Sarah Patterson: An Icon That Touched Many Lives

  

The 2014 edition of SEC Football Media Days, as expected, dominated most of the sports-related headlines in our parts last week, with a record crowd of media representatives flooding Hoover to interrogate coaches and players from all 14 conference programs.

For Tuscaloosa, however, and also a good portion of the SEC community, the retirement announcement last week of longtime University of Alabama gymnastics coach Sarah Patterson also resulted  in many stories throughout the week. There were also plenty of tributes from former UA gymnasts, sports columnists and members of the UA athletic family. Of course all of the tributes were very much merited and truly well-deserved as Patterson is an iconic coaching figure, not only within the confines of Tuscaloosa and UA, but also on the SEC and national level.

That is what happens when you are the creator of a program which has tallied over 1,000 wins, and a coach who equaled legendary Alabama football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant by leading the Crimson Tide gymnastics program to six national titles.

Upon listening to Patterson's press conference and reading the numerous stories detailing all of the achievements of her and her program in the days that followed, I wondered if I should follow suit and write my own piece chronicling her success while celebrating not only  the incredible numbers she has totaled with the Crimson Tide, but also her overall impact on the Capstone and West Alabama in general.

Although I have a lot of personal admiration for Patterson  and the program that she and her husband David largely built by themselves following her hiring by Bryant some 36 years ago, I have to admit that I have never been a huge follower of the program, or gymnastics in general,  and have probably only attended a handful of actual meets in my life if that many. I have always enjoyed keeping up with the athletic and academic achievements of the many great student-athletes she has brought into the UA program. I even gained a pretty nice friendship with one of Patterson's most legendary gymnasts ever in Dee Foster, a very impressive and intelligent person and an individual that truly represented the standard of excellence that Patterson no doubt expected from the thousands of young people who she coached and mentored over the years.

It dawned on me that perhaps a better route to take would to actually let one of Patterson's own gymnasts write a guest blog about the legendary coach for this site,  so I immediately contacted one of them who I happen to be Facebook friends with and gauged her interest in doing a piece in honor of her departing coach. I was thrilled when she said she would love to do it.  However, a few days later, after she had already written her blog, the opportunity for my site to publish it was ultimately declined by a representative of the UA Athletic Media Relations Department without any explanation. To say that I was extremely disappointed and frustrated with this decision is a huge understatement, but unfortunately I was not the least bit surprised by it.

For many years, going back to my days with the Crimson White while a student at the Capstone, I have on numerous occasions dealt with the overall rude and genuinely snotty nature of many officials within this department, so this short and sweet rejection note was just another example of how uncooperative and pompous certain people within this department can be.  To be fair I will say that this does not describe the department as a whole as I have also been fortunate enough to have had good working relationships with media office officials who have gone out of their way to be helpful and nice.

I can definitely detail more negative stories than good ones, though, regarding Alabama media relations people, however,  and I certainly felt it was unfortunate that because in this case a representative chose to leave me in limbo for a day before finally blowing me off, a Crimson Tide gymnast was deprived of the opportunity to express in her own words the impact that Patterson has had on her life.  And yes, the guest blog would have been a great and no doubt widely-read bonus for the faithful readers of the site that Darren Owens and I take much pride in and also put a lot of effort into maintaining.

All that being said, it is still very much an honor for me to  express much admiration to Patterson for leading a program that has been a legendary one in the annals of intercollegiate athletics, and one that has also been a jewel for my alma mater in terms of being a model for athletic and academic dominance.  I also wish her much happiness and good health well into the future, especially after she is fully healed from her upcoming knee replacement surgeries.

Of course the gaudy numbers relative to the program's success under Patterson's leadership speak for themselves, including the 6 national titles, 1,006 wins, 43 postseason championships, 8 SEC team titles, 29 regional championships, 20 Super Six appearances and of course the list simply goes on and on.  Perhaps even more impressive, though, is the fact that during Patterson's coaching reign, 73 athletes were tabbed as scholastic All-Americans, 8 received the Honda Award for top women's gymnast in the nation and Kim Jacobs was recently awarded the Honda Cup for top female collegiate student-athlete.

I wish Dana Duckworth nothing but the best as she takes over the leadership of Crimson Tide gymnastics, but she definitely faces a formidable challenge in maintaining the enormous athletic and academic standards which have been achieved by Patterson's program. And to think, when Patterson was first hired by Bryant, the Tide gymnasts were relegated to practicing in an armory, and  the program struggled mightily in the early going to attract any semblance of media coverage and attendance numbers.

