As the holidays approach, I was able to speak with Santa Clause this past weekend in Memphis. I was in the Bluff City with my wife as she was honing her skills of Christmas shopping. He and Mrs. Clause were making a stop by the Galleria to visit with children before the holiday season. Apparently, everyone received the memo as traffic was, oh nevermind. Santa agreed to visit with me for a few moments as the following excerpts from the interview were exclusive to the Calhoun County Journal.
Brad Logan: Santa, thanks for taking these few moments. It’s been a busy year.
Santa Clause: It sure has. We like to take a few visits before the big night and the Southeast is very important to us.
BL: If I may, I would like to step away from your journey on Christmas Eve and dive into a few other areas. I’m sure you have been abreast of the situations in Mississippi concerning college football.
SC: Well, I’ve had a few other pressing issues but I have been aware. I was hurt Sly (Sylvester Croom) was dismissed at MSU. He is a noble man. An even better family man. Ole Houston is rolling in Oxford. He brought the kids over to a book signing in Little Rock a few years ago. He is a very enthusiastic man. After listening to him, he resembles a preacher, with his diction and charisma. Now Larry Fedora at Southern Miss is a different story. I had to work on him a bit. It all changed when he brought his son, Dillon, by one night. Since then, Larry is one of my favorite coaches. He’s going to turn it around in Hattiesburg.
BL: It seems you have a good relationship with all the coaches in our state.
SC: I really do. They are great ambassadors for the Universities. Now that Dan Mullen is at State, what a fine young coach. I enjoyed our phone call the other day, as I made my congratulatory call. I first met him when he was an assistant at Notre Dame. He will do fine at Mississippi State. I read he was already calling out the Ole Miss fans with his recent quote concerning next years Egg Bowl. It could get interesting.
BL: Have you had a chance to speak to the coaches recently?
SC: Actually yes. I make it a point to contact all of the college coaches following the regular season.
BL: Can you go into specifics what each coach requested for Christmas this year?
SC: I normally keep my conversations confidential but just between you and I, here are a few snippets. Houston Nutt didn’t have much to ask for. Heck, he already has doubled his salary at Ole Miss. He took a winless team in the SEC and leads them into this year’s Cotton Bowl. He did ask for a halftime locker room. I told him that was up to (Mississippi Athletics Director) Pete Boone. I’ll give Pete a call for him. Dan Mullen at MSU was so happy when I called him, we didn’t get to many specifics. He said we need to take small steps right now. “Just wins, Santa,” was the jest of it. Larry Fedora at USM was more complementary than anything. He kept on saying how much he loved it at USM. Brad, he is building a powerhouse at Southern. Just wait. He asked for the fans patience. I told him, that was no problem.
(Santa’s cell phone rings. It is his personal assistant notifying him his flight has been changed. Yes he flies domestically and no, I didn’t realize that either.)
SC: Unfortunately we have to go but I have enjoyed the meeting today.
BL: Santa, it has been a privilege. One thing, any presents for the Logan household this year?
SC: Let’s just say, your wife has been very good this year.
From my family to yours, Happy Holidays.
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