessee Vol. She knew what my shirt stood for. Her only concern, however, was why we didn't help them out by beating the dawgs. My response was, "you have to help yourself out, and you almost didn't do that against Vandy!"

One thing we agreed on, however. Neither of us like the Tide. Now, I don't really know what's going on back home as we get geared up for the Iron Bowl on Saturday. But I can tell you...I am half way around the world, and I am bringing it! So if I can bring it in Seoul.....and in just a few hours be bringing in Communist China.....then ya'll can get ready to bring it at home.

I fly in on Friday, and will be at the ballgame on Saturday.

From Seoul....War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

Quarterbacks

Auburn’s quarterback play this year has been a kaliedescope, to put it mildly. There have been arguments, debates, cheers and jeers. We have heard the cheers "Kodi....Kodi....Kodi..." and then "Brandon....Brandon...Brandon"

But I want to take a step back from the current quarterback situation.....I want to step back as we look dead ahead toward the showdown with the Crapstone Empire.

I want to look instead to the future. Not next year's future...but beyond.

Auburn certainly has Blake Field, Kodi Burns and Neil Caudle waiting in the wings for next year.

But let's look at 2009.

Let’s look at the next signing class….the class that will sign in February 2008. The class that will probably redshirt the fall of 2008, and be ready for fall 2009. Let’s look at Barrett Trotter and Deron Furr.

Yes, those are two names you better get used to, cause they’re coming.

Both quarterbacks are committed to Auburn. Both quarterbacks are leading their respective teams into the playoffs. Both of their teams are ranked #1 in their state. And both of their teams are undefeated.

Barrett Trotter is the quarterback and offensive captain for the #1 Ranked 5-A Briarwood Christian of Birmingham. His team is 11-0, and he has passed for 2405 yards this year alone. He has completed 158 of 238 passes with on 3 interceptions.

His coach, Fred Yancy, told the Birmingham News last week that he expected his senior quarterback to have a big year, but he didn’t expect it would be THIS big. His exact quote was “Barrett’s even better than I thought.”

With a quick release, and a deep threat arm, he certainly will be welcome on the Plains.

But the quarterback news for Auburn doesn’t stop there. The other name you need to get used to is Deron Furr.

Deron Furr is the quarterback of the #1 Ranked AAA Carver Tigers of Columbus. His team is 10-0 for the first time ever. Being coached by former Auburn Tiger Dell McGee, his coach says about him, “Deron looks like what a football player should look like. He is over 6’3”, weighs about 220 pounds, has a big time arm and runs a true 4.4 forty yard dash. That’s why he also runs the 100 meter on our track team.”

This past Friday night, Furr didn’t have to play much as they were much stronger than their competition. Yet, in less than two quarters of play, he 4 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, and also ran a 58 yard touchdown by himself.

And if that isn’t enough, his favorite receiver, and Carver’s all-time leading receiver, Jarmon Fortson, is also an Auburn commitment and will be signing with the tigers on the same day. Again, quoting Dell McGee, “Auburn is getting two outstanding football players. They have high football I.Q.’s, they are both extremely fast, extremely strong and extremely competitive. They both know how to make things happen with the ball.”

So…as we look toward the Iron Bowl next week…and as we have a few days of rest this week….I thought you might like to get a glimpse of the future.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

a Loooooong Time ago........

The attacks on the World Trade Centers happened two months before. The Concorde was still making trans-Atlantic flights. Enron had not yet filed for bankruptcy and Kenneth Lay was still working there.

That’s how long it has been since Auburn has lost to Bama.

Milton Berle was still alive. So was George Harrison. The Euro was not the legal tender for the 12 European Union Members. Windows XP was only 1 month old. Nintendo Game Cube was released only two weeks earlier.

That’s how long it has been since Auburn has lost to Bama.

The Baltimore Ravens were the reigning Super Bowl Champions. David Duval was the British Open Champion. Evander Holyfield was the WBA Heavyweight Champion.

That’s how long it has been since Auburn has lost to Bama.

Saddam Hussein was still President of Iraq. Bill Clinton began the year as U.S. President, and George W. Bush was sworn in after the year began.

That’s how long it has been since Auburn has lost to Bama.

Johnny Cash won the Best Country Male Vocalist Award for “Solitary Man” at the Grammys. The song of the year was U2’s “Beautiful Day” and the Grammy for the best rock song was “With Arms Wide Open” by Creed.

That’s how long it has been since Auburn has lost to Bama.

Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Kevin Millwood were pitchers for the Braves. Jeff Francoeur was a junior at Parkview High School and Brian McCann was a junior at Duluth High School.

That’s how long it has been since Auburn has lost to Bama.

My oldest daughter, who graduated from Auburn University in May, was just a junior in High School. My son, who is in the 5th grade, was only in pre-school…not even kindergarten.

That’s how long it has been since Auburn has lost to Bama.

Fear the other hand.

War Eagle!

The Iron Bowl

The Iron Bowl. Saban Nation vs. Auburn Family. History.

It was February 22, 1893. On a cold, blustery day at Lakeview Park in Birmingham, Auburn and Alabama played their first football game. Approximately 2000 people showed up to see Auburn whip Bama, 32-22.

This should have shut the Tuscaloosan’s mouths, but being the ancestors of today’s loudmouth rednecks, and having the first generation of the defective pachydermian gene, the Alabama faithful couldn’t swallow their “getting beat” medicine and take it like a man. Instead, they chose to argue. (And we full well know how strong THAT part of the gene is!!)

Immediately following the game, Alabama claimed that this loss was the final game of the 1892 season, which had been over for almost two months. Auburn took the more logical approach and said, no….this was the first game of the 1893 season, since it was agreed to play the game after the 1892 season had already ended. And after all, it was now almost the 3rd month of 1893. And so, Auburn recorded it as the first win for 1893. And Bama? They recorded it (and still is, according to THEIR records), a loss for their 1892 season. They just couldn’t stand the thought of starting their year off with a loss to Auburn, so they chose to just rewrite history. (Again, things don’t fall far from the tree, do they??)

In 1907, the games were suspended. There are many urban legends as to why, but most Iron Bowl historians agree that these were the germane issues: (1) they couldn’t agree on how much players should be paid for expenses. Auburn thought that players should be paid based on how far they had to travel. And since the game was in Birmingham, and most of the Auburn players came from southern rural Alabama, their costs should be considered. Bama, on the other hand, thought all players should get the same. Yet over 90% of their players were from the Birmingham area. Interestingly, the NCAA today takes the same position that Auburn took back in 1907, which Bama didn’t agree to. Seems like Bama hasn’t wanted to agree with the NCAA for a looooooong time. Must be genetic. (2) the two schools couldn’t agree on where the officials would come from. Bama thought they should come from Birmingham, and Auburn thought they should come from out of state. Simple question of fairness, don’t you think? Well, “Birmingham Homecooking” meant more to Bama than continuing the rivalry, so they picked up their little stuffed elephants and went home.

In 1948, the Iron Bowl was resumed and on November 24, at Jordan-Hare Stadium, the 72nd rendition will be held.

It is interesting what the two schools call themselves today. It is the attitude they will bring to the game. Auburn calls itself “the Auburn Family”. This exudes a sense of family…of togetherness…of fairness and decency….of right….and it has been genetically passed down from our ancestors in this great rivalry.

The other side calls themselves “the Saban Nation”. It’s all about 1 man. Not even a mention of their school. It exudes the sense of selfishness….of “me more than us”…of spoiled brat….of childishness and lack of maturity….of win at all/any costs….of no regard for rules and what is right. And as has been pointed out above….this has been genetically passed down from their ancestors in this great rivalry.

In fact, you could point to two things that sum up what I have written above:

Shug. Bear.

The Auburn Family vs. the Saban Nation.

That about says it all.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR.

Black Holes

When I was in college I took two semesters of Astronomy in the, at that time, brand new Rollins Planetarium. In fact, I was in the first class that actually got to use it. For some reason I loved astronomy. I can’t say that I ever understood the mathematical concept of the universe being curved, or that only infinite mass could travel at the speed of light, but there were some pretty cool things that I learned.

One of those was “Black Holes”. For those of you who don’t know what a black hole is, let me first tell you what it isn’t. It isn’t the middle of a donut that is in a room with no lights. It is, however, a region of space in which the gravitational field is so powerful that nothing can escape after having fallen past the event horizon. They are best described by using Einstein’s theory of relativity. But enough of the brainiac stuff.

