There are many reasons to love SEC Media Days, mainly because it means college football is just around the corner. The annual event showcases the power of the conference but also the passion and, if you will, downright insanity of it. There are grown men begging teenagers for autographs and selfies (more on this later) and media members asking inane questions of coaches.

It resembles a circus, but not the scary type with clowns. Does it make sense? Of course. It’s fantastic to have an event where each school is represented by its coach and best players. But has it almost become a parody of itself? Possibly. Will I stop asking questions? Maybe.

All in all, it’s a great thing to have and cover with interesting storylines and memories happening every July. Want some of mine from this year? I know you do. Here are my rambling thoughts from what occurred in Atlanta.

- Let’s get this out of the way: the sheer amount of egos that cram into one room during media days could create a smog of smugness so thick that you would have to get on the floor and crawl to the light to escape it. We cover sports, people!

- There was a convention for fitness trainers in the same location, and let’s just say you could easily figure out which people were going to that and which were there to cover football.

- Mike Leach is correct in saying that opening statements are useless because they are boring 99 percent of the time. That wasn’t the case for Bryan Harsin, but Leach made an excellent point.

- Josh Heupel has lost weight or his tailor did a great job of making him look thin in his suit. Either way, good for him.

- Listen, I’m not judging how the football department spends money, but the fact that Harsin and the players flew from Auburn to Atlanta for the event seems a bit useless. This is the same athletic department that made Butch Thompson and his team bus to Chapel Hill for a Super Regional? Come on, now. How long is that flight? 10 minutes?

- As a sign of the times, I ran into some former coworkers with whom I worked closely … and that was the first time I met them in person. I still haven’t met my former boss at SEC Country.

- Auburn being picked to finish last in the SEC West is not that big of a surprise as outside expectations for the Tigers are low. I didn’t expect Arkansas to be predicted to finish third with one voter thinking they will win the division. Sam Pittman has done a great job, but let’s not get carried away.

- If you have never been there, the stairs situation at the College Football Hall of Fame is confusing. At least twice, I had to walk back down a set of stairs I had just climbed because they didn’t lead to where I needed to go. I think Harsin would be proud of me for taking the stairs, though.

- Derick Hall, Tank Bigsby and John Samuel Shenker all represented the Auburn program to the fullest. They handled the spotlight and questions with ease, something that isn’t easy for anyone, let alone college-age kids.

- I wrote about it yesterday, but Harsin completely dominated his time at the podium. And, it was good to see he, in fact, did not have a mohawk for a haircut.

- When introducing each coach, Greg Sankey would try to add some interesting tidbits about them and sometimes that would fall flat. For Harsin, it was the fact that they were both into Ford Mustangs. Kirby’s fact was he was competitive at pickleball. I now want to challenge the Georgia coach to a pickleball match.

- Thanks to a long night and insufficient sleep, I was a little tired on Thursday morning while waiting for Bryan Harsin’s one-on-one with the Auburn beat, so I laid down on the ground and closed my eyes. Props to Jeff Shearer for capturing me in all my beauty.

- My room had a great view of Mercedes Benz Stadium, home of the SEC Championship Game, which, honestly, was probably better than any view Ole Miss or Texas A&M have ever had of it. ZING!

- If you are above the age of 12 and wait at media days for autographs from coaches and players, you should really reevaluate your life choices.

- Jimbo Fisher was the loser of the event after claiming he didn’t want his spat with Nick Saban to go public despite calling a press conference to discuss it. Okay then. Since both are natives of West Virginia, they should have an old-fashioned wrestling contest in someone’s backyard after downing a bottle of moonshine to decide the winner of this dumb controversy.

- Not many people wow me when I am in the same vicinity as them, but Tony Barnhart is one of them. He’s the king of SEC media.

- Lastly, our esteemed intern Henry Patton asked Harsin a question while the coach was on the podium and, despite fighting nerves, did an excellent job. Well done, Henry!