Wait For Labor Day Weekend Kickoff
By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Travel Blogger
My mother send me an e-mail at the end of July that contained, among other things, that one of our family members can hardly contain himself because the hometown University of Tennessee opens its college football season on Labor Day Weekend.
It should be pointed out that UT went 4-8 last year and did not win a game in the Southeastern Conference. That means they lost to both Kentucky and Vanderbilt. One would think fans of the Volunteers would be hiding under Rocky Top rather than eagerly anticipating more games.
A week earlier, I turned on the TV and saw Paul Finebaum – no he didn’t defect to the Big 10 Network – at SEC Media Days. The SEC Network provided 12 hours of coverage. For four straight days.
College Football Live is back on ESPN.
For those who wonder if it’s ever to early to talk about college football, the answer is yes. And the time it’s too early is in the summertime. People should be thinking about vacations, the beach, going to the lake and not being in school.
Instead, you start hearing talk of “I can’t wait for college football” on TV sports shows, on social media and in general conversation. Especially in places like the South and Midwest.
Personally, I still want to enjoy my summer. The fall will be here soon enough – why rush it?
In the fall, the sunsets come earlier, the weather turns cooler and, well, it’s just not as fun as the carefree summertime. People turn from a “hey it’s summertime!,” mentality to a more serious tone.
Not only that but I’m a college football fanatic and come fall, I’m all consumed with it. I’m glued to the TV from the first game in the morning to the last game at night.
To make matters more intense, I’m an Alabama graduate and because the team is so good and in perennial contention for the College Football Playoffs, I must watch every game involving highly-ranked teams, hoping the right ones lose and the right ones win in the spiderweb that is the college football regular season.
What happens on one side of this web often affects what happens on another side of it, and as teams like Ohio State or Oklahoma get on the ropes I watch with great interest hoping they will lose in order to provide a bit of margin of error for Alabama. With so many close games, upsets and potential upsets of ranked teams, each Saturday is an hours-long heart-pounding endeavor.
It’s this way every week from September thru November and into December. As a result, my fall goes faster than Clemson’s hurry-up offense.
So when it’s summertime, let it be summertime. Enjoy the moment – and the moments – of this great season.
Cheers!
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