A black hole is that region of space in which the gravitational field is so powerful that nothing can escape after having fallen past (into) the event horizon. Boy does that ever summarize this past Saturday night at Sanford Stadium.

Maybe it was just a Black Hole. Oh, they called it a Black Out. But blackouts simply mean there was no light…..and for Auburn, that was true. But it was even more true that Auburn came into a region of space (Sanford Stadium) in which the electricity magnetism was so powerful, that they could not escape after having fallen into the event of the Auburn-Georgia game. It was an all-black, total Black Hole.

Einstein’s theory of relativity basically says that when a large enough amount of mass that is doing the same thing (wearing black, for instance!) within a sufficiently small region of space (Sanford Stadium, for instance!), all paths through that space (the entire playing field, for instance!) lean strongly inwards towards the center of the space (homefield advantage, for instance!) forcing all matter to fall it’s way (and that is just what happened in the 4th quarter…everything fell the Dogs way).

One of the most interesting things about black holes is this…there is no escape. Once something falls into one, it cannot escape. The effort required to escape a black hole is basically infinite, and therefore if a team has tired legs from playing eleven straight weeks, it will not have enough strength and effort to escape once it falls into the black hole.

One other thing needs to be stated, and that is what happens to something once it has been engulfed by a black hole. It can only escape through a worm hole, and worm holes can only be understood through quantum mechanics.

I hope to goodness that Auburn, these next two weeks, can find a worm hole to escape from the total magnetic meltdown that occurred in the black hole event this past Saturday….and through that hole find a way to the pre-black hole existence it had prior to Athens.

I hate black holes.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

No Show

It was supposed to showcase Knowshon Moreno. Or, showcase a defense that has all the tools to stop him. It was supposed to be two former teammates and current close friends matching wits against each other. It was supposed to be the all-black “blackout” vs. the team that hasn’t lost in white since 2003. It was supposed to be.

What happened was a No-Show. Auburn’s secondary was a no-show. Auburn’s interior linebackers were a no-show. Auburn’s vertical passing game was a no-show. Auburn’s ability to get a wide receiver to break open down the field was a no-show. And Auburn’s creativity was a no-show. And that team that had lost by less than one score against EVERY team it has lost to? No-Show.

What I saw on Saturday night looked a whole lot more like the team I saw that played Mississippi State and South Florida, than the team I saw play Florida. Where was that team? A no-show.

And as for Moreno? Well, Brandon Cox was certainly no Dan Morino. On several occasions he should have either run with the ball, or thrown the ball out of bounds. Instead, he took sacks, heaved prayer balls, and threw interception after interception. Nice way to start the game (remember Mississippi State??)

Auburn has some real problems it must address. It cannot win with an offense that continues to struggle the way this one did. In six SEC games this season, Auburn has scored two or fewer touchdowns. Vanderbilt is the sole exception. And though I am as big a fan as any of you reading this, that statistic, my friend, makes Auburn a tier two team in this league. It won’t cut it. And it won’t win.

Tommy Tuberville said after the game that Auburn "got a real good whipping."
You think??

Rebounding from this No-Show Debacle that I witnessed in Athens, Georgia on November 10, 2007 will be very, very difficult. Alabama will be madder than....well, you know madder than what.... at giving one away to Mississippi State. They will look at the film of the Auburn-Georgia game and see a team that is very beatable. And as for Auburn…..I’m afraid they may still be wondering what in the world just happened....or looking for the bus that was supposed to arrive in Athens in time for yesterday’s game….but was a No-Show.

War Eagle,

WJLaneSr

Andy

Saturday, the record was broken. It was held by three of the leagues best, and against Vanderbilt last Saturday, he broke it. The old mark of 13 was held by James Bond (Mississippi State, 1983), Derrick Ramsey (Kentucky, 1977), and Andy Johnson (Georgia, 1971). They were all quarterbacks who scored 13 touchdowns in a single season, and were tied for that record until Tim Tebow broke it on Saturday with 14.

Now, I have to tell you. I am not much of a Tebow fan. My wife likes him because he was homeschooled. I saw him play in the Swamp against Auburn, and though I thought he was pretty good, I didn’t think he was the next best thing to sliced Sunbeam White Bread.

But this blog is not about Tebow.

Rather, it is about my friend. He had cancer this past year. The cancer caused him to have two different surgeries on his throat. He is very lucky, because throat cancer can be extremely dangerous. Just ask Pat Sullivan.

I got to know him about 17 years ago. He and his partner Dan were brokers for our life and disability insurances for the company I worked at. Because these were areas that fell under my responsibility, I got to know both of them pretty well.

We did a lot of work…played a lot of golf…went on several quail hunts together…and went to some ballgames together. Over the years, I got to know his wife and some of his children. I heard the pride in his voice when he talked about his daughter playing soccer for the University of Mississippi. I heard all about his other daughter running a bar in Boston.

To many people he was a legend. I guess because I was never a Bulldog fan, to me he was just my friend. I have been out with him on many occasions when people would walk up and ask for his autograph. One time, I asked a person, “would you like mine, too?” He looked at me and said, “I don’t know…who are you?” I looked at my friend and said, “the guy who knows all of his dark secrets!”

On Saturday, my cousin, his son, my son and I will be tailgating with him. I look forward to seeing him again, and although he will clearly be in his element, and many people will see him as a celebrity, to me he will just be a friend I get to introduce to members of my family.

Oh, his name is Andy Johnson. The quarterback from Georgia who held, and then was tied, for the most touchdowns in one season by any quarterback in the SEC for 36 years. That record was broken on Saturday.

And for those of you who don’t keep up with Georgia Bulldog football, Andy was chosen as the nations top college sophomore quarterback by Football News in 1971, and after graduation was drafted to play for the New England Patriots where he spent 8 years as a running back. He was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.
To me, however, he is just a friend. And as one friend to another, I will look at him and say, “War Eagle….I hope ya’ll lose”.

But personally, to me, he will always be a winner.

War Eagle,

WJLaneSr

TT

In 2000, while still head coach of the LSU Bengalcubs, (anti) St. Nick the Red, (or at that time purple…before was green, after was green again, not sure what color is next) lost to him. He was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma for two years before becoming a head coach. When Oklahoma State was looking for a head coach, he was named as one of the five best up-and-coming candidates along with --- at that time --- Rich Rodreguez who was the offensive coordinator at Clemson, Les Miles who was with the Dallas Cowboys, Gary Darnell who was the Western Michigan head coach, and Steve Logan who was the East Carolina Head Coach.

He recruited in a state where his team was considered by most to be 4th on the list of universities that a college prospect would want to attend and play ball. He oversaw his teams rise from non-scholarship division III to division 1. And he left UAB for Tennessee Tech.

Of course, I am talking about Watson Brown, the older brother and personal confidant of younger brother, Mack Brown.

He will lead his Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles into Jordan-Hare Stadium this week to take on our Auburn Tigers. The Golden Eagles are 4-5 on the season, and have struggled on several occasions. This past Saturday, they lost to Pat Sullivan’s Samford Bulldogs by a score of 59 – 52.

Tennessee Tech rolled up 488 yards of offense on Samford, including the 7th time this season that running back Derek White rushed for over 100 yards. He now has over 1000 yards for the season. Wide receiver and special teams returner Larry Shipp was named the Ohio Valley Conference’s player of the week, however, as he amassed over 301 all purpose yards in the game. He returned one kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown, which was his 4th kickoff return for a TD this year. How does he do it? Well, he is 5’9”, 185 lbs. and runs a true 4.29 forty yard dash. Shipp also had 7 receptions for 191 yards in the game, and has caught at least 1 pass in all 41 games the senior has played in while at T.Tech.

This is the first ever meeting on the gridiron for Auburn and Tennessee Tech. The game appears to be an obvious mismatch. Auburn has won its last 15 homecoming games, and this should be #16. Auburn is bowl-eligible for the eighth straight season, and that is the second longest streak in school history. Auburn has held 3 of its last 4 opponents to under 10 points, and is averaging giving up 15.8 points per game. Auburn is 2nd in the SEC and 8th in the nation in both points allowed and total defense.

With not much more to say about this ballgame, let me just end it with…

War Eagle!!

