Aside from God and love, there have been more lines quoted about time than any other subject. You have heard them.....Benjamin Franklin said "Remember, time is money". Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote "Can anybody remember when the times were not hard and money not scarce?" And who can forget Kermit The Frog's play on words when he said, "Times fun when you're having flies!" My personal favorite is a quote from Marilyn Monroe, who, when late for an interview with a New York Times reporter, said "I've been on a calendar, but never on time."
I've been thinking a lot about time, lately. Maybe it's my age. Maybe it's the fact that my wife has a birthday in a few weeks. Maybe it's because I see my children growing up (and in a couple of cases, already grown!) way too fast. Maybe it's because 1/4 of the Auburn football season is already over. Maybe it's because I'm not sure that Mick Jagger's words really apply to me anymore. (When I give you these words, this song is going to be on your mind the rest of the day!) Remember the words?? Time...it's on my side.....yes it is....
In my quest for re-capturing some "time", I decided to stroll backwards down memory lane and look at 1 decade ago today....September 20, 1997. Tenth ranked Louisiana State University played host to the twelfth ranked Auburn Tigers. Over 80,000 fans packed Tiger Stadium to see the 11 point favorite LSU Bengal Cats have their way.
But this was a day that belonged to a star. And that star didn't wear gold, or yellow, or mustard, or whatever color LSU has that somehow supposed to blend nicely with Teletubby Purple. This star was an Auburn Tiger. And on this day, he passed for 342 yards and 2 touchdowns. His name is Dameyune Craig. Craig was quoted as saying, "They may have been a 10 point favorite to beat us, but we felt like we could come to Baton Rouge and win the game. I felt like we were 10 points better than them." Auburn won the game by a score of 31-28.
This was a game that saw a wild first half end in a 21-21 tie. The second half, however, was one of defense. With 3:12 seconds left in the ballgame, LSU was up 28-24. Craig and his troops took the field at the Auburn 20 yard line. On a 10-play, 80 yard drive, Dameyune Craig went 5-8 for 69 yards, including an 18 yard pass to Tyrone Goodson on a third down play that needed 14 yards for a first down. Rusty Williams capped the scoring drive with a two yard run into the endzone with 30 seconds left in the game. Jaret Holmes converted the PAT, and Auburn won 31-28.
An awful lot has happened in the 10 years since that game on September 20, 1997. Bowden-gate, Brother-gate, Jet-gate, Undefeated Season, Fear the Thumb, and now....a rebuilding year. Time just seems to get away from us, when you think about it. The joys seem to be over too soon, and the lows seem to last longer than they really do. But it brings a little smile to my face when I think about how Dameyune Craig used to run and pass up and down Jordan-Hare Stadium. Maybe looking at Kodi Burns last week, it reminded me of a young, green Dameyune. Maybe that's just the kind of quarterback Auburn needs right now. The speed, the arm, the excitement. In fact, when I saw Kodi running and juking down the field last week, I thought....
....it's about time.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
The Mumme Returns
His career was over. Done with. Finished. Down the drain in disgrace. Boosters had been asked to contribute money to pay for recruits to attend his summer football camps. Over 20 recruits “took advantage” of these now “fee free trips”. Over one thousand dollars was sent to a Memphis High School football coach for “assistance in convincing certain recruits” to attend his school. And we are not even talking about the University of Alabama. As Shakespeare so aptly put it when he named his comedic play….”All’s well that ENDS well…”
You see, in synergy with Tim Couch, Hal Mumme was on a rocket ride from obscurity to offensive genius. His team set records, won games, earned bowl bids, and filled Commonwealth Stadium at a school known for basketball, not football. Commonwealth stadium piped in an air-raid siren, and played Jimmy Buffet music over the loud speakers. He was Steve Spurrier on training wheels. And then, the wheels came off. For all of the flamboyant promise Hal Mumme arrived in Lexington with, he departed disgraced and dejected.
Mumme arrived at Kentucky flippant and fun, but ill equipped for what an SEC Head Football coach must deal with. What he knew was X’s and O’s, but what he wasn’t prepared for was the P’s and Q’s. His air-bomb attack got high passing marks, but he flunked miserably with public relations, media relations and NCAA compliance.
Hal Mumme left in disgrace.
While out on his almost 2 year exile (sabbatical) from football, an even deeper wound would hit him and his wife, June. She would find out that she had breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy followed by a mastectomy followed by six months of chemotherapy followed by years of as-yet-not-finished treatment. I cannot imagine what this would do to one, but perhaps for Hal Mumme, this put things into perspective.
Following an 18 month hiatus from football, he was hired as the head coach of Southeastern Louisiana. While there for one season, 2003, his team led all Division I-AA teams in total offense per game of 537.1 yards and passing offense per game of 408 yards. In December, 2004, Hal Mumme was named the head football coach of New Mexico State University.
On Saturday, a new movie will hit Auburn, Alabama. It is called “The Mumme Returns”.
Yes, Hal Mumme returns to the Southeastern Conference, bringing his New Mexico State Aggies to face our beloved Auburn Tigers. I am sure there will be a total air-blitz attack. I hope we are ready.
War Eagle!
WJLaneSr
You see, in synergy with Tim Couch, Hal Mumme was on a rocket ride from obscurity to offensive genius. His team set records, won games, earned bowl bids, and filled Commonwealth Stadium at a school known for basketball, not football. Commonwealth stadium piped in an air-raid siren, and played Jimmy Buffet music over the loud speakers. He was Steve Spurrier on training wheels. And then, the wheels came off. For all of the flamboyant promise Hal Mumme arrived in Lexington with, he departed disgraced and dejected.
Mumme arrived at Kentucky flippant and fun, but ill equipped for what an SEC Head Football coach must deal with. What he knew was X’s and O’s, but what he wasn’t prepared for was the P’s and Q’s. His air-bomb attack got high passing marks, but he flunked miserably with public relations, media relations and NCAA compliance.
Hal Mumme left in disgrace.
While out on his almost 2 year exile (sabbatical) from football, an even deeper wound would hit him and his wife, June. She would find out that she had breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy followed by a mastectomy followed by six months of chemotherapy followed by years of as-yet-not-finished treatment. I cannot imagine what this would do to one, but perhaps for Hal Mumme, this put things into perspective.
Following an 18 month hiatus from football, he was hired as the head coach of Southeastern Louisiana. While there for one season, 2003, his team led all Division I-AA teams in total offense per game of 537.1 yards and passing offense per game of 408 yards. In December, 2004, Hal Mumme was named the head football coach of New Mexico State University.
On Saturday, a new movie will hit Auburn, Alabama. It is called “The Mumme Returns”.
Yes, Hal Mumme returns to the Southeastern Conference, bringing his New Mexico State Aggies to face our beloved Auburn Tigers. I am sure there will be a total air-blitz attack. I hope we are ready.
War Eagle!
WJLaneSr
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