Misfits Softball 6/12/14

So, last year I took the GoPro to one game. I made a little video. It wasn't great, but it was fun and my teammates loved it. Go watch it. Misfits 2013

Now, as you watch this vid, listen to the commentary. There is gold all throughout. Like, layered gold.

This team really loves playing together and we have a great time. Additionally, we aren't too bad either.

If they were happy with last years vid, they will love this one. I've already been told I have to bring it to every game.

Anyway, sit back and watch us win 18-1. Some good hitting. Some good fielding. Some great comedy.

Fishing Report for Wheeler/ Army PEO Org 2nd Annual Bass Classic

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I have contemplated how I would start this blog post off. Just thinking about it makes me laugh. Or sigh. Or shake my head. Or some combination of the three. So, rather than:
1) try and make excuses 
2) take the high road and be humble
3) I'll do what I do best. Give you an honest accounting.

So, Josh's wife works on the arsenal and she caught wind of this tournament that was being held. So, since Josh was eligible, we decided to fish it. It was out of the Hard Dock ramp in Decatur.

I have never done well in Decatur. I wouldn't even say I've "struggled" on that end of the lake. I've never caught much of anything. Now, I've only fished it a few times, so I had high hopes that I could break up this nasty streak. Josh has fished there a good bit and has had some good days. So, at least I felt like we had a chance.  After all, it was ledge bite season and we had proven that we can flat catch them on ledges in Wheeler or Guntersville, as you can see by clicking those links. Ledges are right in my wheel house. Because I can crank as well as anyone. I mean, I can cast. And I can turn a handle. Anyway.....

At blastoff, every single boat in the tournament rocketed down river and got on a ledge. That included the massive 100 boat tournament out of Ingalls as well, though they had a later start than we did. Since Josh and I didn't have any spots marked, we idled around until we found a spot that the thought looked really interesting. We fished it for about 5 minutes before we noticed that there was next to NO current. We don't know much about ledge fishing and even less about ledge fishing Wheeler. What we did know was, if there is no current, there is zero chance of catching fish. 

We talked it over for a minute. If there was no current to make them bite deep, where WOULD they be biting. Well, fish are always biting shallow. Additionally, the water was up a good bit. We decided that our best bet would be flipping. Again, a technique that I have just now started using with any repetition. Josh is a good bit ahead of me in that department. But, there is only one way to get better....

So, we rigged up and hit the duck weed. It took precisely 5 minutes and twenty seconds to find out that we had made the right decision. Josh set the hook into a fish. Hard. And, even though it turned the fish sideways so that I could see it, the fish pulled back just as hard. After a few turns of the reel and a flip, Josh boated a 4.29 pig.  Finding fish that size on Wheeler has been hard, at least for for us and nearly everyone we know. So, having it in the boat early was amazing. We normally spend all day looking for a hawg as we cull up ounces at a time with smaller fish. 

Well, it was a start. Now we needed to see if there was a pattern. 

It didn't take long as Josh quickly snagged a short fish only a few flips later. And another 15 minutes, a solid keeper comes flying out of the duck weed. 

So, there was definitely a pattern to it. Now I needed to get into the action. I had been flipping a lizard, which is my go to flipping bait. But Josh was using a beaver bait, so I matched him and went back to work.

Another 3 fish later and I hadn't had a bump. Not one. I asked what size weight he was using and he said a 1/2 ounce tungsten. I was flipping a 3/4, so I thought maybe it was falling to fast in front of the fish. So, I retied to a 1/2 ounce weight.

Wait, that isn't right.....

I asked JOSH to tie me a snell knot since I didn't know how to tie one yet (I told yall, I don't flip much). So, while he was tying my line, I flipped with his rod. I tell ya, it was 2 flips in and I boated a fish. I should have stopped right then and mirrored EXACTLY what he was throwing. Down to the flipping skirt he had tied on. But I didn't. I didn't think the fish would care that much about a reaction bite.

But bbbboooyyyy was I wrong.

Josh proceeded to put on a clinic all day, flipping up fish after fish. I never had a bite after catching the one fish on his rod. He culled up. Then culled up again. And again. And again. Until we had what we figured was 12 pounds.

Meanwhile, I was a hood ornament. I tried the front of the boat, even. Thinking they were just seeing his bait first. But no.