WJLaneSr

Ugly Penny

In 1872, Hans Christian Andersen wrote a story that most every child has heard or was read. “The Ugly Duckling” is a story of tolerance and how inner virtues overshadow and overcome physical attributes. In the Broadway Musical “Honk”, an adaptation to Andersen’s story, the ugly duckling’s name is “Ugly Penny”.

When I look back at the game between Auburn and Ole Miss this past Saturday, those are the two things that stick out the most. Ugly and Penny.

My seats are in Section 41. They are directly under the goal posts in the north endzone on row 1. I love these seats because they are right down on the field where the action is. Not only can you hear the pads “pop” when the players hit each other, you can also hear them “smack-talk” each other. Standing in the aisle, right beside me, was Mr. Penny.

I don’t know Mr. Penny. But the Lee County Police do. So do the security personnel, the photographers, the Auburn ball boys, and even several of the Auburn football players. Heck, even one of the coaches knew him. He stands in the aisle between section 41 and 42 leaning on the brick wall that separates the sheep from the goats…..or in this case, the fans from the field. And as for the aforementioned people, each who from time to time would walk in front of us just behind the endzone; they would walk over, shake his hand and say, “Hey, Penny! How are you?” Mr. Penny also has a ritual. When Auburn gets a first down, he leans against the wall and does 10 pushups. If Auburn scores, he leans against the wall and does 50 pushups. And this is enough to draw a tremendous amount of attention.

Because of Mr. Penny, my son (and I), found ourselves on the Jumbotron several times. We also made the CSS rebroadcast of the game, because I watched it and saw a close-up of my son pointing to Mr. Penny’s sign that reads “Go Tigers, Let’s Win…Mr. Penny Said That”.

Mr. Penny is a character. In between his cheerleading, pushups and handshakes, he told me he was a steward at the Missionary AME church. He said that the were having Annual Conference this week, and his job was to keep clean towels for the preacher so that when he sweats, he can wipe his head. He said that his preacher “breaks down….and brings it home.”

Another thing Mr. Penny said over and over regarding the game was, “It ain’t purty, but it’s a win!” About that, he was right. It wasn’t pretty.

This brings me to the second thing I remember about Saturday. Although we moved the ball all over the field, on offense, it was ugly. Not bad ugly. More like boring ugly. The defense was great most of the game, but the offense was boring ugly.

However, I must admit…..I like a boring ugly win a whole lot better than an excitingly pretty loss. And at the end of the year, even an Ugly Penny, when put in the win column, looks like every other Swan lined up in that same column.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSR

I wonder

Tommy Tuberville said the game was in their grasp. The players were playing to win, and not just to play good. He said that even though there was a tremendous effort, that coming up short was still coming up short. He applauded the team's effort, especially the way they went into one of the most difficult stadiums for a visiting team to play in, and yet had a chance to win.

He went on to say that the team was not a very good third quarter team, on either side of the ball. He expressed his concern that in the third quarter, the team was converting 3rd downs less than 50% of the time. He said that the only way to get better in the 3rd quarter was to coach better in the third quarter. It was still a very young team, and young teams must be "coached up." He took all the blame on himself.

Why?

Because his Ole Miss Rebels had just lost a game to the Auburn Tigers that they should have won. That’s right….ten years ago…1997….Head Coach Tommy Tuberville of the Ole Miss Rebels brought his team into Jordan-Hare Stadium and stood toe to toe with the 16th ranked Auburn Tigers, losing in the last minute due to a Dameyune Craig bomb to Tyrone Goodson.

I guess you thought I was writing about the 2007 Auburn Tigers. The first two paragraphs could have been cut from today's headlines. But no, this was a decade earlier. 1997.

The game was an 11:30 a.m. kickoff. And the Auburn offense overslept. Before they knew what hit them, Auburn was behind 9-3. Auburn scored a third quarter touchdown, to make the score 10-9. The outcome was in serious doubt until Ryan Taylor, the safety turned linebacker from Dublin, Georgia, sacked the Ole Miss quarterback for a safety. With the game now at 12-9, and Ole Miss having to kick the ball to Auburn, it was Dameyune Craig and Tyrone Goodson’s time to shine.

Craig and Goodson, a senior tandem back in 1997, made sure that Auburn would seal the victory. With the ball on the Ole Miss 49 yard line, Goodson split two defenders and made a leaping catch of a perfectly thrown ball from Craig. He came down hard on the two yard line. The very next play, Craig tossed a well-thrown timing pattern into the endzone which Tyrone Goodson came down with, making the score with PAT 19-9.

At the postgame interview, Coach Tommy Tuberville of the Ole Miss Rebels was filmed saying, “Peyton who? Dameyune Craig is the quarterback I’d rather not face in this conference. And that includes Peyton Manning. After today, I think you can see why I believe that Dameyune Craig puts more pressure on you than any quarterback we will play all year. He’s the best I’ve ever seen.”

And that was a decade ago. I wonder why his teams still struggle in the third quarter. I wonder if Tommy Tuberville, head coach of the Auburn Tigers, still feels that way about Dameyune Craig? I wonder if 10 years from now, his teams still struggle in the third quarter.
I wonder what this year's version of Auburn vs. Ole Miss will bring.

I wonder.

War Eagle,

WJLaneSr

Blue Math

My oldest daughter is very good in mathematics. In fact, while at Auburn, she almost took enough mathematics to minor in the discipline. I, on the other hand, was never very good at mathematics. Perhaps for me it was that I spent not enough time chasing linear algebraic equations, and way too much time chasing abstract quadratic fun.

I do remember one thing from college algebra, however. I remember that in abstract algebra, the term “center” denotes the set of all those elements that commute with all the other elements. And though I think I still don’t fully understand “commutative property” as is used in binary operations, I do understand something about language. For me, the important thing about “commute” is the root word. It comes from the Latin word “communis”, which means “common”. We get the word “communicate” from it.

Therefore, the term “center” denotes the set of all those things surrounding it, and hence, communicates effectively with them.

And that is exactly what a Center does on a football team.

It was 40 years ago. The 1967 Auburn Tigers, under head coach Ralph “Shug” Jordan, had an offensive line that was anchored in the middle by one of the finest to ever play the game. He was their center, and their captain. He was the one who called the offensive blocking schemes at the line of scrimmage. He understood defensive line formations so well, that he was given the freedom to change the blocking schemes based on the play that was called, and the formations he saw when he came to the line of scrimmage. His teammates called him a “playing line coach”.

He snapped the ball to Loran Carter, Auburn’s quarterback who led the SEC in passing that year. His teammates included “Captain Crunch” Mike Kolen and Buddy McClinton. All-American Freddie Hyatt played for that team. And he was, for his time, one of the largest to ever play the position. He was 6’5”, 260 lbs. in 1967.

Forrest Blue was not only the captain of Auburn’s 1967 Tigers, but he was named “Most Valuable Lineman” at the senior bowl. He went on to have a stellar career in the National Football League. Blue was a first round draft choice of the San Francisco 49ers, and was All-Pro and a Pro-Bowler from 1971 through 1974. He played for the Baltimore Colts from 1975-1978. While playing for the 49ers, one of the quarterbacks who took his snaps was none other than Steve Spurrier.

The interesting thing about mathematics is that it comes from the Greek word “mathema”, which means “to learn”. So, I hope that you have “learned” about one the great “centers” of Auburn lore…….Forrest Blue…..communicator and captain of the 1967 Auburn Tigers.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

Almost

My son fell asleep during the ballgame. He just couldn’t stay awake any longer. It was early in the third quarter, and Auburn was still ahead. This morning, when he woke up, his first words to me were, “Dad, don’t tell me who won…I want to see it on Sports Center.”

As soon as the television was turned on, the recap of the game was beginning. I stood there and watched….again….the painful catch on the last play. I thought to myself, “and Auburn loses on the last play.” Much to my surprise, my son’s comment to me was, “Gosh….we almost won on the last play.”

What a difference in the way to see last night’s ballgame! To me, I went to bed thinking “Auburn lost on the last play.” My son woke up this morning and said, “Auburn almost won on the last play.” If ever there was a negative way of looking at something (my view), and turning it to a positive way of looking at it (his view), this is it.

It made me think about the word “Almost”. According to the New English Oxford Collegiate Edition Dictionary, “almost” means “having all of the elements except for the finish.”

