Vanderbilt Makes it Easy Like Sunday Morning

"Thanks for the times
That you’ve given me
The memories are all in my mind
And now that we’ve come
To the end of our rainbow
There’s something
I must say out loud
You’re once, twice
Three times a winner."
-- Commodores Fight Song
When Steve Martin took over as Coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores in 2002, there were probably high hopes. His work at Saturday Night Live and later as head coach of Furman gave Commodore fans hope for better days.

[Photo: Coach Martin has the Dores playing like Wild and Crazy Guys]

But after consecutive 2 win seasons in 2002, 2003 and 2004, things looked very bleak. Even by Vandy standards. In all reality, the only reason that Vanderbilt had not already fired Martin was a procedural issue. When the university's president burned down the athletic department, fired the athletic director and made football an intramural sport, the forms for terminating head coaches were probably lost.

This mix up gave Martin an additional year to turn things around. Today, Vandy's 6-30 start is in the program's rear view mirror, and the Commodores look to have their best season since Lionel Richie went pro early to focus on his solo career.

Not only did Vandy put up 532 yards of total offense on Ole Miss, but they were up 24-3 by the half.

[Photo: The Commodores pose for team picture. I think Jay Cutler is the guy in the middle.]

Can you imagine the half-time speech by Ole Miss Coach Ed Orgeron? Upon introducing himself to the team in his first meeting, he was rumored to have told the team that 7 wins seasons weren't acceptable and neither were Cotton Bowls. His reaction to being down by 3 TDs to the Dores must have been a classic locker room speech for the ages.

[Photo: Ole Miss' Coach O throws a nutty.]

In fact, the speech must have been spectacular because Ole Miss scored 20 unanswered points in the 2nd half before Vandy's special teams unit showed why they truly are a BrickHouse in blocking the Extra Point to preserve the win.

Richmond is the next scheduled victim for the Vandy Steamroller. As Charles Barkley and the Auburn Tigers know, Richmond's program has killed big dreams before. If Vandy focuses, they should be 5-0 when LSU rolls into town.

In the meantime, shouldn't the Commodores put their fued with Richie behind them? These are the salad years for Vandy. It's time for Coach Martin to reach out to Richie and bring him back.

Photo: Lionel Richie IS the Commodores. Bring him back for the streak. Don't do it for us. Do it for the children.]

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