There are few things quite as sweet as that very first Saturday of College Football. Game day is finally back in full force, Lee Corso starts dawning headgear again, you get to hang out with 60,000 of your closest friends to root on your favorite team, and at the very beginning of the season, everyone starts undefeated. It just simply cannot be beaten.
And with anticipation building for the upcoming season, it got me thinking about some of my favorite traditions in all of college football. Below, I have listed my favorite traditions in no particular order and I think most of you will agree:
1. Scoring a Touchdown!
Touchdowns are the easiest way to score the most amount of points in football. If your team can get a touchdown, then they get six free points! That's crazy! What a steal! That's why the touchdown play is the most exciting and most beloved play in all of college football!
2. Winning the Game!
Who doesn't love winning? I know I do and so do all of my pals! We love winning! It might not be us down there on the field, but when our team wins, then a small part of us wins too. And that's the best part of the game.
3. Wishing the Boys Good Luck!
THE BOYS. We love the Boys. The Boys are the best. Go Romo.
4. Using the 3rd Quarter to network and share our screenplays
The third quarter is the least exciting quarter of football. I'm not sure why it is even played. You've just come back from the long halftime break, the quarterbacks are a little tired, the defenses are a little sluggish, and typically this results in the fewest amount of points scored during the average football game. Everyone knows this, which is why everyone brings several copies of their latest screenplay to their local college football event to help pass the time in the third and most boring quarter. You never know who you'll run into! Last year a young fan handed out their screenplay to a man named "Disney" at a college football game and that screenplay was later turned into Disney's Zootopia. Thanks, college football!
5. Eating like three or four hot dogs
Is it three or is it four? Well, I'm certainly not gonna tell you what to do, ya doink! You've got the freedom to choose how many hot dogs you eat at the local arena. But just make sure it's either three or four. No more. No less.
6. Watching Nick Saban siphoning the life from his most recent graduating class in order to replenish his fountain of youth
This one is pretty self-explanatory. Moving on.
7. Are you worried that Season Two of Stranger Things won't be as good as Season One?
I really loved Stranger Things this summer, but I think part of the reason why I loved it so much was because it flew under the radar. There wasn't much hype for the show before it was released. Seriously, I didn't hear anything about it until a few days after it had been released on Netflix. I mean, it was a show about a bunch of kids with a super vague title. But boy was I pleasantly surprised and enthralled with those kids and that cast. Unfortunately, now that the show has blown up I'm worried that Season Two won't be able to survive expectations. What if it is only kind of good? Will the show end? Will those kids be able to handle it? I don't know. I'm optimistic for sure, but I'm still just a little worried.
8. Saying "Bless his heart" after a player messes up in front of 60,000 people.
You hate to see it happen to such a good kid. He's such a nice guy. Dang. Why'd he have to go and mess up like that? I bet he's real disappointed. Bless his heart. Hey, fellas, let's all say a real quick prayer for him. He's just a kid, ya know. He'll be fine in a couple plays. The coach is already giving him a big ole hug and a pep talk right now. Good for him.
9. Updating your LinkedIn profile
It's never too soon to get your name out there with future employers. While you're checking out the game, make sure to log on to your LinkedIn profile and see if you haven't got any potential job offers. Who knows? Maybe you'll be the one scoring a touchdown for your future!
10. Having a good time!
Any top ten list featuring game day traditions would be simply incomplete if it forgets to include "having a good time!" That's what the game is all about in the first place: tailgating, chumming around with a couple of your friends, throwing around the ole pigskin, and having some laughs. If you aren't having a good time, then chances are you aren't watching a good ole game of college football.
Good luck, boys! And good luck, Tony Romo!