Today is my birthday. I know, we all have them, and it beats the heck out of the alternative. Well, for me, it is a big one. I turned 50 today. Hard to believe, but it's true. I've seen 1/2 century, and I'm looking forward to seeing the other half.
I won't tell you what I wished for when I blew out my candles, but I will tell you
that with so many candles, I had time to wish for a lot of things before the fire and smoke set off the alarms. One of the things I wished for was a Rock. Which brings me to this story.
He was certain that Tony Mandarich would be the one. Speaking of the Michigan State giant, he said “Heck, he even got some votes for the Heisman Trophy!” In fact, Mandarich, the 6’6” 317-pound offensive tackle placed sixth in the Heisman voting.
But it was not to be for him on this day. Nor was it to be for Mark Stepnoski, the powerful guard from the University of Pittsburg.
No, because when the envelope was opened in the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Manhattan back in December, 1988, it was Tracy Quenton Rocker who had been voted the Outland Trophy winner as college football’s outstanding lineman for 1988. “I’m shocked. I’m surprised” was all Rocker could say. “I’ve been double teamed by offensive linemen all season, and I never expected this.”
It didn’t surprise his position coach, though. Wayne Hall, who was Auburn’s defensive-line coach, said of Rocker: “We didn’t do anything fancy to show him off, like moving him around. He was there at left tackle and the head coach of everybody we met said he was the best they’d ever played against. Of course, we also had a couple of other pretty good ones on the d-line with him.” Asked how he built Tracy Rocker into an Outland/Lombardi winner, Hall’s answer was simple and to the point. “I got out of his way.”
Frankly, it was pointless to move Rocker around. With Benji Rowland at nose guard and Ron Stallworth at right defensive tackle, Auburn had three all-conference defensive linemen opposing teams had to face.
Tracy Rocker was the one who struck fear into opposing coaches, though. When asked about Rocker following Auburn’s 20-10 dominance over Georgia in 1988, Coach Vince Dooley had only two words: “Sheer Dominance.”
Rocker’s 354 career tackles are the most by any Auburn down lineman in school history. He had 21 career sacks, and 48 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.
Quenton Riggins, who is now a color commentator for the Auburn Network, played linebacker just behind Rocker. He is quoted as saying, “Every week coach would fuss at me for not getting to the line to make a tackle. It was no use to fuss, but the truth is, Rock had them tackled before I could get there. It was just amazing to be behind him and see him dominate like he did.”
Well, today Tracy Rocker is coming home. He has been named the new Defensive Line coach for the Auburn Tigers. And if he can instill into the young defensive linemen anything of what he had when he was playing at Auburn, the defensive line should not be a concern.
One of Auburn’s greatest has come back home to coach. Welcome home, Tracy. Oh, and this was the very Rock I wished for.
So Happy Birthday to Me.
WJLaneSR
Monday, January 12, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Coaching Carousel
Waiting in line to receive a ticket from a bundled-up woman inside the big red cylinder shaped like a candle. Listening to the Christmas music bellowing through metal speakers. Walking across mushy sawdust evenly strewn across the Fairfax baseball field before climbing aboard the carousel centered over the pitcher’s mound. Finding the perfect horse and hopping on. Sometimes riding the inside horse. Sometimes riding the outside horse. Sometimes relegated to the middle horse. Racing the persons seated next to you. Never winning, but never losing. Always fun and exciting.
This was a Christmas tradition for all of us who called our home “the Chattahoochee Valley.” The annual Christmas Merry-Go-Round was not only a treat for youngsters, but for those young at heart as well. And this tradition continues even today, though at a different location.
My wife worked at a carousel when she was in high school. She heard the piped classical music and saw the hand-crafted horses and the smiling faces daily. She worked the Riverview Carousel at Six Flags over Georgia. Built in 1908, that carousel turned 100 this past year.
She always thought that getting engaged on that carousel while the music was playing and the horses were bobbing up and down might be the epitome of romanticism. I don’t really know about that, but I DO know it was not where we got engaged.
