Week Three! 8/31/09

The countdown begins. 5 days and several hours until my butt will be in the seats at Jordan Hare Stadium. Am I nervous? You bet I am. My stomach is in knots as I write this week’s blog. Matt is going to be kicking in front of 92K. 97% of them rooting agianst him. As I close my eyes on his first kickoff of fieldgoal, I am sure I will be peeking with one of them. I am not sure I am totally prepared for all of this, but I been practicing wearing two set of drawers. Two weeks of practicing this and it still feels weird. I have been to Jordan Hare Stadium once before. My brother & I went to see FSU play Auburn in 1987. Our tailgating food consisted of Miller Lite and Cashews. It is an awesome stadium and campus. I have been making my list and checking it twice. I am sure I will forget something. We are headed to Troy, AL for a couple of days to hang out with some of my parents friends on Thursday. Jim & Jean Mueller have a home outside of Troy and they are opening their home up to us during this road trip. My parents are coming up from The Villages, FL and my brother is coming up from Tampa. Tyler and a few friends are coming over to Auburn on the day of the game. Our family will be well represented as we root La Tech on. The game starts at 6:00PM CST, so we will have plenty of time early Saturday morning to stake out a place to set up camp for the day. The coolers will be filled with our favorite beverages. The grill will be ready for the brats, dogs and burgers. Chips, dips and cashews will will keep the party going. In the sporting world, going into the home team’s backyard can be somewhat intimidating. I hope we get to meet some cool, football loving fans. One of my good friends in the travel business is a big Auburn fan and will be at the game. I am sure we will share and adult beverage or two. Matt has had a good week. They had good scrimmages Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday night's scrimmage ended the two a day workouts. The scrimmage Wednesday night will have a mock game. They will practice everything just like a game. They will go through pregame warm-up, pregame prayer, sideline adjustments and substitutions. Coach Dooley said that this signifies the end of training camp and beginning of the season. I really like the process that Coach Dooley goes through. Matt worked on his right to right and his right to left this week. Matt's kickoffs and field goals were spot on for most of the week. He was not happy with a few of his kickoffs, but overall he is super excited for Auburn. The team has been staying in a dorm across the street from the athletic facility. On Thursday they dispersed from the dorms and moved into University Park apartments. Some of the seniors and juniors stay off campus and rent houses. University Park is right across from the baseball field and you can still see the football stadium. Matt is staying in a 4 bedroom, 2 bath apartment with 3 other incoming freshmen. Doak Raulston, Vince Cano and Matt Shepperd will be Matt's roomies this year. They are staying on the 3rd floor. Matt & Matt are staying upstairs and Doak & Vince are downstairs. They have a kitchen and living room with this huge Texas flag on the wall. All 4 of these guys are from Texas. Pretty sweet! The team had the weekend off and had a team dinner on Sunday night. This allowed him time to bond with his team mates and get focused for Auburn. Monday morning will bring the game week into perspective. It will be meetings film and practice. Let the games begin! I promise to give you a drawer count after the game is over. Auburn is in my horizon and I cannot wait. Pop's is still very nervous. The game is on ESPNU at 6:00 CST. I hope you get to watch. Until our paths cross again, I hope you have a blessed week. College Football Dad!