Previous Entries: Week Four • Week Three • Week Two • Week One That's Entertainment We've heard a lot over the first month of the season about earning style points when winning football games. We've heard fans cry foul when ESPN is out there touting someone other than Auburn as the number two team in the nation. It seems there is an obsession about what the boys at the worldwide leader in sports think about you. Does it matter? The answer to that question is probably no. Just look at the polls. After Auburn's less than perfect (for those who saw it) victory over Buffalo many thought the Tigers would lose ground to Ohio State and USC. The opposite happened…Auburn picked up votes. The following week Auburn goes on the road and escapes with a touchdown victory over South Carolina. When the next set of polls comes out Auburn has loss ground. Immediately people are crying foul. Maybe rightfully so, but I think when you take a closer look you'll see Auburn losing a little ground not because of their narrow victory but because of Ohio State's impressive thrashing of Iowa on the road. Again, I don't think what the guys on ESPN were saying affected the voters. If that's the case then they need to get new voters. Having had the chance Thursday night to visit with some of the ESPN on-air talent and others who had talked with them I'm further convinced that it is all about entertainment and not necessarily fact when it comes to what is said on their airwaves. Now I'm not here to jump up and down berating their tactics, saying it's unfair to Auburn or they don't like Auburn. I don't think that's the case at all. A member of our traveling party said it best. It's a lot like professional wrestling in the sense everything is scripted. I'm willing to bet the on-air personalities don't always firmly believe what they are saying, but are being told this is the angle they need to take to garner the most ratings. Just look at how quickly they turned on Notre Dame after their first loss of the season and a squeaker win the following week over Michigan State. Wow! Talk about going from the penthouse to the outhouse! But just wait, if the Fighting Irish start to win impressively, they once again will be in the good favors of the national media. I guess my point is this…we, as an Auburn family and fan base, don't really need to worry about what those guys are saying about the Tigers. It's just the first week of October. Last time I checked we were ranked number two in one poll and third in the other. That's a lot better shape than two years ago. Also, the last time I checked we have upcoming games against the fifth and tenth ranked teams in the country and, oh by the way, we've already beaten the ninth ranked team in the nation. I truly believe if Auburn takes care of the business ahead of them everything will work out in the end. You have to believe that…because there's not a darn thing we can do about it. Now let's set the alarm clocks early…get your game face on…and let's welcome the Hogs with open arms and an open pit, because if we don't win Saturday none of what we've talked about here really matters. Until next time, War Eagle and so long everybody! Rod Bramblett In 2006, Rod Bramblett enters his fourth season as the play-by-play voice for Tiger football and men's basketball. In 1998, Rod Bramblett began serving as the host for the Auburn Network's weekly call-in show Tiger Talk. In addition, Bramblett has been the voice of Auburn baseball since 1993. The Valley, Ala. native also serves as co-host on the Auburn Football Preview Show & host on the Auburn Football Review and the Auburn Basketball Review show. An Auburn graduate, Bramblett is Director of Broadcast Services for the Auburn Network, where he is responsible for coordination of the network's affiliate relations and audio production. |
 
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