Is Auburn as Discounted by Sportswriters as They Are in Retail Activity?

Auburn has been discounted by almost every sportswriter and pollster. No one with any sense would even pen an article that described any chance of Auburn repeating, much less of having a chance in the SEC West.

But just as disheartening is the discounting of Auburn merchandise across the state of Alabama.

Retailers who thought that the sales of Auburn Merchandise would be comparable to the sales of Alabama merchandise after the Tide's 2010 BCS Championship were sadly mistaken.

"We're dumping this stuff below cost just to try and get rid of it", bemoaned one retailer here in tourist friendly Panama City Beach, Florida.

"We sold the Alabama stuff out almost immediately and this crap don't even have anybody looking at it." he said pointing to the Auburn merchandise and asking for anonymity for himself and his store.

"I may have to wind up donating it and just taking a tax deduction or something on it." he said finishing his rant on the Auburn memorabilia he had bought.

I suggested he sell asterisk stickers buyers could place on it later so it would be current merchandise later.

That at least got a laugh from him.

Though Gene Chizik has done a good job recruiting, the shelves are terribly bare of experience at Auburn this year and many of us in the press have a hard time seeing Auburn even making a bowl game.

They could easily be the farthest falling BCS champion in history.

Maybe it's that prospect that's keeping buyers away from the Auburn merchandise. They won't want to be seen in it later this year.