It wasn't to be. And that was ok. It was fun being the video guy. Sorta. I mean, after he had caught 10 fish on me, I wanted to be able to blame the fish.

The only thing I DID catch was a lot of grass. And nearly caught a 1/2 tungsten weight to the face a few times. But hey, you can't snag every bite. Right? At least I have these awesome reflexes that saved me.

I also was able to sit down and enjoy the ham sandwiches my wife sent.

We talked about how we thought everyone else would do. Though we hadn't moved all day, we never saw ANYONE else fishing shallow. But, if we turned around and looked to the channel, we saw tons of boats. But, they were facing a multitude of directions, which meant there was no current. Sure, we knew someone might have caught a good sack, but the chances of us getting run out by everyone without ANY current were slim. We didn't want to have big egos, but we couldn't help but think that the flipping bite was potentially the only day-long pattern on the lake. And no one seemed to be doing it. The other thing we noted was the amount of bait that was in the cove we were fishing. Before we ever blasted off, we had discussed how there was probably a shad spawn with the previous night's full moon. That seemed to be correct.

At 1pm, he suggested that I flip a jig, since it also has a skirt. So, I did. And guess what. I had a hit.

We were about to move spots for the last time and hope that MAYBE I could catch THE fish. After all, it wouldn't be the first time that I only caught one fish in the sack. But, I have a talent for catching THE fish in the sack.

But, the battery was dead. With a few minutes until weigh in, we had to kick the trolling motor in high gear to make the weigh in on time.

So, we gathered up our fish and headed to the scales. We noticed that there were a LOT of blank spots on the board. I spotted the big fish, which went 5.2. I knew ours(his) wasn't that big. And, we were really sweating that someone might have ALSO found decent fish but had a REAL kicker. This guy didn't, however. He had only weighed one fish. So, we weighed in and recorded 11 and change. A little off from what we thought we had, but not by much.

A line of boats came in and weighed. There were a few 6 pound bags. A few 9s. And a whole lot of nothing else. But, the last two bags came in. One was another 9 pound bag and the other went 12 pounds.

But, we took 2nd place. Well, Josh did. But he was a man about it and didn't ride me too hard. He tried to give me credit for SOMETHING. But, fact was, I didn't even have to net a fish. I did absolutely ZERO to help our chances. I was pretty beat up about it. I told him just to keep the money.

He wouldn't have it. After accepting the check he said "buy me a drink at the Hard Dock and we can call it square." Well, can't beat that deal. So, we headed over to the Hard Dock, which was picking up. I bought us a drink, made a toast by telling him I was proud of him and he really did well, and we loaded up and headed home....

But not before I called my wife and listened to hear make fun of me for being a hood ornament.

Taylor's Tiger Tales: The Prayer in Jordan-Hare

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No Auburn Fan's list of Classics would be complete without talking about this game. But, only 87,451 people can claim to have been there. And, of those, a lot of them were fans that were rooting for the "other team".

I have a confession to make that you will see here as well as in my post about the Kick-6 game. 

That is, there was only one game in 2013 that I had any desire to actually keep my tickets to. In fact, I sold all 6 of my Iron Bowl tickets in the first of September to a friend's family. Luckily, my friend Chris told me NOT to sell the UGA tickets.   He was going to be in town that weekend and wanted to tailgate with us. Josh and his wife Emily were present during that conversation and expressed an interest to go, though they are Bama fans.Additionally, Alyse and I wanted to start tailgating the RIGHT way. That is, take a camper down on Friday and stay all weekend.

That isn't to say that we didn't already do that. We did. Except we stayed at my best friend Kevin's house in Auburn. But, we have 3 kids. He has 1. And it gets awfully crowded. We didn't plan to take the kids down anyway, but we didn't want to inconvenience his wife and baby-time. So, as the season went on..Auburn picked up momentum. Suddenly, this game MEANT something more than just a rivalry game, though UGA had OWNED Auburn most of the decade. 

We packed up and headed to Auburn on Friday morning, finding a camping spot off of Lem Morrison right by the track and field field house. I quickly setup only to watch an officer of the law tell several other fans that it wasn't time to open up THIS tailgating spot yet. They needed to pack up and move. Now, there must have been 25 campers. And, though he might have been instructed to tell us it wasn't 2pm yet, I could tell that he didn't really expect us to pack up. So, when he made his way to me, I told him I had heard what he had said and was going to do my best to get out of here,  though it was 1:38. He winked at me. I smiled. Then went right back into my bag chair and cracked a cold one. 

