That Time of Year

It’s the greatest time of year, and it’s here. College Football is officially in session. Technically, it has been since Saturday. That being said, the games that aired in “Week Zero” could have easily been confused with replays, high school jamborees, or afternoon naptime. The real action starts today, and I’m going to be Netflix-style binge-watching as much football as I can before Ubering over to Mercedes-Benz on Monday night.

This initial column of mine is going to mirror a standard College Football season - short and sweet. I’ll be mostly handling recaps this year while adding some additional color during the week. So don’t worry, there will be plenty of time to get critical.

We all know there’s a lot on the line for Collins and his some-might-say-too-long-term vision for the program. And it’s no secret that we, to put it kindly, haven’t been very good at football in recent memory. But I don’t care, at least not right now. It’s too early to let the heartbreak of seasons past influence my emotional well-being. I know my body, and the tidal wave of pain caused by three consecutive 3-win campaigns won’t compound until mid-September at the earliest. I’ve included a data-driven, highly scientific chart below to help illustrate:

Morale is peaking. Because although the landscape of the sport continues to change, many of the things that I love remain. This includes but is not limited to:

• Turning on College Gameday while preparing the tailgate
• Tailgating
• Walking from tailgate to stadium
• Yelling for 3.5-4 hours
• Walking from stadium back to tailgate, a little slower
• Going to sleep Friday night

To paraphrase Jim Nantz, it’s a tradition like no other.

And thanks to people who like money, we also regularly get the opportunity to watch mid-week games as a way to stave off full withdrawal. So for now, while gods and politicians allow, I’m going to soak it all in and enjoy it while it lasts. I’ll see you on The Flats. THWg.