All things are become new

What a strange Labor Day Weekend. The dawning of the 2009 college football season. The end of summer. The beginning of a new school year. The Good Book would sum it up like this: "Old things have passed away, behold, all things are become new."

And yet, I entered the weekend feeling as though I were brining some old baggage with me. It felt a little like "not ALL things are become new."

Not that this was a typical and normal Labor Day Weekend for me. Quite the contrary. One of my daughters was in Charleston where she goes to school. Another daughter was in Charlotte where she will be attending school. And yet another daughter was on her pilgrimage way to Portland, Oregon. My wife was riding with her across the fruited plain, traveling some 3000 miles in a Honda Civic. They were enjoying the wide expanse of states like Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. All the while my son, who is 13, was spending the weekend camping in the North Carolina Mountains.

So that left me…and the dog.

Fortunately, I have a nephew who is going to school at Spartanburg Methodist College, and between him and my “Charlotte” daughter, they tag-team dog sat. This freed me up to take advantage of my favorite pastime. After all, Saturday was the start of a new Auburn football season. And besides, I already had someone lined up to teach my Sunday School Class for me.

So, all by myself, I loaded up my Expedition with a stadium seat and other paraphanelia. Then on Friday evening I headed for my parents house. They lived in a small town on the Alabama/Georgia border. What should have been a 4 hour drive turned into something much more. A large contingent of the Virginia Tech nation was heading to Atlanta, and the holiday weekend traffic had already begun. To top it off, when I got below Atlanta, I-85 is a total mess. Literally.

Arrive I did, though, and on Saturday I travelled to the Plains of Alabama with my parents to see the Auburn Tigers play.

Which brings me to the baggage I felt I was bringing. You see, I had this nagging feeling that Deja Vous was about to happen. That I was about to see a rerun of the Tony Franklin experiment. Not that I WANTED that to happen, mind you, but that shadow, like a little demon-dude, was sitting on my shoulder. And he was still sitting there when I entered Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Until I saw the kickers come out to warm up. I began to watch Assistant Coach Trooper Taylor working the sideline crowd (most of whom were recruits). He was jump-hipping them, sneaking up behind them and “goosing” them, jumping into their photo-ops, and just having fun. And the recruits were eating it up. They were laughing, high-fiving, and having a blast. Unlike what I saw last year, which was much more business-like when visiting with recruits.

The team came out with a vigor and enthusiasm that I hadn’t seen in quite some time. And the sideline signals didn't look like a cross-walk crowd in Manhattan just as the traffic light changes.

Then it dawned on me….this wasn’t a Tony Franklin team. Not at all. This was something different.

To continue the weirdness of the evening, a family of 6 showed up to sit in 4 seats right in front of us. They squeezed, sat on top of each other, and clearly didn't know Section 13's manners and etiquette. Oh, they weren't foul mouthed or bad, they were just standing up, taking pictures, talking to people around them, and asking questions about how much these seats cost, what did you think of the last coach, and what do you think of this one.

My dad leaned over and whispered a question to me. “Does he look like anybody to you?”

My response was direct and immediate. I told him “Yes, he looks just like Gene Chizik, and even sounds like him.” We agreed that this was as close to a twin as one could get. And I have to say, I’m not convinced RIGHT NOW that it wasn’t Coach Chizik’s brother.

The eagle flew pregame, and for the first time I ever remember, it flew outside the confines of the stadium for a minute…but came back in. The band played, the tigers roared, and as we all know, Auburn was victorious.

The baggage I came with was unloaded in Section 13 Saturday night. This wasn’t last year’s team. This was something else. Maybe something special. Well over 500 yards offense, the longest play from scrimmage in Auburn history, a true freshman who rushed for 150 yards (first time that has happened since Bo Jackson), and a second running back with over 100 yards rushing as well. Two 49 yard field goals….I could go on and on.

Will all this continue into next week when an SEC opponent comes into town? I don’t know. There’s not a little shadow-dude on my shoulder to tell me. After all, the old things have passed away, and behold, all things are become new.

WJLaneSR