The press box at Jordan-Hare Stadium during tonight's AU-Kentucky game is enclosed for the first time I can remember. It's kind of an antiseptic feeling. Less crowd noise. Less energy.
Less cold -- and that makes it worthwhile.
Did I mention it was cold? 48 degrees and windy at 5:45 p.m. according to the folks at the National Weather Service. That's really freaky cuz it's Oct. 17. It was summer just, like, yesterday. And now we're playing football in an ice box.
Oh well, it wouldn't be an Auburn football game if Mother Nature wasn't involved. The West Virginia game saw Biblical rainfall. The Ball State game saw a lightning storm. Tonight, it's Siberia. Maybe the Ole Miss game on Halloween will bring a volcanic eruption.
Anyway, this has got to be the COLDEST October game I can remember. I believe Auburn played Arkansas in the snow back in 1993 in Fayetteville, Ark., but I wasn't there so I can't vouch for it.
So what are the coldest Auburn football games I've covered? I'll try to spit out a few off the top of my head.
* 1996 AU-Georgia was brutal. The game lasted four overtimes after regulation, so 87,000 folks suffered hypothermia together.
* 2000 AU at Alabama brought sleet, wind, rain, and 38 degree temps at kickoff. I had to write my stories from the Bryant-Denny Stadium press box kitchen to keep warm.
* 2002 AU-Georgia wasn't as cold as 1996, but the darn wind made it feel like it. It's hard to take notes when you can't move your fingers.
* 1995 AU-Alabama. Huddled with strangers near the sideline at the end.
I probably missed one or two. But all of the cold games were in November, like they should be. Tonight's Arctic blast, however, is freaky. I ain't standing on the sidelines at the end of tonight's game. No, sir. I'm headed straight to the warmth of the interview room. If something meaningful happens, I'll see it on the TVs there.
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