Grab an umbrella ... or not

By Joe McAdory

It’s raining cats and dogs. Must be a football Saturday in Auburn. Today’s pregame downpour didn’t match last week’s before the West Virginia contest by immediate volume, but there’s a chance we could see the wet stuff for in moderate levels for the rest of the evening.

The heavy stuff lasted about 15 minutes as fans outside the stadium scurried into buildings opened by school officials. Ain’t that nice? There were a few cracks of lightning. Typical stormy day in the South.

Last week’s monsoon turned Pat Dye Field into a temporary lake, but it’s just sloppy wet for now. Footing could be a problem. That’s why I’d stick to a power running game. But hey, this ain’t the PlayStation and I ain’t calling plays.

It’s about an hour and a half from game time and something tells me Tiger Walk may have either got washed out or nobody showed up. Anyway, the only noise outside the stadium was thunder. A few AU players are walking around the field, but they aren’t doing anything. I haven’t seen a Ball State player yet.

One thing’s for sure, I don’t think Jordan-Hare Stadium will be the site of a terrorist attack tonight. The security crew working the press gate all but strip-searched us. Rubber gloves were not involved, but fear they could be next time. The lady working the gate asked me to open every single compartment of my laptop bag and examine the contents. That’s ok, but nothing of this magnitude has EVER happened here. I could have brought Uzis into the stadium the last two weeks. Naturally, she did not like my little umbrella and would not allow it inside. Just doing her job, I suppose. But, darn it, did she really think sports writers would open their umbrellas INSIDE THE PRESS BOX?

Hello?

Word has it, a number of media-owned umbrellas were banned at the door. I tossed mine in a nearby recycling receptacle. I’ve got to thank Kathy Harker of AU Media Relations for retrieving my umbrella.

Why bring an umbrella to the press box? Well, the walk back to the car is rather long and you never know if it’s going to rain or not. I wouldn’t want to mess up my pretty hair. It’s silky smooth and all. I highly recommend $1 shampoo from Dollar General.

I’ll be back after I chug some sweet tea and find something to eat. Looks like tater tots and hamburgers are the bill of fare. Tater tots? Looks like the economy is taking its toll on everyone.