Thoughts on the 2013 Iron Bowl

• I turned down my mother-in-law's last minute and very generous offer to attend this game. I jokingly (but not really) said that my blood pressure could not withstand that atmosphere. I now know that had I attended the game, I surely would have succumbed to cardiac arrest. 

• I was very impressed with the support and tenacity that was exhibited by The Auburn Family. From a former player's pep talk to the glorious booing of Paul Finebaum during his appearance on ESPN's College GameDay to the unimaginable crowd seen at Tiger Walk, Auburn fans were out in force before, during and after the game. 

Courtesy - Bleacher Report

• I am so, so glad that AJ McCarron's 99-yard touchdown pass isn't the most memorable play from this game.

• I need to give credit to Rod Bramblett. Within a three week span, he perfectly described two miraculous, game-ending plays as they happened. I owe Rod an apology for being so critical of him in an earlier post. Rod is a hard working man. This is the time of year in which Rod's duties for football and basketball overlap. Plus, he is frequently called on to lend his talents to activities such as Tim Hudson’s celebrity home run derby, which was held on Iron Bowl weekend. I should not fail to mention that Stan White's “OH MY GOSH” was the absolute best part of Rod's Kick Six call. I would love to have Stan's jubilant cry as my ringtone - someone please make this happen. You know you want to watch it again: 

• I cannot believe the number of fan reaction videos that have emerged after the Iron Bowl. I have so many questions and thoughts about this phenomenon. 

• When did so many people begin having enough foresight to capture their reactions to live events? I'm blown away by this notion. 

• The many, many reaction videos that I have watched have allowed me to arrive at this conclusion about fans that did not attend the game: Most Auburn fans watched the game in the comfort of their homes and most Alabama fans watched the game at their favorite restaurant, bar or…shopping mall. 

• From the numerous reaction videos I watched, I also deduced that there were far too many "mixed" viewing parties enjoying this year's Iron Bowl. I was really shocked to see how frequently this occurred. Gathering Auburn and Alabama fans in the same confines to watch this game on TV is never a good idea. Then again, it seems that it's even more dangerous for Alabama fans to watch the game with other Alabama fans. 

• Lastly, I was disappointed with some of the reaction videos produced by Auburn fans that were clearly staged and in no way recorded "in the moment". I'm looking at you, Auburn pool guy. 

• Was this the best Iron Bowl ever? Was this the best college football game ever? Was this the best sporting event ever? Many in the national media are lending their opinions to these questions and the answer seems to be "YES" to all three! From Brian Williams to Barbara Walters, the Tigers are getting lots of love for the incredible ending to this game. 

• The overhead shot that showed every inch of Pat Dye Field covered by the celebrating crowd was a truly amazing scene. 

Courtesy - ESPN

• Someone's cremated remains were dumped onto Pat Dye Field during the post-game celebration. Let that sink in for a moment. Whoever was responsible for this act had planned on getting onto that field one way or the other. That's bold. True story: a few seasons ago, I stopped at the Chevron on the corner of Glenn and College as I made my way to Jordan-Hare stadium. I purchased one of those slender sleeves of sunflower seeds to enjoy during the game. One of the security personnel that screens fans as they enter the stadium detected the seeds on my person and instructed me to throw them away. How someone managed to bring cremated human remains into that stadium is beyond me! 

• Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs kissed Gus Malzahn mere seconds after the game ended. Jay's hot seat has significantly cooled thanks to Gus's success and will remain at that temperature until basketball season is in full swing. Watch for the kiss near the end of this clip.

• Remember Ricardo! Let's not forget about Ricardo Louis and his amazing, game-winning catch against Georgia! Ask yourself this question: Would the Kick Six play more or less exciting had the Prayer at Jordan-Hare not occurred in the previous game? I say less. You see, Ricardo's catch whetted our appetite for miracles. 

• I honestly did not think that Alabama’s backup kicker Adam Griffith would make the 57-yard field goal to win the game. I was fully preparing for overtime. I didn't think Chris Davis would make it very far out of the endzone. I was sure that the refs would say that Chris stepped out of bounds on the Auburn sideline. 

• Let's not overlook Mizzou. The SEC Championship game against Missouri will certainly be yet another difficult challenge. I'm guilty of relishing Auburn's Iron Bowl victory without even giving Mizzou the first thought - and the game is only a few days away. 