What Patterson ultimately built, of course, is a gymnastics dynasty that all Crimson Tide alumni and supporters can be very proud of, and her place in the upper echelon of collegiate coaching legends, including Bryant and Pat Summitt, is already well secured.

I guess what is most impressive to me, is the number of quality ladies that Patterson has guided into not only being high-caliber gymnasts, but also top-class individuals.  The impact that the Pattersons have made in the overall Tuscaloosa and West Alabama communities, not only with their efforts toward disadvantaged individuals but also with their educational efforts toward issues such as breast cancer awareness.

She has left footprints on the University of Alabama and the City of Tuscaloosa that will never be filled, and I imagine she and her husband will continue to impact our community, even as she retires from coaching, for many years to come.

When I think of Patterson, I cannot help but drift back to a powerful gesture by her and some of her gymnasts toward a friend of mine in terms of a testament of her character, kindness and integrity.

This friend and his wife have been avid and regular supporters of Patterson's UA gymnastics program, but during the past couple of years have dealt with a good share of personal tragedy. In the aftermath of this tragedy, Patterson and her gymnasts not only showered them with various gifts, such as Crimson Tide sportswear, but also with an abundance of love and encouragement  that was desperately needed at this time. And this was for people that they really did not even know.

There is no telling how many more similar gestures just like that were made by Patterson and/or her gymnasts to other people in need, but I am guessing there have probably been too many to count.

Of course all of the flashy victory and championship totals and the number of All-Americans in her program speak to her prowess as a collegiate gymnastics coach.  But the number of quality people who have emerged from her program as even more dynamic individuals, and the thousands of lives she has touched along the way speak to her greatness as a person, and also speaks volumes about why she will be so greatly missed by the UA athletic family. 

Eagerly Awaiting The SEC Network

After a long summer dry spell in the sports world during the past several months (of course not meaning any disrespect to the suddenly-rabid bandwagon soccer fans who have flooded my Facebook and Twitter news feeds during the last few weeks), the arrival of SEC football players and coaches in Hoover for the beginning of Media Days Monday signaled that college football is finally just around the corner. That, of course, means that all will soon be right and good in the sporting universe.  Then I can finally stop desperately drowning myself in pigskin preview magazines.

SEC officials were expecting the largest media turnout in the history of the frenzied event this week, and I certainly would have loved to have been in the middle of all the madness. A couple of weeks ago I actually applied for Media Day credentials for both this site and also for the Tuscaloosa-based publication that I regularly write sports articles for.  Ultimately I was denied for both by the powers-that-be in the SEC office.

The power to select who may obtain credentials for the event is of course the SEC's prerogative, but it is also a little disappointing.  Just from having attended the event in the past, I know that passes are given to some longtime attendees because they happen to be a part of the "old boy network" that definitely exists in the SEC media culture.  They are also typically issued to wannabe journalists who simply show up each year to grab free souvenirs and participate in the golf event associated with the festivities without actually listening to any of the speakers or talking with the players.  I was, however, hoping for the opportunity to actually cover the event for a growing publication in one of the SEC's most prominent markets, that being Tuscaloosa.  I mention all of that not intending to take a shot at SEC officials, nor to whine about not being allowed the golden ticket to attend the proceedings at the Galleria, but to emphasize just how increasingly strong the demand is for any access to the nation's most powerful conference, especially when it comes to college football.

The huge media throng at Media Days, and the presence of ESPN cameras and personalities to once again chronicle much of the event, only serves as yet another exclamation mark to the statement that yes, it is largely an SEC world, and this will not be changing anytime soon.  

As has been the case in previous editions of Media Days, SEC Commissioner Mike Slive kicked off the first day of the event with his annual state of the conference address.  This allows the opportunity for Slive to speak with obvious pride (and perhaps a little bit of justified downright arrogance) about the accomplishments during the past year by various conference teams and athletes, both athletically and academically, and to also update the assembled scribes, analysts and other media types on developments that are occurring within the SEC or changes that might be on the horizon.

I cannot say that Slive is always a riveting speaker by any means, but he can display a dry wit at times and he usually expresses his sentiments in a very eloquent manner. He obviously is a very gifted historian as well, as his comments on Monday included quotes from Winston Churchill and Nelson Mandela among other notable figures.  Much like former SEC leader Roy Kramer, whose main legacy will always likely be the SEC Championship Game, Slive is an innovator, and the SEC Network which debuts on August 14 will likely be just one of the main feathers in his hat when his overall tenure and sheer legacy is considered.  

The network, which is a partnership with ESPN, a major contributor to the growth of college football over the years, will likely shape up as perhaps one of the conference’s greatest jewels, especially during the reign of Slive. Slive was also a key contributor in the development of college football’s new playoff system by the way.

