Friday, July 27, 2007

A view from the guy who knows nothing about sports

My desk in the Radio/Internet Room at SEC Media Days at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, AL.

Since Wednesday, I’ve been neck-deep in SEC football.  I’m at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, AL attending SEC Media Days.

Downstairs there are dozens of sports-talk radio personalities, from all over the south, broadcasting live.  Everytime I walk downstairs and through “radio row”, I hear the chatter of SEC football.

Honestly, I don’t have a clue what these commentators and experts are talking about.  I’m just a casual fan of sports.  I love going to games.  I love the experience of sports.  I don’t keep up with it on a day-to-day basis.  I don’t have a clue who the second-string quarterback was for Auburn in 1992.  Heck, I don’t know who the starting quarterback was that year, or really any other year (except this year), for that matter.

But here I am, surrounded by people who eat, sleep and breath college football.

Many of you are probably jealous that I get to be within feet of, and talk to SEC Celebrities like Tommy Tuberville, Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier.

Yesterday, over 100 people, Alabama fans, gathered in the lobby of the Wynfrey Hotel lobby, just to get a glimpse of Saban.  Adults took the day off work, babies’ heads were signed, grown men cried at the sight of Saban.

I’ve been emersed in coach-speak, player-talk, all the cliches…

“We’re really coming together as a team.”

We just have to play within ourselves.”

“This is the best (insert college) team I’ve seen in years.”

Shameless plug… you can watch all the interviews from SEC Media Days at AuburnVersus.com.

But, while I’m stuck up here in the media room, shooting the interviews you can watch on AuburnVersus.com, with dozens of radio guys and girls, the insanity, the (insert college here)-mania is downstairs.  And that’s really what the SEC is all about.