Kickoff Time

'Tis opening weekend for college football so it feels right to republish my post from a decade ago, written in the first months of this little ol' blog's existence:

College football finally returns this week, and in the coming month campuses will come alive all over the land. From Baton Rouge to Boulder and Clemson to Corvallis and Morgantown to Madison, alumni will return in their RV’s and the aroma of beer and beef will waft through their tailgate parties.

There is nothing on earth like college football. Because a single loss can take you out of the running for the national title and maybe even your conference title, college football has the most important regular season in all of American sports.

It is the only sport in which you can win every game but one, yet the whole year is remembered in a bad light because the one loss came against your archrival. Likewise, it is the only sport in which a season-ending win against your archrival can turn an otherwise bad year into one worth celebrating.

In different corners of America, longtime rivals play for chintzy but endearing objects: Minnesota and Michigan for the Little Brown Jug, Purdue and Indiana for the Old Oaken Bucket, Tennessee and Kentucky for the Beer Barrel.

Alumni from different schools argue that not only does their alma matter have the best football team on any given Saturday, but that every aspect of their alma matter is better than every aspect of every other school in America.

It is obvious that Auburn’s “War Eagle” is the greatest fight song ever played. Yet Michigan grads will tell you that no song is as stirring as “The Victors.”

It is obvious that the sweeping angles of Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium make it the best place on earth to watch a football game. Yet Arizona State grads will tell you there’s no better place than the upper deck of Sun Devil Stadium at sundown, from which you can watch a game and see the desert turn to fire at the same time.

And it is obvious that Auburn-Alabama is the most heated rivalry in the world. Yet, inexplicably, some will say that title belongs to Michigan-Ohio State or Texas-Oklahoma or Army-Navy.

Meanwhile, Tennessee grads claim that the greatest pre-game tradition in America is the procession of their Vol Navy, when alumni arrive by boats on the Tennessee River.

And Wisconsin grads claim that the greatest post-game tradition is their Fifth Quarter, when the band stays in the stadium to play and the fans stay in the stadium to party, regardless of who won.

As someone who was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area, I watch Bucs games while feeling my stomach boil with intensity, but I have little interest in spending hours of my life watching other professional games. On the other hand, as someone who graduated from Auburn, I watch Auburn games while feeling heart-stopping anxiety – and I also watch any other college game that’s on TV when Auburn is not. I will stay up into the wee hours of the morning to see Boise State vs. Hawaii and enjoy every minute of it.

College football fans do things like that. And they wonder about all kinds of topics that relate to the sport but not to their school, such as: Will Bobby Bowden or Joe Paterno end the year with more career victories? Will Ohio State make it to the national championship game yet again, only to get embarrassed yet again? Will Notre Dame continue its downward spiral that enables millions of Americans to revel in schadenfreude?

No other sport can match college football’s blend of pageantry, passion, and season-long drama. So cue the marching bands, let the cheerleaders adorn our televisions, and let us all argue about who’s number one. I am ready.


Note: It's interesting to re-read this post and think about what has changed. Bowden and Paterno are no longer coaching... Paterno is no longer even walking the Earth, and his once stainless reputation has been shredded by the Jerry Sandusky scandal... the BCS has given way to playoffs... Ohio State has, yes, made it to the national championship game, but far from getting embarrassed, won it resoundingly... though now those Buckeyes are embroiled in a scandal due to domestic violence by wide receivers coach Zach Smith and a "see no evil" cover-up of said violence by head hypocrite coach Urban Meyer... a lot happens as time passes, my friends; but also, a lot of things stay the same, and both can be good.

V-J Day

73 years ago today, the bloodiest war in human history came to an end when Japan accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. The announcement of Japan's surrender set off celebraions around the globe, including the one in Times Square during which this iconic picture was taken.

After six years, during which more than 60 million people from 27 different countries were killed, World War II was finally over. In the United States, August 15th came to be known as V-J Day, for Victory in Japan Day, since our European enemies had surrendered three months earlier.

Despite the fact that America was brought into the war when it was bombed by Japan, and despite the fact that atomic weapons were used to hasten the war's end, and despite enormous cultural differences, the two countries became strong and lasting friends whose alliance is now one of the most dependable on earth.

That is a direct result of the respectful and helping way America dealt with Japan after the war ended. One of the reasons we are unique in world history is that as conflicts conclude, we always seek to befriend our antagonists and to better their lot as well as our own. That fact needs to be burned into the hearts and minds of those who believe America is always the aggessor.

In my younger days, V-J Day was noted on calendars. Today it is not. This is not how it should be.

The Greatest Generation is rapidly passing to the other side of eternity's veil. Before its members are gone, may the rest of us thank them for the freedom they transmitted to us. And may we resolve that their sacrifice shall never be forgotten, and that it shall not have been made in vain.

Not My Words This Time

There are so many things rattling around in my brain I want to write about. And there are a few things I've even started writing about -- troubles with Turkey, troubles with Mueller's "Russia probe," the way in which pop culture ignores and erases and maims Christian statements even when they are made by its own superstars -- but I have not finished those posts, due to other priorities and lack of time.

And I am happy to say those writings are gonna have to wait, because later today I am heading off to the mountains for some R&R and I can't wait! Weather permitting the kids will get to see some fabulous panoramas, and regardless of weather they will get to check out some waterfalls. You know, things we don't have here in Florida.

Sarah (who is 13) got to do much more mountain traveling when she was younger than Parker has so far (he is 7). That makes me feel bad for Parker, but it's time to change that so I am going to think (which I'm good at) about how to actively make things happen (which I have historically struggled with) to change that. And then I will do away with the "historically struggled with" problem, because I am ready to do away with it for so many reasons, but they are not the point of this post -- right now, at this moment, I am simply eager for both kids to enjoy this trip and for Parker to soak up the experience.

Anyway, I won't be blogging for a while but I did want to leave you with something, so if you're interested and have time, I recommend going here and watching last weekend's sermon by our pastor, Matthew Hartsfield. It is actually the ninth in a series of ten sermons that started in June, and they are all very good but I am linking to last weekend's because it was extremely very good.

Links for the entire series are here. I assume "part ten" will be added to that page after this weekend. I saw it at church last night and it is worth a view too, as I am sure they all are, though I haven't seen them all. But I do intend to!

And with that, I am off and away! Until next time, take care.