This weekend marks a special occasion. No, I’m not talking about Labor Day, but about football. This weekend is the first weekend for college football, cleverly known as “Week One.” The less obvious weekend was last weekend, dubbed “Week Zero,” where a few teams got a jump on the rest of the nation. In an exciting game, Florida State played Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland – and Georgia Tech won. Delaware State played Hawaii. When I was researching (okay, Googling) Week Zero, I learned that Hawaii often gets to play during Week Zero because of the difference in time zones. Playing the early week helps them (or the teams traveling to play them) in some way.
Except for those teams that have played Week Zero, and for Arkansas and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, who are playing tonight (Thursday, August 29), this is one of the best times for college fans. At this moment, every team is undefeated, and every fan can dream, however unrealistically, of championships and accolades for their team.
In the South, football and insanity travel together. Otherwise mild-mannered, rational people are gearing up to shout encouragement and advice to their team of choice while watching the game on television, convinced that by sheer force of will, via the magic of the airways, they will help their team win. The same people are also pulling out lucky shirts from their closet or performing rituals they believe will tip the balance of a close game for their team. Weddings, birthday parties, and yes, even funerals, are scheduled around various games.
For those people who eschew college football for the more glamorous NFL, your season is also fast approaching. Your first game for the 2024-2025 season will be on Thursday, September 5 on NBC between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens. The NFL has no need for a Week Zero; it has an entire pre-season where teams play each other to help the coaches decide who will make the team. It’s a good thing I’m not a coach, either for the NFL or a college team. I don’t think I’d be able to cut anyone from the team, since they all seem to want to play.
No matter which team or league is yours, enjoy the dreams of championships dancing in your head before cruel reality snatches them away. I know I’m looking forward to my dreams, at least until my team plays on Saturday night. And should your football dreams fail, remember the sports cry that follows every season - “There’s always next year!”
Thanks for reminding me the hours my husband will be otherwise occupied this weekend. I tell a story on my nonsportsminded self-joel usually is a goid sport if our social plans overlap a game as long as I make no plans on a few Alabama game days that he pre-warns me about. A few years ago, he asked me to keep one Saturday night open. When an invitation to a giant LSU gumbo night watch party came in, I declined ( sadly as my friend throws wonderful Cajun food night dinners ) . When she pestered me again a few days later, I explained we couldn’t come because I had promised Joel he could watch his special Alabama game. She almost choked laughing. Seems Alabama was playing LSU. The gumbo was delicious, Alabama won, and to be on the safe side, I printed out Alabama’s schedule for the remainder of the season. Oh, and did I mention, “Go Blue!”
ReplyDeleteI don't recall who said it, but it seems right to me: "Some have religion and others have football."
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I can't enjoy football. Just in the last week, the deaths of two young students have been reported in the news from football practice injuries or heatstroke. So many kids--including one of my brothers--have their football hopes dashed by related injury or illness which they carry for the rest of their lives. And my husband suffered from dementia, which probably at least partially originating in concussions resulting from playing football in high school and college. Some people pay a terrible price for this obsession.
ReplyDeleteWe moved to Atlanta at the start of the college football season. After nine years in Ohio, I thought I knew college football (Big Ten). Not like the South! Cars flew pennants and flags. Most of the houses in our neighborhood hoisted SEC flags during football season. Supermarkets were deserted on Saturday afternoons. It wasn't "watching the game" it was driving hours to the game, if you had access to tickets. Rivalries were fierce. My kids had to learn a new set of college mascots.
ReplyDeleteAnxious to see what the season holds, especially now that my Longhorns have gone to the SEC!
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