There’s another carousel taking place as well. This one has been called, appropriately I believe, the “Coaching Carousel.” And right now in the Southeastern Conference, it is in full force. Paul Gattis of the Huntsville Times even wrote an article about it this past week.
Borrowing some of his research, as well as my own observations, let’s climb aboard the carousel and look around.
Gene Chizik left Iowa State to become head coach at Auburn. Paul Rhodes left Auburn to become head coach at Iowa State. Ken Steele left Alabama to go to Clemson. John Chavis left Tennessee to go to LSU. Dan Mullen left Florida to go to Mississippi State. Ed Orgeron left the Saints, after leaving Ole Miss last year, to go to Tennessee.
You get the idea. Keeping up with the coaching moves is enough to make your head spin.
Like watching kids at a carousel. Sometimes climbing on the inside horse. Sometimes the outside. Sometimes relegated to the middle. Going up and down, and round and round. Only stopping long enough to let a new group on, while the old group scrambles for left-over and empty seats. And then the Merry-Go-Round begins again.
Just like college football.
WJLaneSR
This was a Christmas tradition for all of us who called our home “the Chattahoochee Valley.” The annual Christmas Merry-Go-Round was not only a treat for youngsters, but for those young at heart as well. And this tradition continues even today, though at a different location.
My wife worked at a carousel when she was in high school. She heard the piped classical music and saw the hand-crafted horses and the smiling faces daily. She worked the Riverview Carousel at Six Flags over Georgia. Built in 1908, that carousel turned 100 this past year.
She always thought that getting engaged on that carousel while the music was playing and the horses were bobbing up and down might be the epitome of romanticism. I don’t really know about that, but I DO know it was not where we got engaged.
There’s another carousel taking place as well. This one has been called, appropriately I believe, the “Coaching Carousel.” And right now in the Southeastern Conference, it is in full force. Paul Gattis of the Huntsville Times even wrote an article about it this past week.
Borrowing some of his research, as well as my own observations, let’s climb aboard the carousel and look around.
Gene Chizik left Iowa State to become head coach at Auburn. Paul Rhodes left Auburn to become head coach at Iowa State. Ken Steele left Alabama to go to Clemson. John Chavis left Tennessee to go to LSU. Dan Mullen left Florida to go to Mississippi State. Ed Orgeron left the Saints, after leaving Ole Miss last year, to go to Tennessee.
You get the idea. Keeping up with the coaching moves is enough to make your head spin.
Like watching kids at a carousel. Sometimes climbing on the inside horse. Sometimes the outside. Sometimes relegated to the middle. Going up and down, and round and round. Only stopping long enough to let a new group on, while the old group scrambles for left-over and empty seats. And then the Merry-Go-Round begins again.
Just like college football.
WJLaneSR
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl
In Mrs. Malleson’s ninth grade English class, I had to read an American fiction novel. I chose Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The basic premise of the book was that reading books to develop critical thinking is bad, and should be outlawed. Therefore, books were burned at a temperature of 451 degrees Fahrenheit. Because the book was written in 1953, it was supposed to remind the world of the “book-burning” that took place under Nazi, Germany, and how censorship is a thought-destroying force.
I quickly read the book, and forgot most of what I had read, as all good ninth graders would do. In fact, I’m surprised I even remember the theme of the book, much less pertinent details.
And then I remembered.
I guess I was a junior in college when I remembered Bradbury. Perhaps it was because, as liberal arts major, I began to see how literature and the arts enabled one to think critically. To form one’s own informed opinions and thoughts.
Or perhaps it was just because I happened to see a copy of his book in the college library, and gave no thought whatsoever to the education I was receiving.
Frankly I have no I idea why I picked it up.
But I did.
I picked up another book by Bradbury, only this time it was a compilation of short stories. One of those stories was entitled, “The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl.”
It is a story about a man who committed a murder, and then tried to cover it up. The more evidence he destroyed (wiping away finger prints, etc.), the more it made him the prime suspect, until finally, when all the fingerprints were removed, he was caught.
