It’s Football Season!

Since I was in Nashville for a long time, often among Vanderbilt fans, we hate UT.

I did have the luck of the century with NFL football. I was a Houston Oilers fan for many years, though mostly starting in the early 90s. Then the team ups and moves to my home town for me. That sure was sweet of them. Of course, the only connection between the Oilers and the Titans that remains is the owner Bud Adams, and amazingly in today's NFL, the coach, Jeff Fisher.

However, I then moved to Hawaii where it's harder to be a football fan. The early game starts at 7:00 AM here. And I'd have to buy a satellite package to ever see TN. Just not the same.

I completed my graduate work at Iowa State, so I guess the whole "Cy-Hawk" series between Iowa State and Iowa was always pretty exciting, regardless of how good each team actually was that year. Growing up in the Midwest, I was surrounded by Huskers fans, especially when they were winning national titles. I don't really have a favorite team, but now that I'm at Clemson, the Tigers will have to serve as my inherited team although they didn't start off well. I'm sure the people in the Upstate of SC don't get along very well with those in East Tennessee!!

In the NFL, again, being from the Midwest you had two choices--The Vikings or the Chiefs. Everybody else liked the Vikings so I went with the Chiefs. I'm still a fan, unfortunately I doubt I will ever get to see one of their games here in the South.

One of the things I hate most about (USA-style) football is that it forces me into agreement with right-wing columnist George Will who points out that football combines the two most reprehensible aspects of culture in the USA: violence and committee meetings!

Sorry, NEPR, but (USA-style) football became this nation's _real_ national pastime during the nineteen-sixties and has only become stronger since. All that has kept it from being more popular is the degeneracy we have seen in _all_ pro and much of college sports (crime by players and all kinds of disreputable conduct largely at the big-time colleges).

Too bad, too. College football and pro football can still be exciting and of course the college crowd if anything has stronger loyalties and expressions of such than the pro-team fans.

J. Chem: In east-central Iowa where I lived for two, the same city featured Vikings, Chiefs, Bears, Packers, and Rams fans.

As a Carolina Panther fan, I love that pic.

Patriot fans are in shock right now...the Barack Obama of pro football may have already ended his entire season, and who knows what that injury will do to his future years' performances.

"In east-central Iowa where I lived for two, the same city featured Vikings, Chiefs, Bears, Packers, and Rams fans."

It certainly is a state divided among several teams now. But as I grew up the Rams were out in L.A. and they stunk to high heaven. The '85 Bears won the Super Bowl, but they stunk for quite awhile after that. The Pack had a young Brett Favre winning Super Bowls and the Vikes saw the resurgence of Randall Cunningham. I'm not quite sure how I went for the Chiefs given all of that. Their colors matched those of my old High School? Maybe that counted for something...

When I was very young I was a NY Giants fan, but more out of obligation than heart. Living in southern CT just wasn't very conducive to football madness. UConn consistently sucked and Yale, well, what can I say? Then I headed down to Austin for graduate school. Soon after I got there I remember sitting in my office when I noticed a roar. I thought it was thunder at first, but it never stopped. When I walked outside I noticed it was coming from the direction of "The Drag" (Guadalupe St, which ran along the border of the university). So I headed up there to see what was up. I couldn't believe it. It was a gigantic celebration. UT just won their opener. There was an impromptu parade of pickup trucks, many of them with kegs on the back (and tons of people), slowly weaving their way down the street dispensing beer. And boy, there was a whole lot of very sloppy drunks.

That was my introduction to the religion of football, Texas style. And I have to say, I found it very catching. You almost have to -- unless you want to be very lonely. It didn't take long to learn to hate Texas A&M (that was required) and Oklahoma (that was a little more optional). And every Saturday, schedule permitting, I got together with friends (that's part of the thing -- it's like a service), either at someone's house or at the local beer garden if we didn't actually go to the game (which wasn't very often -- most of us were starving graduate students). Likewise, every Sunday we'd get together to watch the Cowboys. For some reason the Oilers were not very popular in Austin -- even after they became the Earlers, although that helped. Likewise, every Monday night we'd get together to watch the Monday night game. And sometimes even on Friday night, if there was a good high school game somewhere, we'd go to it. During the playoffs the high schools could pretty much fill the UT stadium! That's about 80,000 people. To watch a high school game. Texas luvs 'em some football.

I'm still a Cowboys fan, even through the Switzer years (he was head coach of Oklahoma before coming to the Cowboys, grrrr). Since I live in OC, CA now, it's been easy -- the Rams left soon after I got to CA. Likewise the Raiders (though I did manage to take in a few of their games; their crowd was more interesting than the team -- it was like watching football in a mosh pit). And I never accumulated much of an affinity for the Chargers.

Seeing as my school is only gettin ga team the year of my graduation, I root for the UGA Bulldogs!

Well, the Falcons won their first game- Matt Ryan may actually have been the right pick. 34-21! 21 points scored in the first quarter! A touchdown scored on Ryan's first pass! Hopefully, this means they won't suck as much as in past years. My college doesn't have a football team, and my old high school's team sucks the big one- they lost their first game 70-7. Ow.

Unfortunately the Chiefs are in a "rebuilding" year. Even with Brady being out the Patriots have a lot going for them and I have low enough expectations (You should have heard how often the commentators were saying rookie when talking about the Chiefs.) that keeping in the game was a pleasant surprise. I was more than a little annoyed by Randy Moss trying to claim that the tackle that hurt Brady was dirty. Watching it on the tube actually gives a much better perspective than some guy on the field far away from that part of the play. The network played it over and over again and were unanimous in saying that it was just one of those things that can happen in a game. Pollard had been pushed to the ground and was trying to make a play. Hey, there's the quarterback. It's my job to get him. Grab leg. Dirty? Lots of luck with that. And with all that...I'm not sure who will take the NFL. Pittsburgh doesn't seem out of the question but did you see that final score between Chicago and Indianapolis?

For college...I think Mizzou has a real shot at it this year. If our main experienced players stay healthy it will be interesting.

Some of my earliest memories were of my rabid Univ of Michigan Dad screaming at the television. I loved football season and lived for times I got to go to the games with my parents. When I went off to college (Vanderbilt) I stayed pretty true to the maize and blue. I married a Michigan alum and for a while was more passionate about the games than he was.
However, after living in Philly for some 20 years, my love has been migrating to the Eagles (I am destined to be disappointed in life :) ) With the Rich Rod hire I have pretty much moved on. I still watch the games but can pretty much take or leave them.

I thought of Joe Gandelman's San Diego when I put that pick up...

Thanks, Jim Satterfield for recognizing Missouri. Gotta go with the homestate team on national championship pick in college football. On the national stage -- watch out for the Favre-reinvigorated Jets. I know that's a long shot, but what a story that would make for the record books!