Obviously for those of us who eat, drink and breathe college football once the pigskin is first kicked off in August, just the thought of the network and all of its possibilities is enough to cause major salivation.

I suspect that many of you share my opinion that there can never really be enough football (and by that, I mean football and not futbol), and providing that all of our respective cable providers reach agreement to carry the SEC Network in the very near future, I cannot foresee a lack of good college football ever being a problem again. Thanks to the new network, and the agreements that the SEC already have in place with CBS and the existing ESPN networks, we will be able see every SEC team play on a weekly basis, which is always a good thing, and of course we will also still be seeing plenty of big games from other conferences on other networks every week, so the options for viewing will be pretty much limitless.

If being able to plop down on the couch or in your recliner with your food and beverage of choice, and to watch a huge number of college football games is not enough of a treat each week, the SEC Network will also serve up a veritable gridiron smorgasbord that includes numerous studio and discussion shows, live pre-game and postgame discussion shows, highlight shows and even airings of classic SEC games which date back as far as the 1960s. I am personally pretty pumped up about seeing some of those vintage games, considering I am such an avid historian of college football anyway. Imagine turning on the new ESPN channel during the week at various times and being able to watch a Florida/Georgia affair during the 1980s when Herschel Walker was still rambling between the hedges in Athens or tuning in and seeing an Alabama/Auburn game from the 1970s.

I am also looking forward to seeing how some of the network newcomers such as former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy and former Florida great Tim Tebow blend in with some of the ESPN analysts already in place. This includes the legendary Paul Finebaum, who has already cemented a solid presence at ESPN with his bold candor and acerbic personality. He has been one of my favorite analysts and writers for as long as I have loved sports and The Paul Finebaum Show should also be a great fixture for the network.  McElroy and Tebow have engaging personalities, and that should blend in well with the likes of Jesse Palmer.

Besides what the SEC Network will mean for college football, I think it will also prove to be a boost for basketball, baseball and softball and even sports which are not seen on television quite as much, such as volleyball, track and even swimming.  The conference has had plenty of powerhouses and even dynasties in some of those “other sports” too.

If that was still not enough for you, the SEC Network package will also include the always-interesting SEC Storied documentaries, which to me are always fascinating and well-conceived. Some of the previous ones have included the touching film about the Manning family and the riveting one concerning the intense gymnastics rivalry between Sarah Patterson’s Alabama program and Suzanne Yoculan’s Georgia program. Upcoming films will include what is sure to be a tear jerking one about Ole Miss legend Chucky Mullins.

I think the network will be a win-win situation for anyone who loves Southeastern Conference sports in general, and will no doubt only serve to confirm why the SEC is king, and also why jealousy reigns among the other conferences who keep unsuccessfully attempting to knock it from its throne.  I think it will also be a shining tribute to Slive.

Field Of Dreams Still Tops In My Book

"It keeps on getting better, how life just keeps movin' on.

Children growing older, seems I just looked over

Found that time was here and gone."

From Time is Here And Gone, by The Doobie Brothers.

The  opening lines above to one of my favorite Doobie Brothers songs have definitely been hitting home with me over the course of the past few months.  Although I don't want to sound like I am growing old before my time, I am surely beginning to feel the aches and pains, and the occasional exhaustion of a man who is creeping ever closer to his 50s, and simply wondering just where the time went.

I guess it is during this time in your life when you become a bit more cognizant of life seemingly zooming by in much more rapid speed. I find myself also becoming more emotional now as people I have known most or all of my life begin to fade dramatically and then suddenly they are no longer in my life anymore. My dad's death back in November touched me in ways that I still probably do not fully realize yet, but I know it has certainly made me a lot more aware regarding the issue of mortality.

OK, I know all of that is a bit gloomy, so I want to lighten the mood just a tad by noting that even a much more trivial matter such as my favorite movie of all time has also served to remind me yet once again that even 25 years can travel by in what seems like the speed of light.  This year marks the 25th anniversary of the iconic Kevin Cosner film Field of Dreams, a Frank Capra-esque movie which has appropriately been tabbed by many as the It's A Wonderful Life of our generation.

A couple of nights ago, with nothing of note really on television to suit my viewing needs, I pulled out my DVD of the superbly-cast (James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster, Amy Madigan, Timothy Busfield and Ray Liotta, among others, also shine alongside Costner, my favorite actor) and superbly-directed fantasy-drama, and watched along with my mom.  And for me personally, even 25 years after I first saw this Oscar-nominated flick for the first time with friends at a theater in Tuscaloosa, Field of Dreams, shot on that now-legendary farm in Dyersville, Iowa,  still resonates within me on a deep and powerful level, and the emotional impact that it has on me has only grown through the years.