Josh and Emil showed up around 4pm. Kevin got off work and headed to see us. We all loaded up and headed to dinner at our favorite eatery, the Irish Bred Pub in Opelika. If you haven't been there. Do so. Immediately. 

We had a great dinner with Kevin, his wife and baby, Josh, and Emily. After that, the girls went to visit their friend Sarah, who runs Spirited Art in Auburn (she also does a ton of game day art and face painting. Check here out!) Meanwhile, we guys did....nothing. We drove around and caught up. I can't tell you how awesome it is to have two best friends who would have never known each other except for me to get along so well. I sat in the back as they hung out. They have met several times get along great, despite their choices in fandome. 

Then, it was back to the camper for some sleep since we knew it would be a long day. 

I admit it was hard to sleep with all the noise and generators running in the background, but it was OUR generator who was the loudest. The carb needs adjusting and the poor thing searches for an idle constantly. The tone goes up. The tone goes down. Finally, I turned it off. Sure, it might get cold. But that was ok. We had women to keep us warm. 

Up early. We had a nice breakfest of eggs and hashbrowns, thanks to Alyse (and my dad for the home grown eggs!)

Then it was off to tailgate. And, do we tailgate.

 Alyse and Emily

Kevin and I

You hear me talk about how lucky I am. Well, here is another reason. Between 2000-2003, there was a massive influx of Sparkman High grads into Auburn. I was friends with all of them. Many of them have remained in Auburn as professionals and have done extremely well for themselves. After college was over, we had to move from Wire Road to a more *respectable* tailgating spot. My friend Justin did just that, and in spades. He thought, "if i can't tailgate in the best student spot. I will make the best "adult" spot." So, after making a lot of professional in-roads, he secured perhaps the best tailgating spot in Auburn. He setup camp at the corner of Plainsman Park and Donahue. Literally, at the front gate of the Park and right on Tiger Walk, just steps from Jordan-Hare. Which means, front row seats to see Aubie, Coach, the players, and all the Tiger Walk festivities while being just steps from the bathroom (important to us, as adults.) 

The last few years have seen this tailgate spot rise in stature and scope, thanks to the work of a few individuals, making it AWESOME for us to drive down and tailgate without a hassle. They know who they are. I am eternally grateful and I hope they will let me help. 

The food and amenities had really reached a new level in 2013, but it was the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry and they decided to kick it to a new level by bringing in live entertainment. Yes. Live entertainment. 

It was River Dan. And he was on POINT with Waylon, Willie, Cash, and the rest of the boys for the afternoon. He was amazing. Go check him out. 

And then it was Tiger Walk Time. And, I had to carry out a tradition I have now started by chest bumping Aubie.

Then, it was time to head to the game! Since Chris, Josh, and Emily used my tickets, Kevin didn't go. He stayed behind to watch the game at the tailgate spot. 

Now, for those of you that read all my posts, you may recall what I had written in my Georgia vs Auburn Preview. Go check that out. 

The festivities got underway and we were off. Though Josh and Emily are big time Bama fans, they stayed quiet and enjoyed their time. I certainly appreciated it. That was true for MOST of the game....And, let's not forget that they decided to sport UGA gear to the game. 

As you recall, Auburn played fantastic through the first 3 quarters. It certainly wasn't boring.  The first quarter was nearly perfect for Auburn as they scored a FG, forced a 3-and-out followed by a Grant TD.  Another 3-and-out for UGA and Auburn was moving the chains AGAIN at the start of the 2nd quarter. Nothing could be better. Auburn was RROOLLLIINNGGG. 

The second quarter started off with a Parkey field goal, but was followed by a first down 42 yard strike to Bennett from Murray. If I recall, UGA had returned Bennett and several other key players from injury, including Gurley, who ran in a 9 yarder to make it 13-7 Auburn. Auburn answered right back with a Nick Marshall TD to make it 20-7. A 3-and-out by UGA followed. Auburn put together a great drive to get to the UGA 19 where the drive stalled. I remember thinking that a FG would all but seal this thing up before halftime. Yet, the 36 yarder was blocked. 

