Brett Favre discussion aside, this is the best time of the year in the sporting world.
Football is upon us. NFL training camps start this weekend, college football’s preseason is unofficially beginning and football fanatics everywhere are beginning their yearly routine of salivating over the swirling rumors and speculation about their favorite teams and players.
Count me in. I live for this.
The offseason brought some substantial changes in both professional and college football. Conference realignments and the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement grabbed the headlines during the last couple months. It’s time to put the politics of the game in the past and think about the real reasons to watch football this fall.
Every fan has different reasons to tune in to a Monday night game, or to travel across the country to see his or her favorite teams take the field. Some people like the strategy of zone blitzes and play-action fakes. Some just want to see hard hits and big plays. Pick your poison. It all makes football worth watching.
Some football fans just have it in their blood. Loyalty is intertwined in the fabric of sports. Without loyalty, the multi-billion dollar sporting industry is nothing.
I have always admired Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions fans for their loyalty to their teams through both good and bad times. And let’s face it, it’s been mostly bad for those franchises for decades. But that is one of the things that make football so polarizing. Win or lose, there’s always next season.
Next season is almost here. This is a time for renewed enthusiasm. The anguish of failure and the ecstasy of victory are in the past. Every team begins with a clean slate, new faces and a chance at eternal football glory.
Perfect seasons are not made in the first week of action, but big hits are. And heroes are, too. Every game is an opportunity to see something special, or to see the ordinary things so many of us have loved about the game for years.
Football has become America’s favorite sport. From last-second comebacks to fading star players, costly penalties and the occasional crazy fan on the field, football shares the spotlight with no other sport in this country. Like it or not, the game of football is our grandest stage.
This time of year is full of drama. Players are preparing to fight for roster spots. Whether a player is a walk-on hopeful at a small-conference college school or a long-time NFL veteran, nothing is guaranteed. The football landscape is always changing – and always exciting.
It is the constant excitement that so many football fans love, and the sport is a beautiful contradiction. It is a cerebral game that even the most intellectual fan can take years to fully understand, but it’s also a game fundamentally based on running faster and hitting harder than everyone else.
Football offers something for every fan. From hours of pre-game tailgating to the nuances of game play strategy, everyone can find something about football to enjoy. If nothing else, football offers an opportunity to socialize, and gives us something to celebrate.
The best six months of the year have arrived. Find a reason to enjoy them.