I miss the Fall of 2011. I miss watching the utter dominance of one of the greatest LSU teams to ever grace Tiger Stadium.
I miss the swell of pride from watching the opener against Oregon, on national TV. I miss watching KeKe Mingo have his coming out party, chasing down the AA scat back LaMichael James from the back as if he were standing still, and I miss hearing the announcers gasp in astonishment.
I miss the Thursday night slugfest in Starkville, that was sealed by a spectacular Morris Claiborne interception.
I miss going into Morgantown, for what was their most hostile environment maybe in school history, and crushing a team with a future NFL starter at QB and WR 47-21.
I miss that glorious cool Fall morning in Tiger Stadium against Kentucky, as Honey Badger did his thing AGAIN, with a QB sack/force fumble/fumble recovery/touchdown scoop and score, leaving my mouth agape yet again. 35-7, good guys.
I miss the 41-11 destruction of Florida, on national TV, and I miss watching my punter sprint for a touchdown off a fake, just because we could, and I miss watching him taunt the entire Gator Nation in the process. I squealed with pride.
I miss going into 105,000-seat Neyland Stadium, and treating the Vols like they were McNeese St., whipping them 38-7.
I miss crushing Auburn 45-10, also on national TV, and I miss Jarvis Landry introducing himself to the world with one of the most bone-rattling special teams tackles I've witnessed. I can still hear that crunch.
I miss going into Tuscaloosa, in the Game of the Century, and watching Eric Reid make one of the most impressive interceptions I've ever seen against their giant of a tight end, at their goal line. I miss seeing my FG kicker devastate the horde of Bama faithful with a game winning kick, in Overtime. I I didn't breathe during that entire game, and afterwards I couldn't stop smiling for a month.
I miss almost ending the Ole Miss program, in Oxford, with such a thorough and complete 52-3 thrashing. I miss Les Miles taking a knee with OVER 5 MINUTES LEFT in the game, and I miss the sheer humiliation that caused every Rebel I knew.
I miss watching Honey Badger do his thing, AGAIN, with a punt return for a touchdown, to open what would be a complete dismantling of Arkansas the day after Thanksgiving, 41-17, sending the Tiger Stadium crowd into a frenzy. He was pure greatness.
I miss the domination of Georgia, behind the best Kenny Hilliard we'd end up seeing, who scored 3 touchdowns, just because he could. I miss the 42-10 beatdown that made my Tigers SEC Champs. I miss seeing Michael Brockers and Sonic Sam Montgomery boastfully hold up the SEC Champions banner after the game, proclaiming Louisiana State University as the best of the SEC.
I'm to the point that I can separate what would happen in January 2012 from that magical Fall. I won't let it ruin those magical 4 months, which I'll remember for the rest of my life, even if January 2012 would end up giving a different meaning and context to the phrase "The Fall of 2011".
I want my Tigers to be those 2011 Tigers again.
I miss the swell of pride from watching the opener against Oregon, on national TV. I miss watching KeKe Mingo have his coming out party, chasing down the AA scat back LaMichael James from the back as if he were standing still, and I miss hearing the announcers gasp in astonishment.
I miss the Thursday night slugfest in Starkville, that was sealed by a spectacular Morris Claiborne interception.
I miss going into Morgantown, for what was their most hostile environment maybe in school history, and crushing a team with a future NFL starter at QB and WR 47-21.
I miss that glorious cool Fall morning in Tiger Stadium against Kentucky, as Honey Badger did his thing AGAIN, with a QB sack/force fumble/fumble recovery/touchdown scoop and score, leaving my mouth agape yet again. 35-7, good guys.
I miss the 41-11 destruction of Florida, on national TV, and I miss watching my punter sprint for a touchdown off a fake, just because we could, and I miss watching him taunt the entire Gator Nation in the process. I squealed with pride.
I miss going into 105,000-seat Neyland Stadium, and treating the Vols like they were McNeese St., whipping them 38-7.
I miss crushing Auburn 45-10, also on national TV, and I miss Jarvis Landry introducing himself to the world with one of the most bone-rattling special teams tackles I've witnessed. I can still hear that crunch.
I miss going into Tuscaloosa, in the Game of the Century, and watching Eric Reid make one of the most impressive interceptions I've ever seen against their giant of a tight end, at their goal line. I miss seeing my FG kicker devastate the horde of Bama faithful with a game winning kick, in Overtime. I I didn't breathe during that entire game, and afterwards I couldn't stop smiling for a month.
I miss almost ending the Ole Miss program, in Oxford, with such a thorough and complete 52-3 thrashing. I miss Les Miles taking a knee with OVER 5 MINUTES LEFT in the game, and I miss the sheer humiliation that caused every Rebel I knew.
I miss watching Honey Badger do his thing, AGAIN, with a punt return for a touchdown, to open what would be a complete dismantling of Arkansas the day after Thanksgiving, 41-17, sending the Tiger Stadium crowd into a frenzy. He was pure greatness.
I miss the domination of Georgia, behind the best Kenny Hilliard we'd end up seeing, who scored 3 touchdowns, just because he could. I miss the 42-10 beatdown that made my Tigers SEC Champs. I miss seeing Michael Brockers and Sonic Sam Montgomery boastfully hold up the SEC Champions banner after the game, proclaiming Louisiana State University as the best of the SEC.
I'm to the point that I can separate what would happen in January 2012 from that magical Fall. I won't let it ruin those magical 4 months, which I'll remember for the rest of my life, even if January 2012 would end up giving a different meaning and context to the phrase "The Fall of 2011".
I want my Tigers to be those 2011 Tigers again.
