Opening
Day, 2019
“I love
that about college football. I love all the funky match-ups. I love
the Funky Cold Medina Poulan Weed-Eater Bowl. I love all that. I like
the crazy games...”
Dabo
Swinney (Head Football Coach, Clemson University)
Today's the day. Folks
all over the country have waited nine long months for the return of
college football, and this is the day. In Alabama, it rivals the
second coming of Jesus, I promise you. In fact, if Jesus decided to
return at kickoff of the season's first Alabama or Auburn game, he'd
have to take a number and get in line. It's just that serious. That's
why I like Dabo Swinney so much. He is the only coach I know of who
still sees college football as a game, and seems to stay in that game
out of love. Reread the quote above and count how many times the
word love is used. He's light-hearted and playful and yet he gets
great results out of his players. No need to beat them down and
criticize their every mistake—just love them into doing better the
next time.
I think most of the
hoopla over college football has to do with community. People all
around the country migrate like geese on game days—to their stadium
of choice, to tailgate and visit with friends and foes alike. They
gather in parking lots and haul out the charcoal grills and cook up
feasts for anyone who happens to walk by. Too much food is eaten, too
much beer drunk, and there is great hilarity—and that all happens
before the game even begins. A small city of like-minded people
gather and celebrate something that connects them. Whether they win
or lose, they love the communal life college football provides them,
and they love their team.
Of course, we worry about
the injuries, the brain damage, and the spike in domestic violence
that always ensues. I cheered Andrew Luck's decision to choose life
over continuous concussions. We all worry about the injuries
inherent in the game, but that doesn't keep us from sitting down on
our sofas with our beer and bowl of chili, and screaming our heads
off when our team scores. There's a primal, blood-lust factor that
springs right out of our reptilian brains. Behavior that is frowned
upon in any other context, but football allows its expression. Go get
'em, we say!
One thing college
football provides for us is a look at our own shadows—our hidden
violent side, our secret excitement about hurting people. It's not
pretty, but it is still very much a part of the human condition—alive
and well and exercised in arenas around the country every Saturday
from now until New Year's day. Maybe we should take a look at
that—but not until after the Funky Weed-Eater Bowl, right?
In the Spirit,
Jane
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