Or maybe it was the blog equivilent of a closed-door meeting of us die-hard fans. Or just a chance to get it off our chest. Hopefully, we did get a chance to vent a little, spill out our frustrations. I saw this coming around half-time on Saturday, and put a quick thread up so that some of you wouldn't have to go to bed that night all pent up and flustered. We continued with this through the week by handing the mic off to everyone to get a turn in the spotlight that the Fanposts just don't allow.
But could there be an ulterior motive for this, too? Of course there is, or we couldn't call this a blog and don't call me Shirley. We have just conducted round one of a double-secret audition for a new feature we're going to be rolling out here at Track 'Em--a weekly guest columnist slot that you can submit a thread for. We'd really like to get some of the younger guys or even students involved, but know that with the demands of schoolwork, that a full-time commitment might be too much. The current staff has day jobs that we're not considering quitting, so we know about the demands of time.
And no, you aren't going to get Acid Reign's coveted post-game slot. That's reserved for our very own home-grown WTMG (Walking, Talking Media Guide), as those in the blogosphere have come to refer to him, or WTRSGHMG (Walking, Talking, Rum-Swilling, Guitar-Hero Media Guide) that I refer to him as. But for the weekly guest slot, Johnny, I mean Jay, TELL US MORE!!!
And you're not getting my coveted Thursday slot either. I'm beginning to feel like the Andy Rooney of Track 'Em Tigers, coming in at the end for my five minutes. All the good stuff has already been said about the game earlier in the broadcast, so I just have to curmudgeon myself up and start to poke fun at everything--and everyone.
Have you ever noticed that the first thing irate fans call for is the coach's head? Why don't they ever ask for expulsion from school for the guy who fumbled the ball? Or drop his scholarship? Put a for-sale sign in front of his dorm, I dunno. THAT'll show him...
See? That sounded like Andy. And if it starts out...
If you have a tattoo of The Bear on your freshly waxed back, you might be a...
Well, that's Foxworthy. Know the difference!
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One of the things that I love about Track 'Em is the meshing of the younger and older fans that we seem to gather into a silly game of drunken Twister. Most of the time, I feel like the Papa Bull of the proverbial two bulls looking down on a pasture of cows fable whose preference is to walk down, not run, and get them all. All the young bulls are always in a rush to do something--fire a coach, abandon the spread, bench a player, go get one of them cows--I gotta ask, Where's the fire? Take it easy. Somebody is always at the wheel--even on the Titanic. Let's take a deep breath and get ourselves to a happy place...
There's no need for knee-jerk reactions. Let the Bammers do that. That's what their leadership has done for decades and you see where it's gotten them--more head coaches in the last decade than Tubs has done Bryan hotdog commercials. It's trickled down to their fans and that's where some of you have learned it. We're 3-0 this year, not 1-2 like last season. Sure, it hasn't been over-whelming, but it will get better. If it doesn't, you have a lot of fellow shoulders to cry on in here--shoulders especially sympathetic to Auburn Tiger football shortcomings...
Sure you're allowed to express your opinion, even if no one agrees with you. But just make sure you don't get Dixie-Chicked. Everyone else gets an opinion, too--even one on you. Freedom of speech is a two-way street. Others can voice their displeasure not only with the subject at hand, but on the sorry quality of your comments as well...
And as my favorite Bammer would say, that's all I got to say 'bout that...
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Another great thing about this blog is that we're starting to get a healthy sampling of fans from other teams come weigh in with opinions-- guys who really know their stuff--and it's refreshing to see that we generally exhibit an Auburn attitude and keep it polite and on-topic. Most CFB fans have an interest in learning about other teams, and it benefits our site and Auburn for us to behave like Auburn people are supposed to.
And while there's nothing wrong with good natured shots between opposing colleagues, we still have to mind the trolls--idiots coming in to make incitable comments to rile us up. The policy in the Blogosphere is Don't Feed the Trolls, or for you military types, Operation Troll Deny-Nourishment. What is means is don't engage them. If you ignore them, they, unlike irritable bowel syndrome, WILL go away--probably without a trip to the doctor's...