If you’re a college football fan, today is the equivalent of what Dec. 22 is to a kid.
Three more days.
With the first weekend of college football nearly here, the anticipation is beginning to take on a new form.
In a way, the wait is getting easier. At this point, fans are actually making plans to watch Utah vs. Oregon State. Fridges and road-trip vans across the state are being stocked with liberal amounts of bean dip and beverages. Kickoff is no longer a distant fantasy.
But any kid knows that waiting for Christmas morning to arrive can be an intense experience as the big event gets closer and closer. College football fans are in the same boat.
People experiencing such high levels of anticipation have been known to yell out “woo-hoo!” without provocation. Others walk along, only to look down at their feet and realize they’re skipping.
Whatever your method of coping with pre-kickoff jonesing, take solace, fellow college football connoisseurs: The day when fans everywhere flock to stadiums draws nigh.
And it’s about damn time.
For die-hard college football fans, the months of having no games to attend and no weekly rankings to check have been brutal.
January through March wasn’t bad. We fans could still easily recall the highlights of games. We could still close our eyes and picture touchdowns, interceptions and quarterback sacks galore.
But by April, our memories were beginning to fade.
In May, we had the Jazz’s playoff run to occupy our minds.
But sports fans have had nothing to carry us through the summer months, and June and July have worn us down.
And now in August, many of us can only dimly recall what it’s like to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a stadium of tens of thousands of kindred spirits rooting for a common goal.
Well, sports fans, sit tight. It’s almost here.
I can remember glancing at the banner that hangs from the Alumni House a few months ago when it said “87 days until kickoff.”
I groaned. It seemed like forever.
Throughout the past several weeks, that blasted banner has taught me a cruel lesson in relativity.
Just as a watched pot never boils, a watched banner makes time stretch and distort until you swear that Aug. 30 will never come.
But it did come. Well, almost. The banner now reads “3 days until kickoff.”
College football is coming and, oh, what a beautiful thing it is.
Isn’t it wonderful that the national championship can be lost during any week of the season?
Don’t you love the way communities rally in support of their teams?
And can anyone get enough of fans trash-talking and sharing hilarious one-liners about BYU on online message boards?
Late August is a magical time. Every team is still undefeated. The possibility of greatness looms in the hearts of optimistic fans everywhere.
BCS bowls seem ripe for the picking.
Mountain West Conference fans have yet to be annoyed by ESPN analysts who look down their noses at “mid-majors.”
The college football season is nearly here!
Consider the signs of the time:
The Utah football team is adding its finishing touches. Coach Kyle Whittingham is finally on the verge of naming a starting runningback.
Utah’s linebackers are licking their chops as thoughts of crushing Oregon State’s dual threat at quarterback race through their minds.
Quarterback Brian Johnson, who’s as quick and limber as he was before his ACL tear, is ready to scramble his way to touchdowns.
The MUSS is in the final stages of recruiting its troops. Soon, students will be tailgating to their hearts’ content and joyously singing the lyrics of “Utah Man.”
Bubbles, the crazy, dancing Utah lady, is choreographing her moves.
Members of the Crimson Club are fluffing up their seat cushions.
Football analysts and pundits are coining new acronyms with the letters BCS.
It’s all evidence that the college football season is about to arrive.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m a teensy bit excited.
Is it obvious?