Auburn almost won. LSU was, by most prognosticators, one of the two best football teams in the nation. Auburn almost won. LSU had the best defensive line in the country. Auburn almost won. LSU had a homefield advantage in one of the most difficult venues for a visiting team to play in. Auburn almost won. LSU is a veteran team with veteran All-Americans on both sides of the ball. The mostly young Auburn Tigers almost won.

Auburn went head to head with LSU, having all of the elements to win the ballgame last night. Most portenders of College Football foretelling didn’t believe Auburn could. Auburn had all of the elements needed to win the football game last night except the finish on a miraculous catch by LSU. Auburn almost won.

Just a few weeks ago, this same team had over 15 turnovers in three games and was 1-2. The season was “almost” over. It had all of the elements to be a memorable season of disaster. Almost. Except for the finish.

We are now seeing the finish.

Though we were on the short end of the stick last night, Auburn has a very good football team. And though they weren’t supposed to, Auburn almost won. This after going on the road to beat Florida and Arkansas, with a home win vs. Vandy thrown in the middle.

What a finish indeed. Last night, Auburn almost won.

War Eagle,

WJLaneSr

What's in a Name?

"What's in a name? That which we call a roseBy any other name would smell as sweet."
Lest you think all I read or am interested in is Auburn Football (which, according to my wife, on most occasions would be correct), this is actually one of my favorite lines from one of my (and here’s the deep, dark secret that you didn’t know about me) favorite plays….Romeo and Juliet. It is found in Scene II, Act ii, Lines 1-2.

Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet meet and fall in love in Shakespeare's lyrical tale of "star-cross'd" lovers. They are doomed from the start as members of two warring families. Here Juliet tells Romeo that a name is an artificial and meaningless convention, and that she loves the person who is called "Montague", not the Montague name and not the Montague family. Romeo, out of his passion for Juliet, rejects his family name and vows, as Juliet asks, to "deny (his) father" and instead be "new baptized" as Juliet's lover. This one short line encapsulates the central struggle and tragedy of the play.

So, if that be the case, then “what’s in a name?”

It’s kind of funny what we give names to. People, pets, boats, cars, body parts. No, I won’t comment on that….

We even give names to games. In fact, no college football series has more games with a name attached to it than the Auburn – LSU game. What, you don’t remember?

1988 was the “Earthquake Game.” With 1:47 left to play, LSU Quarterback Tommy Hodson found Running Back Eddie Fuller open on a crossing pattern for a touchdown on fourth and goal. The crowd eruption was so intense that it registered as an earthquake on the seismograph located in LSU’s Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex.

1994 was the “Interception Game (Pass Jamie Pass…Disaster on the Plains…same game)”. The Bengal Tigers of LSU led 23-9 entering the fourth quarter. LSU quarterback Jaime Howard threw five fourth quarter interceptions - three returned for touchdowns - as Auburn extended their winning streak to 15 games with a 30-26 win. That game cost Curley Hallman his job as LSU’s Head Coach.

1995 was the “Bring Back the Magic…Whistle Game”. LSU donned its white jerseys for a home game for the first time in 15 years, inspiring the Bengal Tigers, behind the play of QB Jaime Howard, to a 12-6 victory over fifth-ranked Auburn. And though LSU calls this the “Bring Back the Magic” game, we Auburn Tigers refer to it as “the Whistle Game,” because Patrick Nix was sacked for a safety when he stopped play after a fan in the stands blew a whistle. The whistle could be heard over the television broadcast and was even reported on the broadcast that a whistle had been blown calling the play dead.

1996 was the “Barn Burning Game”. LSU defeated Auburn 19-15 that year while the old Auburn Sports Arena, affectionately called "the Barn", burned to the ground across the street from Jordan-Hare Stadium. The fire began when a tailgater placed a barbecue grill too close to the building. Scenes of the fire were captured by ESPN during the national broadcast as flames were seen as high as the Jordan-Hare west upper-deck. The game was never delayed, and the Auburn public address announcer continually advised fans not to worry: "the stadium is not on fire; the flames are outside the stadium."

1999 was the “Smoke ‘Em if you Got ‘Em Game.” It was Tommy Tuberville’s birthday, and as a present, Auburn handed him a 41-7 drilling of LSU in a rare day game at Baton Rouge. In celebration, the Auburn players and coaches smoked cigars on the field at Tiger Stadium, much to the chagrin of the whipped LSU players and fans. This is cited among LSU faithful as the day the rivalry between LSU and Auburn officially began.

2004 was the “Extra Point(s) Game”. Defending national champion and fourth ranked LSU visited Auburn just days after Hurricane Ivan. Under Coach Nick Saban, the Bengal Tigers took a 9-3 lead but couldn't convert the extra point. Auburn tied the game with 1:14 left to play when Jason Campbell threw a 16-yard TD pass to Courtney Taylor. Entering the game, Auburn had successfully converted on 190 PAT’s; however AU kicker John Vaughn missed the extra point. A rare personal foul penalty was called on Ronnie Prude of LSU for jumping on the back of Auburn’s Center, and Vaughn connected on the second chance. Auburn would go on to win the SEC Championship, finish 13-0, No. 2 in the final AP Poll, and No. 1 in the final Fan’s Poll.

2005 was the “Doink Game”. The hero of the 2004 game, John Vaughn quickly became the scapegoat in Baton Rouge, as the normally reliable kicker missed five field goals - his final kick bouncing off the right upright in overtime. Auburn and LSU tied for the SEC West championship, but the win allowed LSU to play in the SEC Championship Game. Kenny Irons, who was caught by ESPN cameras guaranteeing a 200-yard game, provided a dominating 218-yard performance and cemented himself as AU starter.

2006 was the “Interference Game”. The game was held at Auburn, with the highest head-to-head ranking ever between Auburn and LSU, and played what several athletes on both teams considered their most physical game of the season. Both teams were early season national title contenders. At the end of the first half, LSU managed a last second field goal to take a 3-0 halftime lead. Auburn took the lead with a third quarter touchdown, and had two fourth quarter stops to win 7-3 in the lowest scoring game since an LSU 6-0 victory in 1935. During their first stop, AU defensive back Eric Brock deflected a JaMarcus Russell fourth down pass as AU defensive back Zach Gilbert made contact with LSU WR Early Doucet. Initially calling pass interference, the officials waved off the flag because the ball was ruled uncatchable due to a tip after the interference, giving Auburn the ball. In the final moments, playing with no time outs left, JaMarcus Russell threw short of the end-zone to Craig Davis and Brock delivered a hit on the four yard-line to seal the Auburn victory.

Now that we’ve taken a little stroll down Auburn-LSU name-game history, my question for you is….what will THIS year’s name be?

After all….what’s in a name?

War Eagle!
WJLaneSR

Ken

I got the word at 6:20 p.m. Amsterdam time. It was 12:20 p.m. in Spartanburg. I am sure I shall always remember it. I wasn’t shocked, stunned or surprised. I was, however, brokenhearted.

He had struggled so much the last few weeks. One lung was no use at all…with no air capacity…no oxygen being taken into the supply of blood flow. The other lung was at approximately 20 % capacity. He was on pure oxygen flow, but continually asked to have his bed raised or lowered, the ceiling fan on or off, and the tubes realigned so that he could get more air. But he had pneumonia. It had set in as is often the case with someone in his condition. Cancer had destroyed his body.

I remember January 2001. I had just taken a job with Teijin, my current employer, and he had interviewed me. He was the Vice President of Manufacturing and Technology. My family and I were still living in Danville, Virginia, and I had a kidney stone attack. Unfortunately, this was an annual occurrence for me, and my Urologist had put a stint between my bladder and kidney. A couple of weeks later, I needed to have it removed, and a Urologist in Spartanburg agreed to do it. Of course, I had no home to recuperate in, no family to take care of me, no one to look after me. He told me not to worry, that he would take me to the doctor, take me to his house, let me recover there, regardless of how long it took, and his wife…who was a nurse….would take care of me. This they did. And more.

We traveled together in Europe. We were in Germany, in Austria, and departed from France. About one year later, I took Julie and Ansley with me to Germany and Austria, and to this day she accuses me of taking the “beer tour of Germany and Austria” with him. This is because everywhere we went, I would tell her, “oh yes…we had a beer there…”

I could tell so many stories about him and me. But I will keep most of them in my heart.

I saw him last week before I left Spartanburg for Holland. I reminded him of our trip to Europe, and told him that I would drink a beer for him while I was here. He looked at me, and said…”drink two”.