Luckily, Murray was picked off by Smith. Auburn got behind Mason and scored yet another TD. UGA was able to sneak a much needed FG in at the end of the quarter to end it 27-10.

Now, as far as I was concerned, this game was over. UGA had different plans as they came out slinging the rock 8 times with 2 Murray rushes mixed in, including a 16 yard TD. 27-17. 

Auburn did what they did best. Offense. Nick Marshall scores on a 5 yard rush. 34-17.

And the defenses decided to play for both sides. The scores ended for the quarter. 

Auburn opened up the 4th with a FG to make it 37-17. We were deciding whether or not to head back to the tailgate spot. This one was in the books.  And that's when the comeback started. If you read my Preview, you know that I really thought Murray's legs would be the real danger. We know he can throw the rock. He can really run, but he hasn't HAD to due to a steady stream of top talent at RB. But, the Murray show kicked off with a TD pass to Wooten after soem chain moving runs by Murray. 

Auburn goes 3-and-out. UGA hits his TE Lynch for a 24 yard TD making it 37-31 in under 3 minutes! Suddenly, Emily wasn't so quiet anymore. We had mistaken her quietness for general boredness with watching Auburn play. Now that it was a game, she was rooting. For the other team. Not too much, but certainly a little bit. 

Auburn gives up ANOTHER 3-and-out. Murray is hitting passes. He makes runs. And he scampers into the endzone with under 2 minutes to go to go up 38-37. I am eating my hat. I mean, literally, I am chewing my hat. WHY CAN'T THE OFFENSE DO ANYTHING!!! I can't believe we have squandered a lead after DOMINATING the game. It's like Gus channeled his inner Tommy Tuberville and went on cruise control! 

Emily AND Josh were into it now. I can't say I blame them. How many times can you see your most hated enemy squander a lead away and lose at home?  I do remember that Alyse wasn't taking it very well, looked at Emily and said something like: "Oh, you ain't so quiet now, are you!"

Now they have to do something they haven't done much...though they have done before....throw the ball under 2 minutes to play. 

Marshall has a pass to Bray broken up. He hits Marcus Davis in a critical 2nd down, then rushes for the first down on the next play. They are at the 35...a long way from field goal range. But, that's all the fans are looking for. Just get us to the 30. Maybe the 35. Just don't take a loss! 

He hits Coates on a short 2 yarder. Not helping us any. But not hurting. Timeout. 

Marhsall misses Reed to set up a 3rd and 12. And, now the booty holes begin to pucker. 12 yards is a long way for a QB draw. Waayyyy to long for a run play. Got to throw the ball. But, you have 2 chances to get it. Just don't take a sack.

Jenkins bottles up Marshall for the sack. It's over. I am ready to puke. 4th and 18 is nearly impossible to pick up, even if the defense drops into prevent. We all take a deep breath of resentment, knowing it's probably over. Though, always possible that someone gets open at the sticks and picks up the first. 

The UGA brings up their typical 3 D-line front. Drope 4 guys about 10 yards back and another 4 in deep coverage. The crowd is deathly silent, not just from wanting to help Marshall direct traffic, but because of the striking inevitability of this play.  

Sure enough, the snap comes back and one of the receivers gets open at the sticks. Prosch, who has good hands and wasn't picked up. Coates, in the middle of the field ALL ALONE! Of all players, Coates gets open! We are saved!  We all see it and we KNOW Marshall sees it too. Just stick it in there and get the first. But no. He loads up. 

I started yelling. "NOOOO!! WHY!" He is going to LAUNCH it into DOUBLE COVERAGE! The ball goes up, wiggles. waggles. And it's SHORT. SHORT! HE THREW IT SHORT EVEN THOUGH LOUIS HAD A STEP! 

But I keep watching. I don't know why. I normally can't watch it. But the ball comes out. Even from teh opposite end zone I see it. But, it looks like it's tipped WAY out in front. Now way that #5 can get to it. Except that he is fast. Real fast. And he never checked up. I wonder if he knows why he never checked up. But he didn't. He gets one glove on it. Just a little. Just enough. And the ball hangs up again. This time he gets both hands on it! 

He runs into the endzone. 