I haven’t thought about this short story in quite some time. Until this past week. And it was the title of the story that I remembered.
You see, it has been a LONG bowl season. And it’s not over yet. In fact, although all the BCS games except the National Championship Game has been played, there is still one non-BCS game to be played.
But as of Thursday evening, around midnight, after Oklahoma and Florida have finally run the clock out, we will have reached “the fruit at the bottom of the bowl.”
Oh, sure…I enjoyed several of the other bowl games. I enjoyed seeing Vanderbilt win their first bowl game since the mid 1950’s. I enjoyed seeing an Ole Miss team go to Texas and beat the high octane Raiders of Texas Tech. And I REALLY enjoyed seeing the Utes of Salt Lake City pour it on the Crimson Tide.
But I’m also tired. Tired of a ballgame every night. A ballgame that screams out to me, “Watch Me…..Watch Me…..”, and find in my weakness I comply.
Even though Auburn wasn't even playing in one of them, though it seems everyone else was, I would comply.
And now, I’m tired of not getting enough sleep. I’m tired of the bowl season, and I’m ready for it to be over. I’m so bowl saturated with bowls, that I really don’t care who wins the national championship. It's not going to be Auburn, so what does it matter.
Frankly, I’m just glad that we’ve finally reached the fruit at the bottom of the bowl.
WJLaneSR.
I quickly read the book, and forgot most of what I had read, as all good ninth graders would do. In fact, I’m surprised I even remember the theme of the book, much less pertinent details.
And then I remembered.
I guess I was a junior in college when I remembered Bradbury. Perhaps it was because, as liberal arts major, I began to see how literature and the arts enabled one to think critically. To form one’s own informed opinions and thoughts.
Or perhaps it was just because I happened to see a copy of his book in the college library, and gave no thought whatsoever to the education I was receiving.
Frankly I have no I idea why I picked it up.
But I did.
I picked up another book by Bradbury, only this time it was a compilation of short stories. One of those stories was entitled, “The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl.”
It is a story about a man who committed a murder, and then tried to cover it up. The more evidence he destroyed (wiping away finger prints, etc.), the more it made him the prime suspect, until finally, when all the fingerprints were removed, he was caught.
I haven’t thought about this short story in quite some time. Until this past week. And it was the title of the story that I remembered.
You see, it has been a LONG bowl season. And it’s not over yet. In fact, although all the BCS games except the National Championship Game has been played, there is still one non-BCS game to be played.
But as of Thursday evening, around midnight, after Oklahoma and Florida have finally run the clock out, we will have reached “the fruit at the bottom of the bowl.”
Oh, sure…I enjoyed several of the other bowl games. I enjoyed seeing Vanderbilt win their first bowl game since the mid 1950’s. I enjoyed seeing an Ole Miss team go to Texas and beat the high octane Raiders of Texas Tech. And I REALLY enjoyed seeing the Utes of Salt Lake City pour it on the Crimson Tide.
But I’m also tired. Tired of a ballgame every night. A ballgame that screams out to me, “Watch Me…..Watch Me…..”, and find in my weakness I comply.
Even though Auburn wasn't even playing in one of them, though it seems everyone else was, I would comply.
And now, I’m tired of not getting enough sleep. I’m tired of the bowl season, and I’m ready for it to be over. I’m so bowl saturated with bowls, that I really don’t care who wins the national championship. It's not going to be Auburn, so what does it matter.
Frankly, I’m just glad that we’ve finally reached the fruit at the bottom of the bowl.
WJLaneSR.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year and Luck...
In 1967, Bobbie Gentry wrote the ballad “Ode to Billie Joe”. One of the lyrics mentions them: “Papa said to Mama as he passed around the black-eyed peas, "Well, Billy Joe never had a lick of sense; pass the biscuits please."
I put them in a pot last night before we watched the ball drop. Letting them soak all night long, it made cooking them a lot quicker today.
