Football season in Columbia, S.C., is right around the corner....
There is the holiday season, the short time in Columbia where we might have a few days filled with snow, and in San Diego, there is wild fire season. Between these and multiple others, my all-time favorite season is Gamecock football season.
While the season opener on Aug. 28 against SEC West team Texas A&M is about a month away, I have come up with some habits and coping mechanisms to fill my time as I anxiously await a reunion with Williams-Brice Stadium.
Keeping Up with SEC Media Days - While the SEC Media Days 2014 came to an end, the frenzy produced an enormous amount of content. From it, the media released its predictions for the SEC 2014 season, predicting Alabama to win the SEC West and SEC Championship and South Carolina to take the SEC East title. The media also predicted the entire SEC East and West order of finishes with South Carolina, Georgia and Florida taking the three top spots in the east, respectively, and Alabama, Auburn and LSU finishing in the top three in the west. If those predictions don’t make you stand up and yell “GO COCKS,” are you really a Gamecock fan?
SEC Network - The SEC Network launches Aug. 14 and will include 45 football games, 100 men’s basketball games, 60 women’s basketball games, 75 baseball games, 50 softball games, 25 women’s soccer games and 40 volleyball games throughout its inaugural year, as well as multiple regular shows, including The Paul Finebaum Show. The University of South Carolina-Texas A&M game will not only be the kickoff to SEC football, but it will also be the first football game to air on the SEC Network. On top of this, they are creating a documentary on the HBC Steve Spurrier himself, titled, "The Believer". It will premiere on August 27th, making it the perfect way to prepare for the A&M game the following day.
The channel plans to separate itself from other conference networks with the collaboration between ESPN and the SEC with topnotch production quality and content from the most competitive conference in the south. The network is currently lined up to broadcast on Cox Cable, AT&T U-verse, Dish Satellite, Google fiber and Comcast’s Xfinity. If your provider isn’t set to provide the network, visit getsecnetwork.com to demand the SEC Network. The website also contains multiple school and conference videos that will leave viewers with goose bumps that won’t go away until the first kickoff.
Countdowns and Crying - Like many, I downloaded a countdown app onto my iPhone to let me know how many days I have to go until a big event. Currently, I have countdowns for the Texas A&M, Georgia and Clemson games, as well countdowns for Bid Day and a few personal events. Knowing every morning I am one day closer to stepping inside Williams-Brice Stadium yet again has kept me sane throughout the summer. But until my countdown for the Texas A&M game reaches single digits, I will continue to cry every time I look at it. I may or may not be crying right now.
With Head Ball Coach Steve Spurrier holding the current record for number of SEC wins out of any active coach in the SEC and the desire to continue holding the nation’s longest current home winning streak, I’m ready for some football. Bring it on Aggies.
