AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2008 > January > 11
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thanks for a great season
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On the morning of the BCS championship game SEC Commissioner Mike Slive wondered out loud: Was the craziness of the 2007 college football season—with all of the upsets and wild finishes—just an aberration? Or was it a sign of things to come? Is this the way college football is going to be for the foreseeable future?
I think the answer is yes which means we’re going to be having a lot of fun.
After coming to you on almost a daily basis since July 9 I’m going to take a little break to let you get through the Silly Season that is recruiting. We’ll come back sometime around spring practice or if there is news that we need to kick around.
As I have traveled around the country a lot of people have asked me if this was the wildest football season I’ve ever been through. I’ve always said yes. And I can prove it. During the 2007 college football season:
**—I went to Lexington, Ky., three times to watch college football and saw three great games.
**—I saw Georgia wear black jerseys, which evoked an emotional reaction I haven’t seen since Herschel.
**—I saw a 7-6 team (Alabama) almost beat the national champions (LSU).
**—I saw Auburn kicker Wes Bryum handle the pressure to make a field goal twice to win at Florida.
**—I saw Kentucky beat the No. 1 team in the nation (LSU) in triple overtime.
**—I sat in a press box full of Florida writers and saw them smile when Ron Zook, the former Gators’ coach, led his Illinois team to an upset of No. 1 Ohio State. Who said sports writers don’t have a heart?
**—I saw Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, whose tenure seemed in peril after a horrible loss to Alabama (41-17), survive four SEC East elimination games against South Carolina (27-24 OT), Arkansas (34-13), Vanderbilt (25-24), and Kentucky (52-50) to reach the SEC championship game. Say what you want about Fulmer, but he can coach with his back to the wall.
**—I jumped on a plane to Fayetteville, Ark., to chase Bobby Petrino, whose presence will certainly add some flavor to the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin this May.
**—I saw LSU begin Dec. 1 ranked No. 7 in the BCS and by midnight the Tigers were headed to the BCS championship game.
**—I saw Hawaii and its fans enjoy the greatest football moment in school history (Sugar) . Today the coach (June Jones) is at SMU and the athletics director (Herman Frazier) has been fired.
**—And I saw the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans and the unspeakable devastation that STILL exists some 27 months after Katrina hit. That put the rest of this stuff in its proper perspective.
Thanks for your support and your input, which made it a season to remember. I appreciate it.
TB