I get the Holy Spirit in me. I am speaking in tongues. We pound the concrete with our shoes and beat the air with shakers and claps. It's a hurricane of emotion. It's the best feeling. It's 38-27 with 25 seconds to go.

TV takes its sweet time with commercials. 

Murray takes the field and promptly eats 50 yards of field in two pass plays. They are on the 20 with a 1st down and 3 seconds to go. No FG try here. Murray takes the snap, steps into the pocket. Gets flushed to the 14 or so before he gets leveled. Just smoked. And the game is over! 

We all go running out of the stadium. Despite there being 80,000+ fans streaming out, Kevin finds me. I guess because he is nearly 7 feet tall. He runs and picks me up like I am a child and tosses me. It's unreal.

Then the party starts. The DJ fires up the PA and we all start dancing. 30 minutes later, the players come out of the stadium, heading to the athletic facility. We manage to get several of them to come hang out with us. We didn't get very good pics, but you can see a few below. 

Sammie Coates

Jeremy Johnson

It was an amazing game and atmosphere that didn't stop until 4am Sunday morning. We stayed at the tailgate spot until the buses left. We had to give the UGA players and coaches an Auburn goodbye! 

Then, we all hit up Bourbon Street, a local gathering spot. Perhaps the highlight of the night came when the band struck up their cover of 4 Non Blondes "What's Up." I have to admit, I HATED that song growing up. But, it struck a very special chord with me that night. Here I was, midst all of these young college kids, my two best friends from two different periods of my life...one of those a die hard Bama fan, my wife, a converted Bama fan and now the biggest Auburn fan I knew...and we had all witnessed one of the most dramatic plays in sports history. 

I couldn't help but sing along. 

"And so I wake in the morning 

And I step outside 

And I take a deep breath and I get real high 

And I scream at the top of my lungs 

What's going on?"

Fishing Report for Wheeler 6/5/14

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With ball season over (for the kids, that is), it has left Thursdays relatively free. That's been great news, as far as fishing is concerned, as I can shake free to fish the Thursday night Wildcat out of Ditto Landing.

A few years back, we were able to fish tons of them, but as we had more kids, time was harder to find. In 2011, we had a lot of success in cashing checks. I started out 2012 on some fish, but ended up being a done, mostly. As ball season picked up for Aubree, I quit going. I didn't fish any in 2013 because we played softball between 3 and 4 days a week.. But, Josh and I decided at the Bassmaster Classic that we would make more this year, even if it meant we didn't play softball on Thursdays. Well, that's KINDA happened. As in, I have made 1 other Wildcat, which you can read about and watch the vid HERE.

Things worked out for this Thursdays, which was doubly good as we are fishing a large tournament this coming weekend and this would be a good time to prefish a little.

As luck would have it, the weather looked terrible all day. Like, BAD BAD BAD weather coming out of Arkansas. But, it's Alabama. You never know WHAT may happen. So, despite the constant warnings and threats coming from my wife, I headed to the ramp.

Sure enough, the weather rolled in right at blastoff. The tournament director asked around on what everyone else wanted to do. Most people decided to head home, which I can't say I blame them. We decided to wait it out and hope the bad weather blew through. After all, I already was in trouble with my wife. I might as well make the most of sleeping in the dog house.

Sure enough, the weather did blow through and at 6, we hit the water with a little drizzle. By the time we hit the first spot, the rain had all but stopped.

But, we noticed that there was ZERO current. On that stretch of river, current is a MUST. With all the rain, we had expected there to be good current. But, it wasn't to be. Just the week before, Josh had cashed a check with only 2 fish. Only 9 fish were weighed in between the top 3 boats. We already knew that it was going to be a slow day.

So, we decided that we wouldn't do too much casting. We would use the graph and do a lot of idling, which everyone should do, especially on those tough days. I finally got in the habit of doing that once I dialed in my own graph, which you can read about HERE.


But, after finding some interesting areas, we couldn't help but make a few casts. Josh went to the finesse stuff, so I went to the Strike King 6XD. Cause, that's backwards from usual fishing etiquette of speed up front, slow in the rear. But, that's how we do. After breaking off one of my favorite cranks, the silent series sexy shad, I tied on Citrus Shad, since the water had a lot of stain to it. I want the fish to see it coming.

