My Magic Hat

I guess the magic in my dirty blue hat is gone. There's no doubt that the magic existed, but there's also no doubt that it isn't there any more. Let's review the history of the magic hat.

I bought the hat as a souvenir in Maine last August. It was a nice hat. Nothing special, but I liked it. I had also bought a hat at the track in Saratoga on that same trip. Again, it was nothing special.

When we returned home, I had to make a decision about which hat would be the one to wear most of the time. This gives the hat the honor of being on my dome more often, but it also means that it gets caked with dirt, soaked in sweat, and is subject to being used as a napkin for french fry grease or epoxy.

The magic hat used to be blue, but it appears here in its current color: dingy.

The first football game of 2003 was a rainy day game against ULM. (That's University of Louisiana at Monroe, for those of you out of state. Yes, it's a real college with a real football team. They have matching uniforms). Now the first game is always hot as hell, so with sweat and rain certain in the forecast, the nasty hat got the call.

The next couple of games were also hot, dirty days. The nasty hat got the call, and the Tigers started winning.

On the morning of the Florida game, I went to campus before daylight to stake out a good spot for a tailgate party. Since it was so early, I forgot to throw on a hat. I called Mrs. theskinnyonbenny and asked her to bring it. Mrs. theskinnyonbenny chose the other new hat, and LSU lost to Florida.

Note: if any USC boosters ever make it to this page, you really should shoot Mrs. theskinnyonbenny a twenty in the mail. I'm convinced that it was only because of this miscommunication that USC "shares" the national title, according to most.

The only time after the Florida game that I took it off during football was right after the half of the South Carolina game. I had taken a shower during halftime, and didn't put it back on right away. LSU had three miserable series, but they found their game right as I found my lid.

On the weekend of the Arkansas game, it picked up a sticker from a little kid, and the sticker is still there! Now this was Thanksgiving weekend almost a year ago. Tell me that isn't magic!

With all of those games last season, including the SEC and national championship games, plus the couple of early games this season, the hat went 15-0.

LSU lost the Auburn game this year, but I didn't really remember the lucky hat until close to the fourth quarter. That raised my doubt about the magic of the hat. I rationalized that maybe I have to have it on through kickoff.

I had the hat on several hours before the Georgia game Saturday. I won't regurgitate any of the details, but obviously, the magic is gone.

Frosty is just another snowman in this house.