Some of you might say those are overly syrupy sentiments to use for a fictional baseball movie, but for people who have always totally embraced all of the movie's various layers, of which there are many, they recognize that simply writing Field of Dreams off as a "sports flick" is actually demeaning to the film's overall brilliance in terms of the script, and its ability to bring so many conflicts to a neat and poignant resolution while wrapped in a baseball theme.

While there are religious tones to the film, with the Heaven vs Iowa thing, the more prevailing themes include the strained father-son relationship between Costner's Ray Kinsella and John Kinsella, played in moving fashion by Dwier Brown,  the deep desire of Jones' Terrence Mann to revive his career as a journalist, the heartbreaking love of the game of baseball expressed in such descriptive form by Liotta's scandal-ridden "Shoeless" Joe Jackson and the story of Lancaster's revered "Moonlight" Graham, a very successful doctor who fell agonizingly short of achieving his chance at the spotlight in the game he so deeply loved.

All of those storylines are, of course, resolved in miraculous fashion and we are all transported back into a simpler and better time,  and I guess like Costner's character at the end of the film, we are all wondering if that Iowa cornfield is indeed Heaven or just a symbol of what many of us would like Heaven to be.  Perhaps it is only fitting near the end of the movie when John Kinsella tells his son that there is indeed a Heaven, noting "it is where dreams come true."  The father and son dynamic of the film is what has always grabbed me by the heart more than anything about the film, and watching the movie now in the aftermath of my father's passing only makes the viewing experience of Field of Dreams even more emotional for and relatable to me.  This is not to say that the relationship between my dad and I was anywhere close to that of the Kinsellas in terms of their long-term estrangement and the cruel remark that Ray Kinsella made to his father regarding "Shoeless" Joe Jackson.  I loved my dad dearly and we were very close for the most part and shared so many incredible times together. He was truly my hero.

But dad and I did not always agree on everything, and it was hard for him to show his emotions to me until later in life when he had mellowed quite a bit with age. Like with every father and son, we had our arguments and I am sure I tested his patience more times than even I knew sometimes.  But sports was always a common bond for us, especially Alabama football....but also baseball. My dad had a baseball hero too, and it was the legendary Stan "The Man" Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals, whom he named me after, and I take pride in that fact every day of my life.  We didn't play many games of catch together, but we watched a lot of baseball together and especially loved those games between his Cardinals and my Cubs. That great baseball rivalry was also a fun personal rivalry between dad and I.  

That is why the whole segment near the end of the film with the two Kinsellas is so compelling, so engrossing and even gut-wrenching, from the time that Costner's character first sees his dad walking toward him to the end of the movie when Ray Kinsella asks his dad if he wants to "have a catch" and the two instantly reconnect while the lighted baseball field beams in all of its beauty, and the lights of cars from miles and miles away are seen making their way toward the magical farm.  Of course the sight of all of those cars also makes good the predictions made by Kinsella's young daughter and by Mann that "people will come" to see the field and to pay money to see it, which no doubt was a way to resolve yet another conflict relating to the financial difficulties the family were facing with the farm. No matter how many times I see the movie, that final overhead shot of the gleaming park below and the cars coming toward it, never fails to give me chills. The music in that final sequence, and throughout the entire movie, also only serves to enhance the mystique of Field of Dreams even more.

Happy 25th Anniversary to an American icon and a cinematic treasure, and may the legacy of Field of Dreams always remain strong.  It will always move me in ways that no other movie can even come close to doing.  As Ray Kinsella would say, "It is perfect."

 

A Little Bitterness From The Ole Ball Coach

Don't look now, but the start of the college football season continues to loom ever closer. 

This may be a hard concept for some of you to actually grasp, especially those among you who are currently swept up in the magic (heavy sarcasm) of the soccer extravaganza which is the World Cup, in all of its neck-biting and mind-numbing glory. 

But there are certain tell-tale signs that the sport that the great majority of us love the most, and have endured many cold sweats and dizzying episodes of panic without during these past several cruel months, is about to once again take its rightful place at the forefront of the sports universe. These include the presence of various college football preview magazines at bookstores and newsstands everywhere, the annual invasion of coaches, players and fans to Hoover for SEC Media Days being about two weeks away and the fact that Steve Spurrier is once again taking little digs at other coaches or programs. 

Anyone who has followed college football on a moderately regular basis is well aware that for that past two decades or so, the "ole ball coach" has seemingly generated as many headlines with some of his jabs at programs such as Tennessee (once noting that you cannot spell Citrus without UT whenever the Volunteers found themselves relegated to a lesser bowl such as the Citrus Bowl) and Florida State (referring to the Seminole program as Free Shoes University in relation to a 1994 scandal involving several of Bobby Bowden's players) as with his success at both Florida and South Carolina. 

