AUBURN | As I sat in the Woltosz Performance Center Sunday afternoon waiting to interview recruits as they left, I was surprised by the lack of enthusiasm around Auburn’s group of official visitors.

There were plenty of times during my 25 years covering the Tigers that a baker’s dozen of visitors that included two five-stars, three more top 100 players, six four-stars and couple of three-star offensive linemen with plenty of upside would have created a massive amount of hype.

The message boards would have been full of hot takes and every one of the radio or video shows I was a guest on would have asked several questions about the group.

But I don’t recall one question on the five shows I was a part of last week. I remember having to bring it up myself as something to look forward to when it comes to our coverage.

Now, there was plenty of enthusiasm around the group of visitors with Auburn’s coaches during the weekend, but there seems to be growing disinterest among the Auburn faithful in college football recruiting.

Quite frankly, I think there’s much more interest in the basketball team’s work in the transfer portal over the last couple of months.

Part of the malaise, of course, is due to AU’s failure to produce a winning team on the football field over the past four seasons. Auburn hasn’t beaten Alabama since 2019 and Georgia since 2017.

That amount of losing for a program with national championship aspirations like Auburn is bound to have an effect.

But there’s more to it. The interest in football recruiting across the country appears to be waning due to the transfer portal and NIL. When top recruits bounce around from school to school so easily and recruiting becomes more of a transaction, it’s hard to get too excited about your school’s latest group of highly-touted commitments.

The lack of excitement is completely understandable. But in the case of Auburn’s current football program, I think it’s also a bit misguided.

In regards to transfers, I’m not sure Hugh Freeze and his staff have lost more than two players to the portal in the last two years that they wanted to retain.

They had to work hard to keep a few top players, but that’s just part of the job now.

And it certainly feels like Auburn is on the verge of taking a step forward on the field because of the talent Freeze and his staff have added to the roster in the nearly 30 months since his hire.

Now, this team still has a lot to prove on the field and I’m Missouri until they do, but the expectation for this program should be a for it to take a step forward.

The biggest reasons I think it will is twofold. Freeze has managed to retain much of his staff from last season, especially at the coordinator positions, which I think is important for a growing program.

But most importantly, the talent-level on Auburn’s roster has steadily grown and the talent gap between Auburn and the top teams in the SEC has steadily lessened since Freeze’s arrival.

No other factor has held Auburn back more than that talent deficit.

So when Auburn brings in a group of visitors like it did this week and perhaps a similar group two weeks from now, its OK to get excited. Maybe make a wild prediction or two on The Bunker.

Don’t hold back. Have some optimism.

Sure, you might be disappointed this fall. But you might be pleasantly surprised or elated too. It’s college football. The unexpected happens every fall Saturday.

And isn’t it about time for Auburn to catch a break here or there, maybe make a little run?

You know, have some of those talented players step up and start making more plays.

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In today’s musical journey, we go back 65 years to the most famous performance of the most recognized song in the English language. On May 19, 1962, Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday to You” to President John F. Kennedy at Madison Square Garden for his 45th birthday celebration. The event was a fundraiser for the Democratic party that came 10 days before Kennedy’s actual birthday. More than 15,000 guests attended as Monroe, accompanied by jazz pianist Hank Jones, seductively sang “Happy Birthday, Mr. President” followed by “Thanks for the Memory” with personalized lyrics. When it was Kennedy’s turn to speak he quipped, “I can now retire from politics after having ‘Happy Birthday’ sung to me in such a sweet, wholesome way.” The event turned out to be Monroe’s final public appearance. She died of an overdose of barbiturates less than three months later at the age of 36. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas 18 months later at the age of 46. The iconic Jean Louis sequined dress worn by Monroe was auctioned off for $1.26 million in 1999 and then sold for $4.8 million in 2016.

Born Norma Jeane Mortenson in 1926 in Los Angeles, Calif., Monroe spent a large portion of her childhood in foster care and an orphanage. Her single mother struggled to care for her and was eventually institutionalized with paranoid schizophrenia. Monroe was allegedly sexually abused by one of her foster parents. She married in 1942, shortly after her 16th birthday, to avoid returning to an orphanage or foster care. In 1944, she was discovered by an army photographer and by early 1945 she had quit her job working at a munitions factory and signed with the Blue Book Model Agency. She was a pin-up model for a year before being signed by 20th Century Fox in 1946 and receiving her stage name. She got divorced the same year. She went on to star in 30 films, marry and divorce baseball star Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller, become one of the era's most successful actresses and perhaps the century's most recognizable sex symbol. Some of her most popular movies include 1950’s All About Eve, 1953’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, which included Monroe’s iconic song, “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” 1955’s The Seven Year Itch, 1959’s Some Like it Hot, which she won a Golden Globe for Best Actress, and 1961’s The Misfits. The American Film Institute ranks Monroe as the sixth-greatest female legend from the Golden Age of Hollywood. In 1972, Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote “Candle in the Wind” as a tribute to Monroe. John performed a modified version of the song in 1997 as a tribute to Princess Diana.

The “Happy Birthday to You” melody is from the song “Good Morning to All,” which was written and composed by sisters Patty and Mildred Hill in 1893. Patty was a school teacher and Mildred a pianist. They created a song that would be easy for young children to sing when they arrived at school. The pairing of the music with the “Happy Birthday to You” lyrics first appeared in print in 1912. It was copyrighted by Summy Company in 1935, which was bought by Warner Chappell Music in 1988. It is estimated to be the highest-earning song in history. However, the copyright claim was ruled invalid in 2015 and Warner Chappell had to pay back $14 million. It is now considered in the public domain. According to Guinness World Records, “Happy Birthday to You” is the most recognized song in the English language followed by “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.”