The call I received was from his son. He told me that my friend, Ken Bolin, had passed away about 15 minutes earlier. It was 6:20 p.m. I received the call in Holland. He told me that I was one of the first that Ken would want them to tell. He broke down during the conversation, and hardly made it through. I consoled him…tried to keep from breaking down myself….and finally said “goodbye.”

I called my wife and told her. I called our mutual friend, Ben, and told him. I sent a message to Ton in Japan, who is also a mutual friend, and our former boss. And then I went to the bar. This could have been a dangerous situation, but I didn’t allow it to be.

Ken…I had two beers for you. Actually, three. You would have appreciated that, and would have joined me with every one. In fact, you would have said, “Jeff, let’s have a beer or three.” I wish you could have been here. The froth was foamy, the beer was cool but not too cold, and the memories were almost overwhelming. I will miss you, my friend. You were more than a friend to me….you were my best friend in Spartanburg. I will always remember you. I will never forget you. I will cherish our friendship. And I already miss you….deeply.
Friends always……even beyond the grave…..Jeff.


WJLaneSr

What a Kick I got in Amsterdam

Oversized seats. Ability to lay back and put your feet up. Champagne. A fairly good dinner. Quiet. Sleep. These are a few of the reasons that I like Business Class on an international flight. I am very fortunate that my company allows me to fly Business Class, as it is SO much more comfortable and “work conducive” than Economy. And it was in Delta’s Business Elite that I flew from Atlanta to Amsterdam on Saturday evening.

Delta’s Business Class has two seats on each side, and two seats in the middle. I actually prefer the middle, because it means I have an aisle, and the person beside me doesn’t have to step over me to go to the bathroom or take a stroll. Unfortunately for me, the guy beside me was a big Ohio State fan, and the guy across the aisle from me was a big Florida Gator fan. And thought I enjoyed talking football with them for about an hour or so, I wanted to sleep. They wanted to talk. I was wondering how the Auburn Arkansas game was going. They were reliving last year’s national championship game. They were arguing the power of the Big Ten versus the SEC. I was trying to get my noise reduction Sony earphones to tune them out. Finally, after two Tylenol PM’s, I went to sleep.

I awoke as the captain announced that we were making our descent into the Amsterdam area. I could only think about two things. First, did my luggage make it, because I checked it. Second, did Auburn win or lose. It was 8:05 a.m. local time when we touched down….2:05 a.m. at home. I knew the ballgame was over. I knew that SportsCenter had given their analysis. I didn’t know the outcome.

I hustled through immigration and went to baggage claim. While there, I turned my cell phone on. It said I had two messages. The first message was from Orbitz, telling me that my flight was on time. The second message was from my son.

When you are in a foreign country, at an airport where you know absolutely no one, and where they speak a different language from you, any message from a loved one is welcomed. More than welcomed. Coveted might be closer to what it is.

Will’s voice came over the voice message through my cell phone and said, “Dad…we won. Auburn kicked a field goal at the very end of the game to win 9-7. It was just like Florida! And Dad…LSU lost and so did Cal. I love you….Will.”

I shook my fist and audibly said “War Damned Eagle…Yes!”

Florida boy was close to me. He looked at me…as did many people around me who had no idea what I was talking about…and said, “you must have won.”

I looked at him and smiled….and said, “yep…my son said we kicked a winning field goal at the end of the game….just like we did against ya’ll.” He smiled and walked toward customs. I did the same. I never saw him again. But I was as pumped up as if I had just seen the game myself. And though I didn't see it, I thought to myself...."what a kick!"

And to my son...what a kick...what a wonderful kick you gave me with that message....right here in Amsterdam.

War Eagle!
WJLaneSr

My Friend

When I was in college, I took several psychology classes, knowing that one day I would be working in SOME capacity where I had to deal with the human psyche. I took Introduction to Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Adolescent Psychology and others. No, I didn’t major or minor in it, but I guess I could have. But psychology classes don’t prepare you for your own emotions.

Today has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. First, I was excited because it is my wife’s and my second daughters’ birthdays. I love other people’s birthday, because I love to give gifts and see their faces…especially when they are surprised. To have both of their birthdays on the same day is really special. In fact, when my wife was pregnant with our second child, I told her that the baby would be born on her birthday because she loved her birthday too much (of course, I was right!!) I am cooking spaghetti for them tonight.

But the high of their birthdays was met with a very low also. As I posted in my blog earlier this week, I am traveling to Holland tomorrow. I will be gone for a week. This is during the same time that my best friend in Spartanburg has only a few days….maybe only a few hours….to live. I visited him yesterday and today. Today, I told him goodbye. He has severe bone cancer and is in severe pain. The cancer has destroyed his body, and he is ready to go home. I am SO overwhelmed with sadness about this. He was my golfing buddy, my confidant, my mentor and my friend. Today, he didn’t know me. He hasn’t been able to swallow water for two days. His time on earth is almost over, and my grief has only just begun. I REALLY regret that I will probably be in Europe when he goes home to see the Lord.

I know this is a big football weekend. As most of you know, I am as big a fan as any. But please, may I ask you….would you take a moment this weekend….either before or after the game…. and remember Ken. His wife’s name is Peggy. Their sons are Kenny and Steve, and they have three grandchildren. And he is my friend.

War Eagle,

WJLaneSr

A Bridge Too Far??

Arnhem is a typical Dutch town. It has a train station, is surrounded by many dairy farms, grows tulips, has a Van Gough museum, and has its own Red Light District. In fact, it is a law that every township in Holland must have at least one brothel that is regulated by the state, which, in their opinion, keeps organized crime out of the world’s oldest profession.

My wife, youngest daughter and I traveled to Arnhem 1 ½ years ago. The company I work for has the main European offices there. And now, I am traveling to Arnhem again. Unfortunately, I have a 12:30 p.m. flight on Saturday to Amsterdam, and will miss the Auburn – Arkansas football game. I HOPE I get a good internet connection when I arrive, so I can read about the game.

You may remember the book, or movie “A Bridge Too Far”. This is the story of the Allied attempt to push back the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands and liberate Holland at the Rhine River. The town was Arnhem. On September 17, 1944, 10,000 Allied paratroopers descended from the sky by parachute or glider behind enemy lines. Their goal: to secure the bridges across the rivers in Holland so that the Allied army could advance rapidly northwards and turn right into the lowlands of Germany, thereby skirting around the Siegfried line, which was the German defense line, and set up their own defense line. If all carried out as planned it should have ended the war by Christmas 1944. In order to succeed, the Allies had to put forth the best defense they had up to that point in the war. Unfortunately this daring plan, named Operation Market Garden, didn't have the expected outcome. The bridge at Arnhem proved to be 'a bridge too far'. After 10 days of bitter fighting the operation ended with the evacuation of the remainder of the 1st British Airborne Division from the Arnhem area.

Auburn faces a tremendous task on Saturday. The Hogs rushing game will be fierce. Auburn’s defense will need to control the line in order to secure a victory, and continue the liberation of its season. Fayetteville is a long way from Auburn, and the going will be tough. But it isn’t “too far”. To stop the rushing game of Arkansas is the primary factor needed for Auburn to secure a victory. Pull for them to do that while I am away.

War Eagle,

WJLaneSr.

I hate ties!

Former President Clinton liked his colorful and decorative. President Bush prefers red. Regis Philbin wants his to match his shirt. It is said that the Duke of Windsor has the largest collection in the world. And of course, Colonel Sanders wore the same black one, which became as much a part of his trademark as his mustache and goatee.

Ties have been made of every textile imaginable: silk, cotton, wool, rayon, lace, linen, rope, polyester, string, etc. They have been used to proclaim status, occupation, club membership, school affiliation, military rank, and to protect the neck and hide buttons. But whatever the material or use, I don’t like wearing them.

Maybe it’s my big neck. Maybe it is because I feel like I am choking. Perhaps it is because I always seem to be wearing a tie and white shirt when eating spaghetti. Oh, sure, it may look good, but it is uncomfortable. And in this day of business casual, I just prefer NOT to wear a tie unless I have no choice. Heck, I don’t even wear a tie to church anymore.

I just loathe ties.

All ties.

Fifteen years ago, the year when Arkansas gained admittance to the Southeastern Conference after spending decades in the AAA league Southwest Conference, they played the Auburn Tigers at Jordan Hare Stadium. It was 1992 and it was Pat Dye’s last year as head coach of the Auburn Tigers. Joe Kines was the interim head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks, taking over after Jack Crowe’s game 1 loss in the debacle with the Citadel.