There have been occasions where some of Spurrier's shots have come off as fairly amusing, and that is one of the many reasons the veteran, visor-tossing coach has often been a darling of the media. Of course, however, at other times, Spurrier’s zingers have not played quite as well, and in fact have reduced the coach to sounding petty and a little vindictive. I would definitely place Spurrier’s latest mini-controversy in the petty category, with perhaps a little sour grapes and jealousy thrown in for good measure. 

As you know by now, Spurrier aimed right for the top of the college football ladder for his latest attack as he basically insinuated that Alabama coach Nick Saban, who tops any current credible list as the nation’s top college football coach, and who has basically also secured his place in the pantheon of the best coaches of all-time, has somehow underachieved during his seven-year tenure at the Capstone. 

Let’s see. During Saban’s coaching reign in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide has captured three national championships while just falling short in a couple of those other seasons after being in serious national title contention during the majority of those seasons. Alabama has been a fixture in the polls under Saban and has spent many of those weeks as the nation’s No. 1 team.  He has dominated the recruiting rankings like no coach ever has, bringing in several of the nation’s top classes to Tuscaloosa, and many analysts have stated that the incoming class is perhaps the best class ever assembled.  In seemingly record speed, Saban turned a Crimson Tide program heading toward total irrelevancy into the gold standard of college football, and his three national championships in four years with the Crimson Tide (including the back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012) have already secured Alabama’s place as one of the top college football dynasties of all time. 

Apparently that record does not quite cut it with Spurrier, however, who said he feels that perhaps Saban has not “maxed out potentially as well as he could” due to the fact that the Tide coach, despite all of the talent that he has accumulated at UA, has only achieved two SEC titles.  Of course it is never really surprising when the former Florida legend puts his foot into his ever smirking mouth, but the comments regarding Saban were over the top even for him, and probably would be considered quite comical if not so remarkably absurd.  And this is coming from a coach who might actually want to look at the man in the mirror when it comes to underachievement. 

There is no doubt about Spurrier’s place as one of the game’s greatest coaches, and he has definitely earned his legendary status in Gainesville, both as a player and a coach. I feel that what he has done at South Carolina is also remarkable as he turned the Gamecock program into a consistent power, both on the SEC and national level. This is doubly impressive at a school which has never been known as a huge football mecca, even with its share of legendary players and an overall great football atmosphere at Williams-Brice Stadium. But due to the nice coaching job done by Spurrier himself in Gainesville during his 12-year tenure, the overall expectations for the Gator program will always greatly surpass those of the South Carolina program and if you look at Spurrier’s time with the Gators, it is definitely a study in magic moments combined with plenty of missed opportunities as well. 

In 12 seasons with the Gators, Florida captured six SEC titles, which is impossible to discount in terms of impressive conference supremacy, but it also should be noted that the SEC during Spurrier’s Florida tenure was very solid, but hardly the powerhouse that it has been in the course of the past 8 years (with the SEC having won 7 of the past 8 national titles and being only 13 seconds away from having captured the last 8 titles). Winning SEC titles is more difficult than ever now, and the fact that Alabama was able to gain the 2011 national title without even winning its own division only serves as testament to that fact. It is also fact that Alabama’s ability to beat a conference rival in the national title game that it had previously lost to during the regular season is one of the main reasons why we are finally having a college playoff this coming season, along with the SEC’s overall dominance during the past decade. 

During that same period, however, Florida was only able to capture one national title, and no matter what the ball coach might have to say about the importance of taking home conference crowns, he established a program in Gainesville where national championship trophies had become a routine part of the expectation level. But despite the fact that the Gators are located in arguably the most talent-rich state in the nation, Spurrier has to be frustrated with the fact that Florida could only get it done one time on the national championship stage. 

So being well aware of this fact, some might wonder why Spurrier would be inclined to criticize the record of the coach currently leading the nation’s top program. 

I think jealousy may play a role in some of this as Saban is currently gaining all of the national acclaimed praise that Spurrier routinely received at Florida up until the time that he left his alma mater for a forgettable stint as coach of NFL’s Washington Redskins. I think Spurrier also realizes that his coaching days may be somewhat numbered and knows that his Gamecock program will never reach the plateau of success that Saban’s Crimson Tide has attained. 

This may be reaching somewhat, but I think that sour grapes may also play into the equation somewhat as the Crimson Tide has been a true nemesis to Spurrier at times, especially during his time at Florida. 

