dre1919
08-29-2003, 10:29 AM
With the new college football season upon us, I was doing my usual reading of anything college football related and I thought to myself "I should share what it is about this sport that makes it the best ever." A lot of people don't like college football for various reasons: the polls, no playoff system, the seemingly same teams amongst the Top 25, the scandals, etc., etc. Well my friends, let me be the one to convert you! I really started discovering the fun and excitement of college football back when I started going to college in '94 and was more around the atmosphere. That's the big thing that you have to start with...the feel of college football.
There's nothing like autumn Saturdays where you get up and switch on Gameday on ESPN. There you see Kirk, Lee, and Chris coming to you from some rowdy campus where thousands of crazed students are tailgating and drinking early (or maybe they hadn't stopped from the night before)...and you remember. You think to yourself, "I was there...doing that same thing a couple years ago." They're all decked out in the colors and logos of their team, some of them not even going to school there but they're there anyway. The sun is shining...you've got some cold ones and some good company coming over and it's about to be ON! If you're lucky enough to be on campus at one of these games, you have people walking by abuzz with the promise of a new year. And for the next half of the day, that game...that field and that campus are their entire world, their life. Nothing else matters except beating whoever came to town to dare challenge their team's skills and reveling in the invicibility of youth.
It's a funny thing college football...it makes you create memories of some of the craziest things. I can remember being on campus, in a dorm room with the front door open watching Notre Dame play on TV and me yelling at the set "No, don't shift the coverage!" while right down the hall, voices would drift up of some other guys yelling the same thing at their sets, to their teams. You go down the hall for a soda from the machines and you see these guys and they understand. I've been to games before where everyone is having a great day...leaving their cares and worries behind and remembering what it was like to be in college...able to drink beer on a Tuesday afternoon for no good reason. The college atmosphere is truly the greatest days you will spend somewhere, so if you haven't gone I highly recommend you do.
Some of the best times I've ever spent were with buddies, throwin' back some cold ones and watchin' the Irish or my best friend's Sooners struggle and triumph. We sit around complaining about the coaches, complaining about the players, and talking about how were getting screwed in the rankings. But that's it though...right there, that's what living is all about. Having fun with good people and believing in something dear to you. I live and die with my Irish every season, watching the games and when they aren't on TV (a rarity) I set me computer on the gamecast and watch the stats and live feed tick by. That's when you know you're addicted...I've actually sat by the computer, watching the live feed praying a team didn't make a first down on my Irish or that we score, all the while soaking in another good game on TV!
You can find this kind of dedication and excitement in other sports, but for some reason I just never see it carry the same weight with their fans it does with college football. The reasons? Well, I think it's the number of games and the playoff systems. Think about it...82 games in baseball doesn't make every one a must see. 16 games in the NFL is pretty small, but if you go 9-7 you can still make the playoffs...not exactly dominance. College basketball? Not many people focus on it until the March Tournament. But with college football...you get 12 games usually and each one is a must win whether it's Florida State or Troy State. If you want a good season, four losses or less is required if not expected, and each game is a major event. Injuries become huge because unlike the pros, team's in 1-A ball just don't have that many stars on the roster. And at least here you can remember what it's like to root for a TEAM, and not a player who'll sign with somebody else next year for $50 million.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share my enthusiasm for this great sport and hope that while things always change, these things hopefully never will. If you guys have any great college football memories or stories please share them here.
GO IRISH!
There's nothing like autumn Saturdays where you get up and switch on Gameday on ESPN. There you see Kirk, Lee, and Chris coming to you from some rowdy campus where thousands of crazed students are tailgating and drinking early (or maybe they hadn't stopped from the night before)...and you remember. You think to yourself, "I was there...doing that same thing a couple years ago." They're all decked out in the colors and logos of their team, some of them not even going to school there but they're there anyway. The sun is shining...you've got some cold ones and some good company coming over and it's about to be ON! If you're lucky enough to be on campus at one of these games, you have people walking by abuzz with the promise of a new year. And for the next half of the day, that game...that field and that campus are their entire world, their life. Nothing else matters except beating whoever came to town to dare challenge their team's skills and reveling in the invicibility of youth.
It's a funny thing college football...it makes you create memories of some of the craziest things. I can remember being on campus, in a dorm room with the front door open watching Notre Dame play on TV and me yelling at the set "No, don't shift the coverage!" while right down the hall, voices would drift up of some other guys yelling the same thing at their sets, to their teams. You go down the hall for a soda from the machines and you see these guys and they understand. I've been to games before where everyone is having a great day...leaving their cares and worries behind and remembering what it was like to be in college...able to drink beer on a Tuesday afternoon for no good reason. The college atmosphere is truly the greatest days you will spend somewhere, so if you haven't gone I highly recommend you do.
Some of the best times I've ever spent were with buddies, throwin' back some cold ones and watchin' the Irish or my best friend's Sooners struggle and triumph. We sit around complaining about the coaches, complaining about the players, and talking about how were getting screwed in the rankings. But that's it though...right there, that's what living is all about. Having fun with good people and believing in something dear to you. I live and die with my Irish every season, watching the games and when they aren't on TV (a rarity) I set me computer on the gamecast and watch the stats and live feed tick by. That's when you know you're addicted...I've actually sat by the computer, watching the live feed praying a team didn't make a first down on my Irish or that we score, all the while soaking in another good game on TV!
You can find this kind of dedication and excitement in other sports, but for some reason I just never see it carry the same weight with their fans it does with college football. The reasons? Well, I think it's the number of games and the playoff systems. Think about it...82 games in baseball doesn't make every one a must see. 16 games in the NFL is pretty small, but if you go 9-7 you can still make the playoffs...not exactly dominance. College basketball? Not many people focus on it until the March Tournament. But with college football...you get 12 games usually and each one is a must win whether it's Florida State or Troy State. If you want a good season, four losses or less is required if not expected, and each game is a major event. Injuries become huge because unlike the pros, team's in 1-A ball just don't have that many stars on the roster. And at least here you can remember what it's like to root for a TEAM, and not a player who'll sign with somebody else next year for $50 million.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share my enthusiasm for this great sport and hope that while things always change, these things hopefully never will. If you guys have any great college football memories or stories please share them here.
GO IRISH!