LIKE IT IS : Long wait for college football season is over
Posted on Wednesday, July 23, 2008
HOOVER, Ala. — Starting this afternoon, the small lobby of the Wynfrey Hotel will be crowded.
That hotel is the temporary home and host for SEC Media Days.
The lobby, though, will mostly host fans who want an autograph. There will be a few professional peddlers, too. They’ll be the ones who have miniature helmets hanging off both arms and their hands are full of 8-by-10 glossies.
Down the hall that leads to Riverchase Galleria mall will be tables cluttered with the radio equipment of more than a dozen sports talk shows.
Up the escalator to the ballrooms is where the coaches, players and media will meet, and to keep the fans away, every media member must register and wear a badge at all times.
Opening day kicks off with a short talk by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive and then it is nonstop football until 5: 10 p.m.
The first day features Urban Meyer, head coach of Florida, who won’t say much, but he won’t be the most sought-after Gator. That will be quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the Heisman Trophy last season as a sophomore.
Mississippi State’s Sylvester Croom goes next, but a few of the reporters will have left with the Gators.
The largest ballroom will refill for Les Miles, head coach of defending BCS national champion LSU, and the day ends with Bobby Johnson of Vanderbilt talking to a less-than-full room.
Thursday morning, everything will be more crowded. The number of fans and autograph hounds will have increased, and the number of media on hand will, too, because the leadoff hitter is Nick Saban.
Saban is the head coach at Alabama, and no team in the SEC has more reporters covering it than the Crimson Tide. It will be standing room only when Saban talks, but he won’t say much, and he’ll make one or two passes at humor.
The crowd will not thin out much Thursday morning because the other coaches have built-in story lines.
Mark Richt’s Georgia team is being mentioned — along with Florida — as a strong candidate to win the BCS national championship.
Houston Nutt of Ole Miss follows Richt. He’s always a quotable coach, and it will be interesting to hear any responses he might have about his move to Oxford. He may even restate that the Rebels have more tradition than the Razorbacks.
Finishing the morning will be Phil “New Contract” Fulmer, who was thought to be on the hot seat coming into this season but just recently received a raise and contract extension.
There is not an afternoon session because of the traditional golf tournament that is sponsored by 12 bowls. Despite the heat, the golf event will be heavily attended, too.
Friday morning should find about 25 to 30 percent of the media gone, so Arkansas Coach Bobby Petrino might catch a break, but it is highly doubtful he is worried about his time on the podium.
On more than one occasion when asked about the Atlanta Falcons, he pleads temporary insanity for taking the job.
Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville kicks off the morning, and he is followed by Rich Brooks of Kentucky and then Petrino. The show closer is South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier.
Spurrier has a quick wit and usually charms the crowd as he manages to put all the responsibility for winning on the players.
There had been some who thought he might just walk away after this season — thanks to his stint in the NFL, he has more money than Fannie Mae did two weeks ago — but he said last week he was good to go for another five or six years.
The undefeated coaches will be mostly optimistic, while the players are a bit more realistic but still hopeful.
All the coaches and players have a mandatory amount of time with the media, but it is broken down to print in one room, radio in another and TV in a different room.
Today, the dog days of summer are finally finished.
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