Spurrier actually dominated the Crimson Tide during his Florida days, topping Alabama several times in the SEC title game and also besting Bama in a couple of regular-season games during Gene Stallings’ tenure as coach of the Tide. He also gained a nice home win at South Carolina against Saban’s defending national champions in 2010. But it is probably the games in which his Gators fell short against the Crimson Tide that might actually still cause him to lose a bit of sleep on occasion. 

Of course the inaugural version of the SEC’s title game in 1992, pitting Spurrier’s Gators against Stallings’Crimson Tide is considered one of the most important games in college football history, as the Gators were not only hoping to win the conference’s first title game at Birmingham’s Legion Field, but to also crush the national championship aspirations of an 11-0 Crimson Tide team. The rest of course is history with Alabama’s Antonio Langham providing the winning points with a pick six off of Florida quarterback Shane Matthews in a riveting 28-21 Alabama victory. That iconic Langham play may have translated into the most crushing defeat of Spurrier’s coaching career.  Then flash forward to 1999, when Alabama ventured into The Swamp and ended Florida’s 30-game home winning streak with a breathtaking 40-39 overtime shocker. That same season, Alabama completed a two-game sweep of Spurrier’s team by drilling the Gators 34-7 in the SEC title game. I imagine the fact that a Tide team coached by Mike DuBose, basically a modern-day version of J.B. “Ears” Whitworth in theannals of Crimson Tide football, was able to knock of his Florida team not once but twice has to also be an irksome thing for Spurrier to have on his record.

Whether or not those stinging losses to the Crimson Tide have anything to do with Spurrier’s recent remarks regarding Saban is fun to ponder, and debatable at best. But I, for one, am not discounting the possibility anyway.  At the end of the day, I think the ball coach should probably concentrate on improving his own legacy considering that he himself has fallen quite short in the one area that is most important for SEC schools who want to maintain football programs that are considered to be in the upper echelon category, and that is national championship rings.  In fact, it might be nice for Spurrier to gain at least one SEC title at South Carolina before he continues to hurl hollow jabs at other very proven coaches. 

Guest Blog: Lauren Sisler

Editor's Note by Stan J. Griffin: Late last year after my friend Darren Owens and I created this sports blog site, one of the first people I enlisted to help us out was Channel 42 sports anchor/reporter Lauren Sisler, who I had not long before become friends with on Facebook. Just taking a random risk, I sent her a message, informing her about our site and inquiring if she might be open to being interviewed for The Sports Connection. Even though she had never met me or had any real conversation with me, she quickly replied and said that she would love to help out. I sent her a few questions, and what followed was a great and movingstory, not only about her sports career and the journey that led her to Channel 42, but also a riveting story that detailed some of the highs and lows of her personal life. This also included a bit of tragedy as well.  The interview was received very well, and to this day, it is probably the blog piece that has received the most comments since we began the site in November of lastyear. Despite her crazy, busy schedule of late, which includes getting prepared to cover both the Sugar Bowl matchup between Alabama and Oklahoma and also the BCS Championship matchup between Auburn and Florida State, Lauren, without hesitation, agreed tofurnish her own guest blog to The Sports Connection, and a piece which I think you will also find enjoyable, especially if you're a fan of Gus Malzahn's Auburn Tigers. Thanks again Lauren for your excellent work and valuable help. The following is the exclusive guest blog by Lauren Sisler.

When I first moved to the state of Alabama to work at CBS 42, I was assigned to cover the Alabama football team. I traveled to all of their home and away games and enjoyed the thrill of the Crimson Tide earning their 14th National Championship.  But it was all still very new to me. The SEC that is. It didn't take long however, to understand why the SEC straight dominates college football.

The following season, 2012, our crews switched things up and I was assigned to the Auburn Tigers.  Now if you followed their fall from grace, you can probably relate when I say each week got harder and harder. Eventually, I was numb to the losses.  As a media member, it's tough following a team that is always on the losing end. Sitting in the press box, standing on the sideline, doing postgame interviews can all be difficult when you have a team that can never find a way to win (aside from 3 wins that had very little meaning).

But then the Gus Bus rolled into town and little did everyone know the final destination would be a trip to Pasadena for the BCS National Championship.

The season seemed to start off a little slow. Nothing too flashy about the Auburn Tigers. But then as the season rolled on, the Tigers threw on the flash bulbs (The Drive--Week 3 against Mississippi State). From there, there was no turning back.  I remember running back Tre Mason said "We will be a  Top 10 team this season." That comment came soon after Auburn broke the Top 25 so many thought that was a bold statement.  Obviously, the guys in the locker room knew something we didn't.  Gus Malzahn got these guys to buy in from jump.  Forget 2012, "It's a New Day."  