Yes, I’m talking about those black-eyed peas.
Being from the Deep South, it is a tradition to eat black-eyed peas and collard greens or turnip greens on New Year’s Day. This is supposed to bring good luck for the year ahead.
So this morning, I cooked the peas with a piece of fatback and plenty of water. I made a pan of buttermilk cornbread, cooked some corn and pork, and settled in for a long day of parades, football, eating and relaxing.
I was always told that the peas stood for good luck, and the greens stood for paper money….the more you ate on New Years, the more you had that year.
Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day isn’t a tradition that began in the southeastern U.S., however. It actually goes all the way back to the Babylonians. In fact, in the Babylonian Talmud, compiled around 300 A.D., it is written that “these good luck symbols avail, and you should make it a habit to have Qara (a bottle gourd with water), Rubyia (black-eyed peas), Kartie (leeks or onions), Silka (spinach or other greens), and dates on the table at the beginning of each new year.”
Most southerners trace the "good luck" traditions back to the U.S. Civil War. Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman, would typically strip the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock and destroy whatever they couldn't carry away.
At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" and corn suitable only for animal fodder, and as a result didn't steal or destroy these humble foods. Many Southerners survived as a result of this mistake. A common expression at that time was “I’m just lucky to have some peas.”
So today, I ate some black-eyed peas for my family. And I ate some more for the neighbors. I even ate some for my beloved Auburn Tigers, who didn’t make it into this year’s bowl picture. Maybe a little luck will come their way as well.
And before you start fussing at me for eating peas and cornbread, I want to point out something. Black-eyed peas are a good source of calcium (211 mg in 1 cup) and Vitamin A (1305 IU).
So Happy New Year to you all. And as the words belted out in the song “Soulville” by the great Aretha Franklin so aptly put it: “I’m talking ‘bout the black-eyed peas, down in Soulville…..yeah!!!”
WJLaneSR
I put them in a pot last night before we watched the ball drop. Letting them soak all night long, it made cooking them a lot quicker today.
Yes, I’m talking about those black-eyed peas.
Being from the Deep South, it is a tradition to eat black-eyed peas and collard greens or turnip greens on New Year’s Day. This is supposed to bring good luck for the year ahead.
So this morning, I cooked the peas with a piece of fatback and plenty of water. I made a pan of buttermilk cornbread, cooked some corn and pork, and settled in for a long day of parades, football, eating and relaxing.
I was always told that the peas stood for good luck, and the greens stood for paper money….the more you ate on New Years, the more you had that year.
Eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day isn’t a tradition that began in the southeastern U.S., however. It actually goes all the way back to the Babylonians. In fact, in the Babylonian Talmud, compiled around 300 A.D., it is written that “these good luck symbols avail, and you should make it a habit to have Qara (a bottle gourd with water), Rubyia (black-eyed peas), Kartie (leeks or onions), Silka (spinach or other greens), and dates on the table at the beginning of each new year.”
Most southerners trace the "good luck" traditions back to the U.S. Civil War. Union troops, especially in areas targeted by General William Tecumseh Sherman, would typically strip the countryside of all stored food, crops, and livestock and destroy whatever they couldn't carry away.
At that time, Northerners considered "field peas" and corn suitable only for animal fodder, and as a result didn't steal or destroy these humble foods. Many Southerners survived as a result of this mistake. A common expression at that time was “I’m just lucky to have some peas.”
So today, I ate some black-eyed peas for my family. And I ate some more for the neighbors. I even ate some for my beloved Auburn Tigers, who didn’t make it into this year’s bowl picture. Maybe a little luck will come their way as well.
And before you start fussing at me for eating peas and cornbread, I want to point out something. Black-eyed peas are a good source of calcium (211 mg in 1 cup) and Vitamin A (1305 IU).
So Happy New Year to you all. And as the words belted out in the song “Soulville” by the great Aretha Franklin so aptly put it: “I’m talking ‘bout the black-eyed peas, down in Soulville…..yeah!!!”
WJLaneSR
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