• One more video - and this one is unedited, real-time footage of the Kick Six play as seen from the Alabama sideline. What's spectacular about this video is all that you see once the play is over. Auburn's Ryan Smith (#24) confidently flexes in front of a stunned Alabama team. Nick Saban silently exits the field with no one around him except two Alabama State Troopers. The Alabama cheerleaders stand motionless on the sidelines. A speechless (!!!) Scott Cochran turns back towards the field just before entering the visitor’s tunnel as if he expects the refs to negate the Kick Six play and call the teams back out. Stud Freshmen OJ Howard (Alabama - TE) and Carl Lawson (Auburn - DE) embrace on the field as do fellow Freshmen Jeremy Johnson (Auburn - QB) and Reuben Foster (Alabama - LB), who now sports a large afro along with his Auburn tattoo. Oh, and there's Bo Jackson on the field too! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the best video associated with the 2013 Iron Bowl:

• The 2013 Iron Bowl was a rollercoaster of a game and featured the absolute worst way a two-time defending national champion could lose to their rivals. What happened on the field on November 30th, 2013, is enough to qualify this game as one of the classics. All of the craziness that happened after the game only added to its legacy.

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like Val Kilmer. I recently watched Oliver Stone's The Doors for the first time. Even though this movie was your typically weird Oliver Stone film, it helped me learn about this band and also remember that Val Kilmer was the man in the 1990's. This realization prompted me to look back at Kilmer's career. You won't believe what one of the more questionable choices to play Batman is doing these days.

Yes, this is real. And yes, this is great acting. Visit the official Citizen Twain website for more details about this show. Kilmer's a great follow on Twitter too.

This week, I love watching Graham color. Graham's wonderful mommy goes to great lengths to make sure he stays entertained all day. He's recently taken a liking to coloring. It was never one of my favorite activities but I can't resist when he tugs on my hand to sit down and join him in a coloring session. He's mastered the basic scribble and can sorta say "blue" now. It's fun to watch him give it his best try. Sometimes he uses his left hand, sometimes he uses his right hand, sometimes he uses both hands annnnd sometimes he does this:

This week, I don't like John Calipari's recruiting success. In a past post, I mentioned the incredible achievement of Duke and Michigan to land four McDonald's All-Americans in the same recruiting class. Well, that number has now been eclipsed by John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats. They managed to sign six All-American's in this year's class. Calipari has been the head coach at Kentucky since 2009. Each year he has recruited a stellar Freshman class and each year they all left school once the season concluded. This year will be no different. What really bugs me is that Kentucky was the preseason #1 ranked team in the country. I don't know how a bunch of unproven players that have yet to play in a college game can influence the polls like that. Don't get me wrong - Kentucky is good. But they've already lost a big-time game this season. All I can say is....GO DUKE.

Growing

Here are Graham and Brooks when they were about three months old.

We were over at the Emily and Clay's house this weekend watching the football game, and here are B and G in the same chair 18 months later.

They are growing too fast!

Like, Love and Don't Like

This week, I like Superheros: A Never-Ending Battle. From the Dark Knight to the Avengers, superheros are everywhere these days. No longer reserved for Saturday morning cartoons, comic book characters are leading the way at the box office and beyond. PBS recently aired a three-part documentary that details the origins of the comic book industry and explained how the likes of Superman, Spiderman and their pals became so popular. You don't have to own every issue of Detective Comics to appreciate this series. I especially enjoyed learning about the ups and downs of the two men that created Superman.

This week, I love Arby's Curly Fries. Have you ever been excited to see a frozen food item from your favorite chain restaurant in your grocery store only to prepare that item at home and be completely disappointed? Despite the packaging and promises, these items never taste as good as they do in their respective restaurants, do they? Well have you noticed that Arby's now makes their curly fries available in grocery stores? I'm here to tell you that they really do taste just like the fries you can get at your neighborhood Arby's. And let's be honest - the curly fries are about the best thing going at Arby's. Now we can enjoy them at home!

(I wrote this as if I'm the person that buys the groceries for our family. I'm not - Julie is and and she is always finding great new foods to try.)

This week, I don't like the quirky ways of my phone. I've had my iPhone 4 for about two years now. It didn't cost me very much at my last upgrade and it was extremely handy in the hospital when Graham was born. Yes, this phone has served me well, until recently. You're probably familiar with the most recent operating system update that was cast out to all iPhones. Well, I still haven't performed that upgrade and I continue to put it off because I don't like what I've seen from iOS 7. I don't like the colors, I don't like the icons...thanks but no thanks. But my decision to stick with iOS 6 has caused my phone to adopt some new quirks. First, my settings icon features a permanent notification (which is informing me to upgrade to iOS 7). I also have phantom notifications on my App Store icon - I believe these are appearing because some of my apps want to update for the new OS but can't because I don't have the new OS installed on my phone. Lastly, my phone is running noticeably slower than usual. Opening and closing apps are really labored and I should just forget about opening the camera for a quick pic.

I'm due for a phone upgrade and I don't think I'll opt for a new iPhone. I really like the Motorola Moto X but they're still a bit pricey. I'll either endure the quirks of my current phone until that price drops or consider a Samsung Galaxy S4. 

By the way...did you know that the icons for Apple's iOS 7 are actually so uninspiring that they can be easily recreated in Microsoft Word?? Check this out: