Spooky

Maybe it is all the Halloween hoopla. When we arrived safely home from witnessing the “Taming of the Bengals” down on the Plains, Trunk ‘r Treat awaited us. Little goblins and ghosts, ninjas and pumpkins, and even “Thing 1 and Thing 2” paraded by our trunk.

Trick or Treat week had begun.

Now I don’t consider myself particularly superstitious, but I did find it a bit ironic that following the commencement of Halloween Week, the BCS weekly poll was announced with Auburn ranked #1. My son was thrilled, and immediately wanted to call his Granddaddy. We then called our daughter, who is in chiropractic school in Oregon to inform her that her alma mater had jumped the Waddling Ducks in the BCS poll. She was thrilled. She even sent me a copy of the Oregonean Paper stating that Auburn had stolen Oregon's thunder.

I began to ponder, contemplate, reflect, chew over, mull over, deliberate and think about what I would write. I read the newspapers, the fan internet boards and perused a magazine or two. I listened to the pundits on ESPN, Sports Sound-off, and others. I thought to myself, “What else can be said about Cam Newton and the Auburn Tigers?” And besides, I didn’t want to jinx things. (O.K., so maybe I AM a little superstitious.) And yet, what better week to write in one’s blog that revolves around Auburn Football than this week? But I just haven’t been able to get my mind around what to write.

Ernest Hemingway’s words haunted me: “Writing is easy; you just sit at the typewriter and bleed.”

It is now Thursday morning, and I find myself sitting in the Delta Sky Club on the mezzanine level in the San Francisco International Airport. My flight to Atlanta has been delayed for two hours (no reason given) and the comments make me realize, “Auburn is relevant again.”

These comments stem from the fact that not only the expert analysts who write and speak college football for a living have Cam and the Tigers on their minds, lay people do as well. I am wearing an Auburn shirt, and have had several people remark how well Auburn is doing, and how Cam Newton is “the real deal”. What is most fascinating is that this is coming from people in PAC-10 country.

Last night, while sitting at the hotel bar watching the Giants make Texas Toast out of the Rangers in Game 1 of the World Series, one of the locals struck up a conversation with me. He was a Stanford fan, a PAC-10 fan, and felt as if his Cardinal(s) could hold their own with Auburn. He did admit that Cam Newton was something special, and he thought Cam would win the Heisman this year. He went on to say, “What was that guy’s name from Alabama who won the Heisman last year? Is he still playing, or did he go pro?”

Wow.

How quickly people forget or just move on. That which was relevant yesterday is irrelevant today. And that which was irrelevant yesterday is relevant today. Back in my part of the world, the Tide fans think no one will EVER forget Ingram’s name. Here in the Bay area, however, they know about Cam Newton, but couldn’t remember Mark Ingram.

I think the best thing about Auburn being ranked #1, with a front runner for the Heisman Trophy, is that it has put Auburn back on the map. It has made the Tigers relevant again. People all across the country are talking about them, writing about them and know who they are. The Crimson Tide is yesterday’s news. And there is nothing the cross-state rivals can do about that.

Spooky, isn’t it.