Heaven is a Press Pass

 It has long been my contention that Lee County Alabama is the most magical place on earth. Where is Lee County Alabama you may ask? It is about 45 minutes east of Montgomery and an hour or so west of Atlanta on I85. At it’s center is the the “loveliest village on the plain” Auburn, home of Auburn University . Many times in my life have I tripped here on fall afternoons to partake in a little religion in the form of college football.

This time it was different. My editor sent me to Auburn in search of the inside story of tailgating. So with newly minted press badge in hand I made the 200 mile trip to God’s Country.

I arrived in Auburn around 3PM and met up with an old friend who was tailgating in the RV forest near Jordan-Hare Stadium. I was told, “Come on up. We’ll have plenty to drink and plenty to eat.” My friend was set-up in style – camper humming on a generator, awning outstretched to protect from the east Alabama sun, and color TV with satellite to watch the second week of Lloyd Carr’s farewell tour. I decided to take a walk through the RV’s to get some interesting pictures for the story, I came back with a hot 32 year old blond. It turns out press passes are made with beta pheromones.

One of our fellow tailgaters was a cop and apparently badges are made with even more beta pheromones. The rest of this story goes PG-13 so I will skip it and get back to the job and hand.

Many college football teams have a tradition of entering the stadium by walking a gauntlet of adoring fans. Auburn was the first team to ever do this and it was a great place to snap pics. Afterwards I headed to will call to get my credentials. I was shone the ropes by a veteran sports photog who pointed me in the right direction, the press box.

An elevator ride took me to the cozy confines on the 50 yard line. A desk was tagged, “Welcome to Auburn: Current/Mobile Press Register.” That’s right, no bleacher seat, I had a desk, a comfortable chair, and a fifty yardline seat between an Auburn beat writer from Birmingham and a scout from (brace yourself LeBlanc) the New England Patriots. Best of all – all-you-can eat chili dogs and sweet tea. Auburn is not a mix of Southerners and Northerners like many cities in Dixie, therefore there was no unsweet tea available. Amen.

I was given programs plus insider information. Every fifteen minutes or so we were given printouts of the stats of the game. Behind me were tons of TV’s with other games going. There was no wait to get into the bathroom, an air conditioned cafe, and did I mention the chili dogs?

Other than Auburn losing, it was a great experience. Next week I may get to go to Baton Rouge.