Auburn’s James Bostic rushed for a career high 211 yards and two touchdowns that day. One of his touchdown runs was for 53 yards. Auburn outgained Arkansas 438 to 214 total yards. And on a day when they ran the ball up and down the field, Auburn remembered its greatest rusher of all time at the half. Bo Jackson was honored and his number 34 was retired that day. The day couldn’t have been any better for Auburn fans….or so we thought.

But this day belonged to the kickers. For all it’s abilities to run the ball, Auburn could only muster two touchdowns. Scott Etheridge kicked three field goals that day, including one at the three minute mark in the fourth quarter, to tie the Arkansas Razorbacks, 24-24. Arkansas kicked 4 field goals themselves, and returned an intercepted pass 85 yards for a touchdown. Pat Dye was quoted after the game as saying, “It eats my gut out to get a bunch of kids ready to play and get them to go out and play as hard as we can and not be able to enjoy a win, when we were supposed to win and when we should have won.”

And so, with no overtime in college football back in 1992, Auburn kissed it’s newest western cousin. A tie. 24 -24.

I hate ties.

War Eagle!
WJLaneSr

Honoring the '57 Auburn Tigers

I think I am a history teacher wannabe. I don’t quite know why, but I have always enjoyed history. Understanding what cultures were like before ours, how they rose and fell, how that influenced the future; these things just interest me. I also love to play those trivia games that require one to know a lot of meaningless factual data, the knowledge of which adds absolutely no value to anything. So maybe instead of a history teacher wannabe, I am a professional trivia player wannabe.

In any case, this is a week for remembrance. A week for history. A week to look back at the history of Auburn Football. Most of you know that on Saturday, the Tigers will be honoring the 50th anniversary of the 1957 National Championship Team by wearing all white, with no stickers on the helmet. Many activities celebrating their season will be held during the weekend. Most of us who read this blog, however, were either too young to remember the team, or not yet born. Therefore, I want to share a little of the history of that team that you might not find any place else. For those of you old enough to remember….enjoy the memory. For the rest of us….listen up, we might learn something.

Shug Jordan’s team in 1957 had a tremendous defense. In 10 games, they gave up a combined 28 points. Never did they give up more than 7 points in a game. And you thought playing tough, smashed-mouth defense at Auburn was only a recent thing! So buckle your seat belts and enjoy these two flashbacks.

Since we are coming off the tremendous win at Florida this past week, let’s begin by looking at the 1957 Auburn-Florida game. Cliff Hare Stadium was overflowing with a homecoming crowd of over 36,000. Auburn’s stingy defense held the Gators to only 36 yards rushing and 46 yards passing. I didn’t notice whether the quarterback was named “Tebow”. Auburn, on the other hand, gained 301 yards on the ground and 80 yards in the air, as the Tigers cruised to a 13-0 victory.

I would be remiss to leave the 1957 Iron Bowl out of the article. Birmingham’s Legion Field was packed with 44,000 shivering fans, as the temperature stayed in the 30’s. Tommy Lorino rushed 4 times for 56 yards, and intercepted an Alabama pass, running it back 79 yards for a touchdown. Auburn led 34-0 at halftime and never looked back. Winning 40-0, Auburn that day also won the Associated Press National Championship.

As Auburn takes the field on Saturday wearing all-white, close your eyes for a moment. Feel the history of Auburn Lore blow over you like the cool autumn wind. Remember that on this very gridiron, legends were made and heros were born. Remember that 50 years ago, a group of young men set the mark by which all future Tiger teams would be measured. Unfortunately, not all of them are still with us. But most of them who are will be honored on their field of battle. And when those young men….now gray haired and retired…..walk out onto the field to be honored, stand up. Take off your hat. Clap your hands. Loud. Stick out your chest. Be proud. Pay your respects to them. And never let your children forget…..THIS…is Auburn Football.

War Eagle!
WJLaneSr

"Just Another Day in Paradise" --- Phil Collins

It was just another day. I was a sophomore in college. The girl I was dating at the time became my wife 22 months later. I am not sure what I was studying at the time (besides her), but I know it was 2 days after her birthday. That would have been October 14, 1978.

I didn’t go to the game that day, and I am sure I didn’t see it on T.V. I was attending a junior college in the north Georgia Mountains, and the television reception was only good for 2.5 channels (the .5 was because NBC came and went, depending on the weather). The old Philco television in the dorm lounge had a set of rabbit ears, which were usually covered with yards of aluminum foil. The best reception occurred when someone had their hand on the foil, which caused everyone in the lounge area to yell at the unfortunate person touching the foil….”DON’T MOVE!!!”

Nashville, Tennessee was the setting for what, on that day, would become an Auburn record that Bo Jackson would tie, and only Cadillac Williams, 26 years later, would break. The weather was clear and crisp, as it can often be during a Nashvillian autumn. Van Heflin was the quarterback for the Commodores. Unfortunately, he was injured on that day, and had to leave the game early in the third quarter. But even if he had remained healthy, the day belonged to someone else. A person who would not only have a breakout day, but set an Auburn record that would stand for over 25 years.

On that day, Auburn beat Vanderbilt 49-7. They rode their workhorse running back, Joe Cribbs, who set an Auburn record by scoring 5 touchdowns in a single game. It was virtually impossible to tackle him on that day, and because of the “tear-away” jerseys they wore, strips of navy blue were scattered all over the field. It was a day of total domination by the Auburn Tigers.

In fact, were it not for an Auburn fumble in their own endzone by quarterback Charlie Trotman, Vanderbilt wouldn’t have scored at all. Fast Freddie Smith had blocked a punt, the Auburn defense led by Smith and James McKinney was dominant, and the offense ran at will.

It was a day for the record books. A day when an Auburn running back would make a name for himself. But when you think about Auburn running backs, and you think about days like this…..you realize that at Running Back U……it was just another day in paradise.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

100

100 is an interesting number. When a student takes a test and gets all of the answers correct, they get a “100”. A 100 year old person is a “centenarian (I have a great aunt, Ethel, who will be just that in the spring of 2008!) If I have a pretty good day on the golf course, I shoot 100. While we are mentioning golf, 100 yards is the minimum distance a Par 3 can be under USGA rules. Ben Franklin’s picture is on the $100 bill. For you scientists out there (like my elder daughter), you know that 100 degrees Celsius is the boiling temperature of pure water at sea level. A Scrabble game set has 100 tiles. But 100 isn’t always good.

If you have a 100 in the score for your eyesight, you are blind. In Belgium, if you dial “100” on the telephone, you have a medical emergency. And if 100 is the bottom number of your blood pressure, then your BP is high (and I am sure before Saturday’s final kick, mine was).

Many things happened in the year 100. The Roman army reached 300,000 strong. Bricks became the primary building material. Paper began to be used by the general populace in China. The wheelbarrow made its first appearance in the year 100. Justin Martyr, who became a great Christian apologist, was born. Finally, and I know you are waiting with baited breath to hear this bit of trivia; lions became extinct in the Balkans in the year 100.

On Saturday, there is another event surrounding the number 100. In case you didn’t know it, Tommy Tuberville needs just 1 more win to amass 100 victories during his career as a head coach. He has a career record of 99-51 in 13 seasons, and when he gets his 100th win, he will join the ranks of Steve Spurrier, Phil Fulmer, Rich Brooks and Houston Nutt as being the only coaches in the SEC to reach that mark. And no, that esteemed group does NOT include Saban, Miles, Mayer or Richt.

Therefore, at the Vanderbilt game on Saturday, while you are digesting your breakfast bagel and coffee, remember the number 100. Shout “War Eagle” 100 times during the game. Encourage the running backs to gain over 100 yards…each. Expect one of the receivers to have a breakout game and gain over 100 yards in receptions. Look for the defense to hold Vandy to less than 100 yards rushing and less than 100 yards passing. And most of all….wish Tommy Tuberville a happy 100th after the final horn sounds.
He’s earned it.

