Magic
Magic---well, Hell, we all believe in it a little.
I got a reminder of this need to believe in magic while I was watching the LSU-Georgia football game the other day. I tuned in to it after the kickoff, and after a while, I noticed a “2” next to Georgia's name on the screen. “Surely,” I thought, “Georgia is not number 2 in the rankings.” I went to the internet and looked up “Georgia football,” and sure enough, Georgia was ranked number 2. I assumed that meant that LSU was about to receive a butt kicking. LSU has beaten a number of highly ranked teams this year, and LSU had risen from number 25 to the top 10, but they lost to Florida. I watched that game also. Florida deserved the win.
I watched the Georgia-LSU game in a disinterested fashion, but then the magic began. Holy cow! LSU beat Georgia like a red-headed stepchild. (I know---not politically correct, but I like the expression.)
Suddenly, I was transformed. I felt the magic---the magic I had felt all around me when I attended LSU back in the late 60's.
When I attended LSU, the law building, the blades of grass, the red roof tiles, the oak trees, the Campobello, and Mike all seemed to be magical.
Every student's face seemed filled with hope in this magical place.
Saturdays in the fall as the sun went down and the lights went up in Tiger Stadium, anticipation of magic was in the air.
My most magical moment was a private one not likely to mean anything to anyone else.
One morning when I awoke lying on my bunk in Old North Stadium, the morning sun streaming through the huge windows of my dorm room, the autumn leaves brushing against the sidewalk four floors down was my moment of recognition that I had become the person I would always be. It was just a moment, but a magical moment.
Perhaps my memories of the magic I encountered at LSU are colored by distance, but, then on the other hand, they may be true and good memories.
In any case, each day as I go about my life, I feel that I carry a little piece of LSU magic with me.
Addendum:
Two weeks after writing this essay, Alabama, number 1, beat the socks off of LSU, number 3, 29-0. LSU did what they could, but when you’re up against greatness, well, Hell, stuff happens.
enough