The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

We all love the holidays. Dressing up on Halloween and Easter Egg Hunts were always fun as a kid. The feast at Thanksgiving is always a good time. Of course, New Year’s is always great for the over-21-year-olds. Finally, Christmas: the great American holiday, as it is now. But I’d argue the holiday period that should be up there is the beginning of football season.

With the start of the new NFL season, grown men are as giddy as children after Santa Clause’s visit. There are no missed days of work or school, but every football fan receives a present: the gift of football. If anyone doubted football is king in America, they must’ve missed the lead story of the summer this past year and in many years past: football training camp. Yes, the football faithful are more concerned with football PRACTICE than baseball, Olympics and other sports combined.

ESPN was probably one of the biggest culprits of this. Between the Tebow saga, all of the Saints coverage and continuing their program “NFL Live” during the offseason, the “Worldwide Leader in Sports” led the way in non-football football coverage. But now we finally have games!

I for one am excited to the point of hyperventilation. The fantasy football picks are in, and with Tony Romo stepping up his game, the defending champion New York Giants already have a loss. If you couldn’t feel it during the preseason (practices that are charged at regular price) then the holiday spirit has surely hit you by now.

Of course, there’s always the optimism of the new season. Bucs fans are ready to see if Greg Schiano and the financial commitments the Bucs

Andy Dalton looked like a pro at TCU (Photo courtesy of TCU Athletic Communications)

made in free agency will pay off.  Bengals fans want to see if the rookie sensations Andy Dalton and A.J. Green can follow-up on last year’s playoff berth. Eagles fans, like myself, want to see if Andy Reid’s team can wake up from last year’s nightmare and play like a true “Dream Team”. Browns fans just want things to finally be different.

No matter who you are or who your team is, your team is undefeated (except for the Giants fans) right now and there’s a whole season ahead of us. Now is the time to soak it all in and enjoy the opening weekend. Enjoy it now, you never know if you’re team is destined for the playoffs or the first overall pick. Love it while it lasts.