By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Blogger
It is transition time in the USA.
That’s when summer folds into fall.
It begins with Labor Day Weekend when we turn on the TV and am ambushed by programming showing helmet-clad college and professional athletes running around a gridiron and hear countless “experts” talk about those helmet-clad college and professional athletes running around a gridiron.
It’s football season!
Actually it starts in July but only the most diehard of fans are paying attention to NFL preseason games. And college football now has a “Zero Week” ahead of Labor Day Weekend’s Week 1, which is to mean there’s a game before all the games. Yes, ESPN Game Day – with Nick Saban now on set but don’t expect him to put on any mascot’s headgear – kicks off in late August at 9 a.m. Then there is a game Ireland, Florida State and Georgia Tech.
So, somewhat reluctantly we change from our summer beach or lake tank tops and t-shirts with the names of bars we visited on them, to shirts or jerseys with the logos and names of our favorite teams and players.
The backyard BBQ is replaced by tailgate parties and traditions at the games, we meet friends not for after-work drinks but at sports bars showing our teams and Monday morning conversations go from “did you have a nice weekend” to “did you see that game!?”
This year will be a bit different as we adjust to the new kickoff rule in the NFL, which will get some getting used to because it looks so weird, and the 12-team college football playoff.
The latter will take away the unique aspect of college football, the near heart attacks each Saturday as fans watched games of the teams in contention for the National Championship knowning more than one loss would end their season. Now, with the unfair “5 +7 format” in which five conference chanmpions earn an automatic bid, a team can get in with a less effort than, say a three-loss team that has slugged it out in the rugged SEC.
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