Four years ago, in September of 2020, the bulk of the sports hiatus had ended. I had recently started my blog site and would routinely finish my evening walk and sit outside in the brisk end of summer night breeze and write. I'd refill my coffee from the fresh pot brewed before walking, light up a heater and sit on my porch and write. I'd pull out my phone, put some tunes on YouTube Music, open my documents app and write. Admittedly, I would nod off before I finished an article and would miss a day here and there. More than once, I burned a hole in my pants from falling asleep with the cigarette lit in hand. I was committed to writing in the beginning. Eventually, as my family demanded more of my time, I lost opportunities to write and ultimately, the habit.
Four years later and in September of 2024, I'm sitting outside, on my porch in the end of summer breeze, heater and coffee close by, music on my headphones, document app open in hand. I pause, for effect, to take a drink and a drag and to make sure I'm not burning my pants.
College football has finally begun! Each year, I play in a season long pick em against the spread contest and in one season long college football fantasy league. I find both to be grueling, fantastically difficult and very enjoyable all at the same time. College football was hard to predict before the transfer portal, Name Image Likeness and when Nick Saban coached at Alabama. Now Coach Saban is sitting beside Pat McAfee on Saturday mornings and college football is harder to forecast than ever!
As I write Monday night, Florida State, which had a grudge and shit to prove, has lost its first two games to a focused Georgia Tech and Boston College.
I could go on and highlight several other surprising or unexpected results from the first two weekends of football that counts, but that's not what I wanna take time to write and you can read that in hundreds of other places. I pause for effect, to take a drink, take a drag and to go inside because the end of summer breeze in annoyingly chilly.
Disney's four-letter network (Serving sports fans. Anywhere. Anytime.) along with Fox and other large networks have created both the demand and the supply for this highly anticipated college football season. It's astounding and humorous to me that the NCAA, college athletics' governing body, cannot subjugate nor regulate this particular college sport because its popularity has ballooned to such extraordinary demensions.
Admittedly, I haven't done (nor would I trust) any internet research regarding the amount of money that advertisers are willing to pay for spots during college football games. We can agree that it's an exorbitant amount. This obviously gives the networks carrying CFB games a rather large pool with which to pay conferences and universities for the broadcasting rights. Because there's always cool kids, certain colleges garner larger audiences than others, making games with those guys more marketable and valuable. Certain media conglomerates have assisted in the rearranging of conferences in order to curate more attractive matchups with those colleges.
I recognize there's no benefit in crying over the spilt milk of consumerism in the United States which, ultimately, has created the capitalist utopia of American football. Networks with pockets deep enough to spread some wealth around are more likely to land the most popular games, continuing the lucrative cycle. If the end justifies the means, then the love of money is the root of the breakdown of traditions.
At the end of the day (as the cool kids say), we still have college football to watch. I can count six or seven incredible plays I saw this weekend and this is the time of year I look forward to many more. This is regretting my picks and I Told You So when I'm right. This is when we get parochial. This is grandstand bands and student cheering sections and fight songs. This is bakesHere.
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