It sure is.  

The Auburn Nation came to life as Gus Malzahn orchestrated it all.  And not to mention, the personnel really didn't change from 2012 to 2013.  Just the coaching staff and the catalyst,  quarterback Nick Marshall.  Just what Auburn needed.  A guy like Marshall who can throw the ball, run the ball, and even fake out his own teammates on the read option.  It also helps to have a unit of running backs that can stack up yards and an offensive line that can open big holes.  Defense and special teams certainly gets credit too.  The defense bailed the offense out in critical situations meanwhile special teams (punt returns, kick returns, ohand field goal returns) proved to be a turning point in several games.

Biggest takeaway for me this season...

I spent last season with the Auburn Tigers.  I felt their pain.  Losing week in and week out while Alabama was on top of the world was a tough pill to swallow.  Our Alabama crew was getting to see some good football.  I, on the other hand, witnessed a lot of bad football and I hated every minute of it.  Not so much for me, but for those players, the coaches, and the fans.  Remember, I am not biased and don't take Alabama over Auburn or vice versa, however, covering an outstanding football team makes my job a whole lot more fun! That said, I can empathize with Auburn's 2012 season.  My junior year at Rutgers, I was part of a National Championship gymnastics team. The following year we fell less than a tenth of a point shy of making the finals.  That was it. My gymnastics career was over and I felt like I never really got to have a proper farewell.  I can only imagine what the 2012 Auburn seniors felt like. They went from being on top of the world with a National Championship to a steady nosedive to the very bottom.  In my opinion, experiencing a 3-9 season gives you a much greater appreciation for what Auburn has accomplished this season and I have a strong feeling the players, the guys that pour their heart and soul into the game of football, feel the same way.

Some of my memorable moments (the life of a sports broadcaster)...

-The 13 hour drive to College Station on a bean bag in the live truck that included Sodolak's Chicken Fried Bacon, a pitstop at Buc-ee's, and the nicest fans I've ever met

-Nick Marshall went down with a knee injury in the Ole Miss game. Ironically, I went down with a fractured ankle that was the size of a tennis ball when we finished our postgame show (old gymnastics injuries never go away).  The giant walking boot was a lovely accessory for the next 3 weeks

-Our live truck battery died during our pregame show before the Georgia game. Our crews got the shot back up however I had to race back to the studio (2 hours away) in case the shot went back down.  I didn't get to witness the Miracle at Jordan-Hare in person but I did get back in time to catch it in HD in the sports office

-The Iron Bowl!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you weren't there to see that, or haven't seen any replays, I suggest you do a little Google search. Enough said.

-The SEC Championship in the Georgia Dome. It's where I started the season for the Chick-Fil-a Kickoff between Alabama and Virginia Tech. It's where I ended the season...almost!!!  A trip to New Orleans and Pasadena are in my near future and I am grateful to have the opportunity to cover two of the nation's best football teams to ring in the new year!

Iron Bowl Preview: An Iron Bowl For The Ages

Much of the discussion concerning Saturday's epic showdown in Jordan-Hare Stadium between Nick Saban's No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and Gus Malzahn's No. 4 Auburn Tigers has focused on whether this might be the biggest Iron Bowl in the heated rivalry's long and intense history.

First of all, and of course if you live in this state you do not really need me to pass this on to you as it is not exactly breaking news, but any Iron Bowl is going to be off the charts in terms of the importance and significance of the game to both schools and their respective supporters whether the teams are playing  for a possible berth in the national championship game or if they are just playing for a winning record or simply bragging rights.  That is the way it is when you are talking about the nation's top college football rivalry, and no rivalry game comes close in terms of the animosity, tension and just raw emotion that is generated by Alabama vs Auburn. So, I really don't want to hear it from the fans of games such as USC/UCLA, Michigan/Ohio State, Florida State/Florida or even Army/Navy (with of course no disrespect intended to our nation's armed forces). And while the players and coaches for both the Tigers and Crimson Tide have always seemed to have a healthy respect for each other, it is far different for the fans of both schools and this year is certainly no different.

Saying all that, I do not think one would be overhyping Saturday's contest on The Plains by calling it the biggest Iron Bowl in the legendary history of the series.  Certainly there are many facets to this particular contest that seem to confirm that bold comment, although each individual Iron Bowl always seems to have its own unique identity and heroics whether those famed feats be provided by an expected source, such as a Bo Jackson or a  Johnny Musso, or someone not quite as predictable, like a Rory Turner or a Tre Smith.  Several storylines regarding this weekend's game, however, place the 2013 Iron Bowl at the top of the list in terms of sheer magnitude, and these include:

* RANKINGS:  With two-time defending national champion Alabama entering the game still holding the top spot in the land and in the BCS rankings, and the Tigers carrying a No. 4 ranking along with its sparkling 10-1 record, the two teams bring the highest combined rank in the rivalry's history, and an upset by the Tigers over a Tide team that is favored by around 10 points would certainly throw a lot more chaos into the final year of the Bowl Championship Series.