War Eagle

WJLaneSr

Tubs Legal Problem

Tommy Tuberville may be in more trouble than just the sideline warning he received on Saturday night. You remember his tirade….the one when he threw his earphones down in front of the head linesman referee and had to be physically restrained by Will Muschamp? Unfortunately for him….and maybe also for all Tiger fans….this may not be the only penalty or repercussion that Tuberville receives. Throwing a HUGE wet blanket over our red-hot celebration of a classic victory, it looks like there may be more punishment on the way. Evidently, Tommy Tuberville is being accused of violating State of Florida Code 24-143-79b.c (1) a.

Call him the best coach in the State of Alabama. You can’t argue that point. Call him a winner against the best. He’s 9-1 against top ten teams since he’s been at Auburn. Call him the Riverboat Gambler. Though of late, he hasn’t shown that as much, it is hard to look at his career and say that he isn’t. The one thing I thought I would NEVER hear said about him was the term “Felon”. Or worse, if he is convicted, “Convicted Felon”.

Yes, according to Florida Code 24-143-79b, which regulates the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission, it is a felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and up to $150,000 fine, according to subpart c(1)a “to….tease, harass, molest, capture and/or kill alligators.” The law goes on to say that “controlling, regulating, managing and/or owning alligators is strictly regulated and solely controlled by the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission.”

Tommy Tuberville may in fact be found guilty of all of the above. Controlling Gators. Owning Gators. Killing Gators. If and when a jury looks at the facts as laid before them, it would be very, very difficult not to find him guilty. And all it takes to find a person guilty in a court of law is to find them guilty beyond a “reasonable doubt.”

Look at the evidence. Tuberville brought an almost 20 point underdog into the nesting ground of the state of Florida’s protected reptile…the swamp….and systematically controlled, managed, owned and ultimately kicked the life out of it’s precious nest of baby gators. Where was bull gator when they needed him? (Someone said coaching another team against Mississippi State earlier in the day).

And if that evidence isn’t enough, his cohorts in crime….following the death dagger through the goalposts of the little cold blooded lizards hearts….teased and harassed the “left-for-dead” gators by doing their own version of the “chomp chomp”.

Fortunately for Auburn, Tuberville crossed state lines during the night and is now out of the jurisdiction of the great state of Florida. Maybe, and hopefully, they will choose not to prosecute him, but rather try to forget him. After all, there was another legal term at work on Saturday night. Tuberville brought it with him from Auburn, and left it in The Swamp. It’s called double jeopardy. The shape the gators found themselves in about 11:30 p.m. Saturday night after losing the second straight time to the Auburn Tigers.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

Swamp Thing

Tomorrow afternoon, my son and I head for the Swamp. We are meeting my cousin and his son for a weekend of family, fun, food, frosted mugs and football. And yes, with the way Auburn has been playing, I could have added another word that started with the same consonant, but let’s hope we’re not fish food.

Swamps, in general, are seen as creepy kinds of places. It has been the backdrop for a number of (less than) artistic endeavors. In 1973, Jim Stafford wrote a song about “Swamp Witch Hattie” which told about her living “back in the swamp, where the strange green reptiles crawl.” DC Comics had a long running and quite successful comic book series entitled “Swamp Thing”. The character was a humanoid mass of vegetable matter that fights to protect his swamp home. This lead to a 1990’s television series that ran for 3 years by the same name. Mark Lindsay Chapman, who starred in this forgotten and useless series, went on to have roles in such feature films as Legend of the Mummy and Titanic. And I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that Florida’s own Lynyrd Skynyrd had a hit song written by Ronnie Van Zant entitled “Swamp Music” (something about “gonna watch me a houndog catch a coon…”) Artists of all kinds have tried to somehow capture the mystique of swamps.

But for me, swamps have one characteristic above all others. Swamps smell. Oh, sure…they’re teeming with organisms, but swamps are usually gross and slimy and stink. And why are they gross and slimy and stink? Because they are stagnant! Because they cannot move! Because they are stuck in the same quagmired mud hole from now until forever! And this forces everything that deficates, urinates, rots or dies there, to stay and decay right there in that cesspoolish bog. And it stinks. It’s a post-Katrina Super Dome. Actually, you can make the argument that a swamp is nothing more than God’s personal septic tank. But hey…it happens!

Gators and snakes and green flies and maggots live in swamps. They try to eat and clean as much of the putrefied gunk as possible, but it’s a hopeless task. They will never be able to clean up their own back yard. And so they are relegated to life in a septic tank.

Why, then, would you give this acronym to your football stadium...."The Swamp"....???
I guess some people are enamored by swamps. They see them as mystical and eerie and spooky and frightening. They think that anyone who enters should tremble and be afraid. They think that “the swamp is alive with a thousand eyes, An’ all of them watchin’ you”. They think anyone who enters the swamp is gator bait.

Maybe. Or maybe not. Basically, swamps just stink. When Auburn invades The Swamp on Saturday, if they hold their noses AND the ball.....after the night is through and the stink is settled, we could just have an alligator grin on our face as we leave The Swamp, saying to a bunch of dejected Floridians …..”See ya’ later, alligator!”

War Eagle,

WJLaneSr

Kindergarten

When I was a little boy, about the age of 5, I attended Langdale Kindergarten. The Kindergarten was located adjacent to the Langdale Elementary School (where I started school), just in front of the Langdale Swimming Pool (where I swam), and just across the “underpass” from the Langdale Mill (Where my Great Grandfather, Grandparents, Father and later I worked). A few hundred yards south of the Langdale Kindergarten was the Langdale Methodist Church (where I worshipped), and a few hundred yards north of the Langdale Kindergarten was the Langdale Barber Shop (where I got my hair cut) and the Langdale Drug Store (where we got our medicine).

Do you think I may have lived in a very small village?

One other tidbit of trivia….this was the very same kindergarten, in the very same building, that my father attended when HE went to kindergarten. Today, it is called the Cotton Duck.

Kindergarten was a place where we played, sang, scratched, fidgeted, laughed, cried, caught every one else’s cold, got in trouble for throwing toys and unrolling all of the toilet paper the bathroom had to offer (that’s one I did and still remember), and generally took that huge step from being mama’s baby to elementary school student. It was an in-between time. Mamas didn’t want to let go….children didn’t want to sit still…and nature didn’t want to stop us from growing up. (Some of us grew up much faster than others….and SOME of us…this writer included…may STILL be more kid than grown up!) But the best thing about kindergarten was that it was a safe, protected, controlled environment that allowed children to make the transition with the least amount of conflict and pain.

Kind of like a red-shirt. I mean, that’s really what a red-shirt is, isn’t it? A year for the 18 year old high school graduate to mature, learn what college is all about, learn how to live away from home, learn how to study, learn the offense or the defense in a controlled, safe and protected environment? And do all of this with the least amount of conflict and pain, so that later, when they “move up” to become “upper classmen”, they have made the transition from high school to college and are equipped and ready to contribute at a high level.

But what happens when a program can’t afford to let its athletes go to “kindergarten”? What happens when you play 3 true freshmen on the line…a true freshman at quarterback…true freshmen at wide receiver and kicker and defensive secondary? They have to grow up fast. Really fast. And it’s hard….really hard. It’s not a safe environment for them…it’s not a protected environment…and it’s certainly not a controlled environment.

In the heat of battle, when the score is close or when the team is behind….it’s hard to remember that a lot of these kids should be in red-shirt kindergarten. And when kindergarteners get booboos and skinned knees, they need more attention than the older kids.

On Saturday, our youth brigade invades a swamp of gators, waiting to bite. The kids are a 20 point underdog. Every logical position one can take when looking at this game would tell you that this could be a massacre. That a 20 point spread might be conservative.

But there is one thing about kindergarteners. They can say and do the darndest things!

Even win games that no one else thinks they will win. And when they do…..all we can say is, “I’ll be darned”.

And then unroll all of the toilet paper the bathroom has to offer and look for the nearest tree.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

Yom Kippur

Saturday was strange. It all began for me at 6:30 a.m., when I went outside my hotel in Manhattan (the Marriott East on 49th and Lexington) to catch my ride to LaGuardia Airport. There were policemen and barracades everywhere. People were acting, well, not really afraid....but maybe a little paranoid mixed with a tiny bit of fear. I felt as if I were in the middle of the Buffalo Springfield song which has the line "Paranoia strikes deep.....Into your life it will creep.....It starts when you're always afraid.....Step outta line, the men come, and take you away...." What I didn't know was the United Nations, which was only a few blocks away, were about to begin their meetings. And the President of Iran was coming. (Glad I got the heck out of there!)

