HOOVER, Ala. — Welcome to the Hyatt Regency Birmingham, better known as The Wynfrey.
Are you ready for what’s about to happen?
This hotel — for a few days every year at least — is the epicenter of the college football universe. In this corner of the globe that story about the basketball player who signed north of the Mason-Dixon is quaint. The largest sporting event on the planet concluded Sunday, but it’s a footnote, because dadgummit, this is the Southeastern Conference Media Days.
The lobby of The Wynfrey is plain for now and the early comers check in quietly. Male TV anchors enter with suitbags in hand, ladies armed with enough flammable hair product to make Smokey the Bear shake in his boots.
On Monday, you won’t be able to walk through this lobby because it won’t be clear. The chairs will be gone and it will be roped off in order to allow a whole bunch of people to shout “War Eagle” at the top of their lungs in the middle of it.
Through the lobby, you have two choices, one of which keeps you on the bottom floor. It’s a hallway that connects the hotel to the Riverchase Galleria mall — grab some Chick-Fil-A in the food court while you’re over there.
You’ll walk past vacant tables with chairs and wires waiting to be plugged in lining it. They won’t be the same come Monday morning either because this hallway is radio row. All the stations folks call into during the dead days of summer to fume about the freshman on their rivals team that got cited for a speeding ticket will rant here. It creates a cacophony of noise as live broadcasts beaming all over the southeast originate from one gaudily carpeted hallway.
Back in the lobby, if you were to take the second choice you’d go up the escalators on your right as you walk through the revolving doors and you’d arrive where all the action will truly happen. A few ballrooms that 14 coaches and 42 players will rotate through are waiting.
This year will be different. There’s no hotshot quarterback whose virginity needs to be called into question, no prominent coaches are expected to be served with a subpoena while we’re here either. There isn’t near the level of hype around the attendees as there was last year when a Heisman trophy winner being banished from a quarterback camp was the biggest story. It’s OK, the stories of those that are here will rise to the forefront like they always do. 2014 is different, a lack of popular names as far as players go means that someone will steal the show, we’ll just have to wait and see who it is.
The coaches are the names you know except for Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason. Steve Spurrier will have us in stitches Tuesday, Bret Bielema may end up putting his foot in his mouth on Wednesday. The king of the state will take to the lectern Thursday, when Nick Saban speaks Alabama listens, that’s kind of how it works.
As is customary, commissioner Mike Slive will open the whole circus Monday morning. He’ll give a state of the union address, a union that is as happy and as healthy as it’s ever been. In May, the SEC distributed $309.6 million amongst its 14 member institutions, a number that should double after 12 months of full distribution of the new SEC Network that will debut next month.
So get some sleep, it’s going to be a busy four days.
I’ll ask again: Are you ready what’s about to happen?
The Hyatt Regency Birmingham hotel sits empty for now, but come Monday, it will be the site for the 2014 Southeastern Conference Media Days.