* AUBURN TURNAROUND: If an Auburn team still riding a miraculous comeback victory against Georgia is able to somehow defeat the 11-0 Crimson Tide,  a program which has captured the past two Iron Bowls by a 91-14 margin, it would not only represent a stunning turnaround from last season's 49-0 dismantling of the Tigers by the Crimson Tide, but it would also put a fitting end to a remarkable regular season rebound campaign by Malzahn's team from a dismal 3-9 season in 2012. It would also send Auburn to the SEC Championship Game as Western Division champs and give the Tigers an outside chance of playing in the BCS title game.

* ALABAMA CONTINUES TO CHASE HISTORY: Whether it be this week's Iron Bowl, or Alabama's first game this season against Virginia Tech, every game on the Crimson Tide schedule is a mammoth one and a huge headlining event because every win by quarterback AJ McCarron and company moves Alabama one step closer toward its historic goal of winning an unprecedented third consecutive BCS national championship. Auburn is just the latest obstable in the way of that quest. Whether or not Auburn proves to be the toughest roadblock in the way of possible trips to Atlanta and Pasadena for the Crimson Tide remains to be seen.

As far as the game itself goes, I see this game going in two possible ways.  Much like the 2009 Iron Bowl, also at Jordan-Hare during the Tide's first national championship season under Saban, If Auburn gets off to a fast start and gets its crowd into a frenzy, I could see the Tide getting into an early 14-0 or 17-0 type hole. This was also the predicament that the Tide found itself in during an earlier road game this season against Johnny Manziel and the Texas A & M Aggies. Of course the 2009 Tide eventually settled into the game and pulled out a 26-21 victory late in the game, and this year's Tide team eventually rallied to pull out a scary 49-42 triumph in Kyle Field. It would be interesting to see if Alabama would have the discipline and maturity to be able to withstand an early Auburn uprising and rally yet again in a dangerously perilous environment.

Then again, these are the type games that Alabama often starts fast in and plays some of its best games, especially on the road, as the Crimson Tide often seems to play fairly comfortably in an "us against the world" type of situation. If this were to happen and Alabama was able to dictate play and perhaps expose the Tigers as somewhat overrated, I think the Crimson Tide could win fairly comfortably. I am not saying that Alabama could win 49-0 again or even in that range, but I definitely think it would not be out of the realm of possibility to see Alabama win by two touchdowns or so.  Alabama, despite a sloppy performance against Mississippi State in Starkville, has played much like a team on a mission during the past month or so.  This was especially true in its impressive win over a good LSU team that dominated Auburn earlier this season. LSU was the only team that Auburn has played this season that remotely resembled the Crimson Tide, and Auburn was no match against Les Miles' team despite some late points that made the score closer than the game actually was.

So what happens on Saturday?

I think the contest will range somewhere in the middle of my two scenarios listed above.  I think Auburn will start fast, still riding the momentum from the Georgia game, and it would not surprise me to see the Tigers with an early 10-0 lead or so, but I don't think the Alabama defense will allow Auburn to get too much of a cushion as the Tigers will not run roughshod over the Crimson Tide as it has run over pretty much everyone else on its schedule. Auburn will not be able to be one-dimensional and have a lot of success against C.J. Moseley and company and quarterback Nick Marshall will definitely be forced to have some success in the air to keep the game competitive. Of course the Tigers do have a lot of weapons in terms of its running game and with its receivers so I do expect Auburn to be able to score some points.  I think the biggest question of the game, however, involves the Auburn defense and how it will be able to handle emerging Heisman trophy candidate McCarron and his array of skill position weapons.  If Alabama's offensive line plays its "A" game and gets running backs such as T.J. Yeldon and Kenyan Drake going off early then it could definitely be a Crimson Tide type of day where Alabama is able to dominate the time of possession while keeping the dangerous quick-strike Tiger offense on the sidelines.  Again, though, I think the Tigers will find ways to get some points on the scoreboard and keep it close, but I think the Tide's focus on its mission, its ability to play tough on the road and withstand periods of adversity and its offensive firepower will prove to be a bit too much for the Tigers as Alabama improves to 12-0 and gets set for a probable meeting with surprising Missouri in the SEC Championship Game.

Alabama 30, Auburn 24.