It didn't take but one cast to thump it off the rock bottom and find it's way into a fishes mouth! But, the fish fought too hard to be a largemouth, especially the small ones we find on this end of the river. It never jumped and made several hard runs. I figured it was a drum. But, when I got it to the boat, it flashed us and  I was amazed to see a green fish on the other end! It was the biggest fish I had hooked on this end of the river and I was totally unprepared for it. Luckily, I was throwing the crank on 17 pound line, so I boat flipped it.

What a hawg!

We fished a little while longer and then decided to take the rest of the day to graph more spots. We found a few nice areas, especially some on Hobbs Island that featured standing timber in 25 feet of water. We called it a day early.

Product Review for Academy Sports H2O XPRESS Ethos Rods

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Like many fishermen, I have a contradicting problem. I want to own 2 dozen rod and reels....one for each specific bait and/or presentation. I love great quality, but I am on a budget.  I have used everything from custom built rods to bargain basements and everything in between. I currently have rods from a dozen different manufactures because I am willing to go out on a limb and try new things.

Though I definitely know that you can get what you pay for, I have discovered that I can generally get what I want for $100. But, when you have 2 dozen or so rod and reel combos, that $100 rod, plus the reel, can add up very quickly. Each rod and reel combo costs a minimum of $200. I simply will not spend less than $120 on a reel. So, I have to look elsewhere to save money.

I had tried several other brands for under $100. For example, every once in awhile, you can get a Wright&McGill Skeet Reese rod for under $100. It's a fine rod, as I have done a product review on in the past. However, when they DO go on sale, they generally sell out of everything useful. Additionally, they didn't have all the qualities that I would really like.

On the other hand, you can find St. Croix Triumph series rods, which I also reviewed,  for $75 and in every combination of length and action most anywhere. But, they don't have the amenities that I have become spoiled to with high end rods.

If you are willing to spend more (as in double) you can get into a Duckett Rod, which I reviewed.

For a rod in its price range, you would have to compare it to the St. Croix, which I reviewed here.

Enter the Ethos rod from H2O XPRESS. Here are some pics of them and the details from the Academy Site.

"Catch a few big ones with the H2O XPRESS® Ethos 7' M Freshwater Composite Crankbait Casting Rod. The graphite and fiberglass composite blank offers light weight and strength, and the 10" split-grip handle features a cork grip for a comfortable hold. Nine Fuji Alconite guides plus the tip ensure smooth line control and movement, while the powdered cork butt cap offers leverage while reeling in large fish. Fuji ACS reel seat. Medium action. 1-piece design.

Features and Benefits

• - 1-piece graphite and fiberglass composite blank is lightweight and strong
• - 10" split-grip handle with a cork grip offers a comfortable hold
• - Powdered cork butt cap helps you reel in fighters
• - 9 Fuji Alconite guides plus the tip provide smooth line control and movement
• - Fuji ACS reel seat
• - Medium action for steady response"

I am usually wary of store brands. I have bought the store brand from Dick's and from Gander Mountain several times. They seem to vary in the quality of the rod, as in, one 7 foot medium heavy fast tip will act differently than the next. Their heavy actions are usually too heavy and their light action is generally too light. After my last round of store brand purchases, I was ready to do away with them completely. However, I had a gift card from Academy from Christmas and I had lost (at the bottom of Pickwick) my custom built frog rod. I had bought several different rods to replace it, but they were generally too heavy, the handles too long or short, or a combination of other various nit-pickiness of mine. 

But the moment I picked up the H2O XPRESS Heavy Action rod, I was sold. 

• The action was perfect, as I rolled the tip on the floor of the store to locate it's spine and over all action. 
• The rod was very lightweight, which is extremely important for someone who frog fishes for the entire day for months on end. 
• The handle length was long enough for me to brace against my side, if I needed it, but short enough that I didn't jab myself constantly while working a bait. 
• The micro guides cause a very accurate and smooth cast, which was a wide departure from most other cheap brands
• I love the split grip. It balances the rod perfectly, making it easy to work the bait. 
• Aesthetically, this rod is amazing. The rod color and thread work are spectacular, which is normally not included in a cheap rod. 
• THE BEST PART? How about UNDER $70! 