When I got back to Spartanburg, I drove straight to our church which was in the midst of celebrating "Apple Annie Days". This is a two day fall festival event to raise money for our in-state mission project....giving the transition house at the Methodist Children's Home in Columbia a complete face-lift with new plumbing, wiring, etc. The sun was baking outside, and my wife got sunburned doing her chore, which was monitoring the jumbo air-filled slide and jumping pillow for the kids. There was barbeque, bands, an auction, church yard sale, an auto show and....well...lots of stuff.

Our son had his first flag-football game, and he intercepted two passes (woo hoo!) He almost ran one back for a touchdown! Our oldest daughter got a nail in her tire in Charleston, where she goes to graduate school, which was a major pain and inconvenience for her.

Also yesterday, I found out that my very good friend who has bone cancer, which is not progressing fast...but rather is progressing at a RACING speed, now does not know many people who visit him. I am just sick about this.

And all of this happened yesterday on Yom Kippur.

Yes, yesterday was Yom Kippur. Actually, Yom Kippur began on Friday Night and ran through Saturday Night.

Yom Kippur is the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. It is the Day of Atonement. Atonement means "At One Ment"....becoming one again...becoming whole again.

It is a day of forgiveness and starting over. Of putting the past in the past and moving on. Of atoning for past sins. On the day of atonement, a goat was taken to the west gate of Jerusalem and put outside the gate. It was called the "Scape-Goat"....and yes, that is where we get the name. The scape goat took the sins of all the people on his shoulder, and was sent out so that the people had no sin anymore. You can see the symbolism as it relates to Jesus.

Much as I would like for this to be a religious post, today it is really not. It could be. And I may do that at some point.

But I want to get back to yesterday. I was thinking about Yom Kippur all day. And then I listened to the Auburn football game. Kodi Burns was the starter. Brandon Cox was the Scape Goat for all that had gone wrong in the last three games. I don't have to tell you what happened in the game, because you already know. Brandon Cox went from being Boo'd as the Scapegoat, to being cheered with chants of "Brandon...Brandon...Brandon..." by the student body. For him, it was a Day of Atonement. Not for his "football sins" alone....but for the entire Auburn family. Because as bad as Auburn played in the last three games....and committed many "football sins" that cost two games and almost cost a third....the booing of Brandon Cox was also a "football sin". We all needed a Day of Atonement. A Yom Kippur. A time to set everything straight. A time of forgiveness and moving on. I hope against hope, that last night we received our Yom Kippur. Let's move forward now, and beat Florida.

War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

"The Times They Are A Changin'..."

Bob Dylan was right, when he wrote that lyric. One thing always remains constant: change. Have you ever thought about how often, and how many different ways, we use the word “change”?

Change management, change your oil, change your underwear, “do you have any change?”, change jobs, change schools, career change, “going through the change”, change machine, change gears, “time for a cool change” (that’s a lyric from the Little River Band, for those of you who don’t know good music!).

I made a career change over 20 years ago. For the past twenty years, I have been in Human Resources. While in HR, I have changed companies 5 times, with 3 of my former companies no longer existing. When I first went into Human Resources, it was called “Personnel”. I started as a Personnel Assistant, became an Assistant Personnel Director, Personnel Director, Division H.R. Manager, Corporate H.R. Manager, and on up the “proverbial ladder” to the job I have today. There have been a lot of changes in my life “within” H.R. over the past 20 years.

But this blog isn’t about me.

Rather, it is about someone who worked for me when I had my first job as a Personnel Manager. I was working for WestPoint-Pepperell at the time, and I was assigned to The Advanced Fabrics plant as their Personnel Manger. When I arrived, I found that I had no benefits coordinator….that would be done by me….no safety/health coordinator….that would be done by me….no training manager….that would be done by me….and 1 part-time clerical person who was a student at Auburn University.

The interesting thing about my part time clerk was basically two-fold. First of all, the clerk was male, and second, his grandfather (whom he and most of the plant called “Pe-Paw”), was the retired Plant Manager who had basically started the business for West-Point Pepperell.

His name was Roddie, and he and I shared an office. My desk and his desk faced each other, and we shared a tape dispenser, stapler and in/out tray. I always thought that was kind of funny, because he would take mail, or forms that were for me, and reach over and put then in my “in” tray. I never understood why he didn’t just hand them across the desk to me.

Roddie was smart, and could write very well. I remember asking him one day what he wanted to do with his life….and his response was, “I don’t know. I might just work here for the rest of my life. It was good enough for Pe-Paw.” I told him he should think about Human Resources, and he told me he would.

Changes came for me and for him. I don’t think that I ever spoke directly to Roddie again after I left Advance Fabrics in 1989. The winds of change took me all across the southeastern United States, and the winds of change took him out of the world of textiles. But we both learned many things from Advanced Fabrics. I learned a lot about human resources. He learned a lot about weaving and spinning.

Today, he weaves details and spins story lines like the professional he is. He’s changed a lot since the days I knew him as Roddie. Because today, he is known as “Rod”.

Rod Bramblett. The voice of the Auburn Tigers. My, how things have changed.


War Eagle!

WJLaneSr

Bo Knows

He was the only player to rush for more than 4000 yards in his career at Auburn. He was timed, OFFICIALLY, at 4.12 seconds in the 40 yard dash. He was 6 feet tall and 210 lbs when he did it. Growing up, he claimed he was a cousin of Reggie Jackson, which to all official accounts, was not true. In his first game for Auburn, as a true freshman, he rushed for 128 yards on 10 carries. While at McAdory High School, he set six state class records, 4 of which still stand today. He won the Heisman Trophy, and is endeared to Auburn football fans forever.

Of course, we are talking about Vincent "Bo" Jackson.

Some things you might not remember about Bo. He played baseball for Auburn, but his senior season was cut short because the NCAA ruled that he was ineligible after he accepted a plane ride to Tampa to talk with and try out for the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers led him to believe it would NOT be an NCAA violation (and today, it wouldn't be one). Bo was so angry about this, that when Tampa Bay chose him as the #1 pick in the 1986 NFL draft, he refused to sign with them.

Bo signed a baseball contract with the Kansas City Royals, and on his first night behind the batting cage at Royals Stadium, he hit a ball that landed 462 feet away, at the base of the scoreboard in center field, and then another one into the water fountain beyond right field. Bo was using a borrowed bat at the time, because he didn't have his own.

But these aren't the memories of Bo that I want to put before you. Rather, I want you to think back 20 years ago. Yes, 20 years. It's been that long.

Bo decided that in addition to playing baseball, the sport that he really loved....he would give his "hobby" sport a shot. He signed a contract to play for the Los Angeles Raiders. On this particular night, it was his 25th birthday. In one of the most scintillating performances ever on Monday Night Football, Bo, whose main job was as an outfielder for the Kansas City Royals, moonlighted with the Raiders and set a Raider record by rushing for 221 yards and scoring 3 touchdowns on the Seattle Seahawks.

It really was 20 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Bo led off the Raider's 20 point second quarter by scoring on a 14 yard run when safety Kenny Easley fell down attempting to tackle him. Later in that same period, Bo ran around the left end and raced for a 91 yard touchdown run......unable to stop his 225 pound body, he just kept running into the tunnel of the Kingdome.

But this isn't what we remember, that made this night so special. For all of the Auburn fans watching....knowing that Brian Bosworth represented the best of the Southwest Conference and Oklahoma football specifically.....this was a showdown between Bo and Brian. The Southeastern Conference vs. the Southwest Conference. Good vs. Evil.

In the third quarter, on a second down play from scrimmage, Bo Jackson literally RAN OVER linebacker Brian Bosworth on a two yard burst. After the game, Bosworth said, "I think he should stick to baseball."

As I said in my post from yesterday, time just seems to get away from us. This happened 20 years ago, but it seems like only yesterday. Following that Monday Night Football spectacular, Bo did his "Bo Knows" commercials. Maybe you are wonder what Bo knows now.

Well, today he enjoys archery, and has almost 30 different types of bows. He doesn't follow most sports, but says he does enjoy watching the WNBA on occassion. He prefers to watch outdoor shows. He hunts two or three times a year on Pat Dye's farm just outside Tallassee,
Alabama. And he splits time between his Chicago suburb home and his Phoenix, Arizona home with this his wife and three children.

Twenty years later, Bo knows what he likes.


War Eagle

WJLaneSr