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The end is near. The long-awaited return of college football is close. No more preseason rankings, no more preseason talk, no more preseason awards, no more Fulmer Cup, no more PRESEASON. What is it about us and the fix called football? It's the glory. It's the passion. It's the legends that grow and it's the tradition. It's the sense of community and fraternity. Dane said it best when he said, "tailgating is the last American neighborhood." I have been away from my neighbors too long and it is time for the family reunion!

College football for us is the talk about Heisman, Dodd, Alexander and Johnson. It's the present where the good is separated from the bad and every fan enters their respective stadium gate on Sept. 5 with high hopes for the season: A repeat championship, an improvement, a glimpse at glory. My friends, five days for now, old men will live and die by the actions of 18-year olds. Bourbon will flow and fight songs will play and life will be right again. It is this feeling of competition, this thing that makes you lose your voice every week, this game is what makes Saturday so elegant and legendary.

Will there be heartbreak? As a Tech fan it's something you come to expect even with our recent success, we fans always come back. Why? It's because there is always "next game" or "next year" and we welcome that phrase because it's a cling to hope.  We torture ourselves but yet we like it. We get there 30 hours before kickoff, stay 30 hours later and drive home Sunday hungover and wonder what might have been. Yet, we never change our plans. Football is that driving priority that finalizes all decisions.

The next few days are going to be a grind because we can see the finish line. South Carolina vs. NCSU is but an appetizer to whet our hunger for Saturday. At 1 p.m., Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field will be where the magic of the glory days comes back to life and meshes with the success of today and the hope for tomorrow.

Saturday, the entire college football world puts its eyes upon Atlanta for a very hyped very exciting prime-time matchup. But Tech fans get our glimpse earlier in the day. On Saturday, all the restlessness can finally go away. College football will be here.