I have owned this rod for several months, on top of another medium heavy I bought. The finish has held up extremely well. The rods have lived with me bouncing back and forth between different boats. For $70, it cannot be beat. This rod performs excellent and looks even better. Honestly, I don't know how they produce such a well performing and good looking rod for $70!

Taylor's Tiger Tales: The 1999 Mississippi State Game

The Auburn Realist

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The Auburn Realist: Overview

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I got a late start on attending Auburn games, despite having been a lifelong Auburn fan. I attended my first game in 1993 and another in 1994, but not another game until 1999.

Not that it was my fault, really. It just wasn't a priority of my parents, especially since my sister and I played ball games every Saturday ALL year.

In 1999, I was a sophomore QB at Sparkman high. I got to know a guy on the team named Kevin. We couldn't be any more opposite, in appearance. I am 5'3", stocky, with curly brown hair. He, on the other hand, is 6' and a bunch, rail thin (at least then) with red hair. We did have one big and important thing in common: we loved Auburn football. We became fast friends, even though we were opposites in many ways and I was 2 years younger than he.

Over the course of the next year, we began making plans to attend a football game. He had been to a lot of BIG games already, including a couple of Iron Bowls and a huge win against Florida. I, on the other hand, had seen Eastern Carolina twice. I was dying to see a *real* game.

We pitched the idea to my dad, who bought into it. Dad found some tickets at the last minute, just 3, if I recall. But, at the last minute, Kevin informed me that his girlfriend wanted to come too. I recall that dad was NOT happy that we sprung this on him at the last minute, but he couldn't say much since Kevin was driving on his own.

Auburn had a rough 1998 season and had hired Tommy Tuberville,who would go on to be one of my favorite coaches. However, 1999 didn't start out so hot, as Auburn dropped games to Ole Miss and Tennessee leading up to this game. The offense, mostly the QB play, was incredibly suspect that year, and would continue for the most part, for the next few years. For the most part, it featured Ben Leard, who had racked up impressive numbers before getting injured, leading to the start of Klein,  that QB that no one can ever remember, plus appearances by Leard and Gabe Gross (who started the last few games, showed promise, then went to baseball). The running game was terrible, as Heath Evans, a fullback, led the way with 330 TOTAL rushing yards.

Both Kevin and I were working at Bruno's Grocery, so I recall that we decided to meet there early on that Saturday morning. Dad and I drove down in our car while Kevin followed in his truck. I recall that we went the scenic route, avoiding the interstate. I don't really recall why. I do recall getting stuck at a train crossing, which held us up for at least an hour in the pouring rain.

Eventually, we made our way to Auburn. We didn't have time to tailgate, though I don't recall that we ever did. Kevin managed to find a ticket for his girlfriend and we hoped no one would notice if she sat with us. We found our section, only to find out that we had bought tickets in the club section. That was QUITE the surprise! So, 3 teenagers and their chaperon were given all they could eat drinks, hotdogs, and cookies! It was heaven!

All except that we had the end seats to the club section, which was right next to the visitor section. And the guys sitting next to us were drunk and absolutely obnoxious. They heckled us all through the pregame activities. The cow bell left a ringing in my ears for days after. My dad is a very level headed guy, but I could tell they were starting to get to him.

The game itself was fairly boring. A scoreless 1st quarter. The second quarter featured a 64 yarder to Daniels from Klein. Damon Duval hit a field goal later in the quarter to put Auburn up 10-0 at halftime. the State crowd was pretty subdued between the score and the rain. We didn't mind. We were winning, and under a roof.

3 total field goals in the 3rd, 2 by Duval and one by Miss State kicker Westerfield made the start of the 4th 16-3. Neither team could do ANYTHING on offense. But, to us, Auburn was firmly in control of the 12th ranked Bulldogs. It was the last drive for State do put something together. And, even then, the chances of them rallying from 16-3 with 3 minutes to go was slim. It seemed that Tubby wanted to have the ball in Auburn's hands and he was willing to let State score to do it. That's the only way I could figure it happened, since an offense that had been held in check all game suddenly drove the length of the field and scored a TD with 2:38 left to make it 16-20.

We were really surprised, but we could all see the justification. At least we THOUGHT we did. Auburn wanted to get the ball back and run out the clock by picking up a few first downs.

Yet, State didn't attempt the onside kick and sent the ball deep. A few plays later and Auburn was backed up on their doorstep. Tuberville made one of the most controversial calls I think I have ever seen. He decided to take a safety with 47 seconds to play rather than take the chance that they could fumble, throw a pick, or have a punt blocked.

Pigg takes the free kick all the way to the Auburn 48 and the Dogs are already in business. Borrowing the words from SI:

"On the next play, Wyatt hit Terrell Grindle on a crossing pattern and the freshman from Hattiesburg scampered to the 11. After an incomplete pass, Wyatt had a receiver wide open in the back middle of the end zone but tailback Dicenzo Miller fell down. Moments later, Wyatt's pass over the middle went in between two defenders and was caught by Butler, setting off a wild celebration by the Bulldogs and their coaching staff. Coach Jackie Sherrill ripped off his headphones and jumped into his players' arms. Mississippi State's antics earned a 15-yard celebration penalty on the extra point, and instead of risking a blocked attempt and a possible defensive conversion, Sherrill had his team kneel on the ball."

At this point, the State fans who had been so quiet for so long suddenly became VERY loud. It's a good thing the sections were separated by a hundred foot drop or so.

Auburn still isn't out of it quite yet. A FG would win it, and Duval may be the best to have suited up for Auburn. But, Klein did what he had done so well. He tossed an INT. And that was it. Talk about going south in a hurry! We couldn't even catch our breath! 15 points in 2:38 ARE YOU FOR REAL!

We were stunned and shocked. Certainly, the game had been rather boring, especially since the underdog Tigers had owned the game for all but 3 minutes. If you didn't know which team was which, you might have though that Auburn was ranked 12th. It was very shocking for me, since Auburn had won all the other games that I had been to. That wasn't to say they were a great program, just that I was a kid with expectations of a win, even if the unranked Tigers were playing a very good State team. Throw in the reality of SEC fandom. Though I had been to a couple of games, there were never that many fans of the other team. This was the first time that a whole section and more were filled with the opposing team's fans.

 So, it's for many reasons that this game is a Classic to me. It's the first SEC game I ever attended. It was also the first loss I was ever a part of. I believe that going through those losses is what makes you a real fan. Certainly there are many losses that are more defining of my fandom than wins. Anyone can be a fan of a winning program. It's those that can go and support a team through losses that are the real fans.

Best5Garden 2014 update 6/2/14

Those of you that keep up with me on Facebook know that I was out of town on business in Utah last week. The same thing happened this time last year, except it was to Seattle. Because of that, the daily time needed to maintain a garden is gone. It gives those pesky weeds time to grab a handhold. That's not good. 

My wife does the best she can, but with 3 kids, a job and all that other stuff, she didn't have time to do much weeding. So, when I got home, it was readily apparent that something HAD to be done. Apparently it rained every single day I was gone, and the weeds were everywhere! If you didn't know, having weeds around your veggies will not only stunt their growth, but possibly choke them out and kill them! Plus, it looks bad and other gardeners will judge you....

You have a few options: you can weed every day (ugh) or you can cover the mound and ground around your precious plants(anyone else catch the string of rhymes?). The light deprivation will keep the weeds from growing. Last year, I utilized the latter (to some extent), but I didn't do it until late in the process. It certainly helped, but I sure wish that I would have done it from the beginning. I used a couple of rolls of landscaping cloth. 

Pros: it's very hardy. It's easy to cover and weight down.

Cons: expensive. impossible to removed. 

Which means I am constantly finding left over bits with my lawnmower.

So, this time around, we decided to use newspaper. Only one problem: we don't get the newspaper.

Luckily, my trip to Utah proved to be fruitful, as the hotel provided me a free copy of USA Today. Also, they had stacks upon stacks of the local paper, which I also yanked. I bet TSA was pretty confused by what they saw in my bag! So, the first thing I did Saturday morning upon my return was to start laying paper down. 

Like anything, news paper has its pros and cons as well.

Pros: It's free. It's easy to cut into shape. It's biodegradable.

Cons: It blows away easily. It isn't very hardy. 

So, you have to keep it watered down. A lot. But, it does the job.

Here is how it looks now. Looks like I need a LOT more paper! 

Okra is coming in strong! 

I will have plenty of cucumbers!