Confessions of a college football fanatic

For thirteen weeks I woke up early every Saturday to watch ESPN's College Gameday. Now, a month after college football's grand finale, I already miss it. I can hardly sleep on Friday nights, the excitment of gameday gets me jazzed.

I run through the day in my head. Who plays at noon? Who kicks off at 3:30 and who plays into the night? Will I eat before or during the Bama game? Ooh no, I forgot which channel Bama is on ...damn it, I need to go look it up. Will I be able to see the end of the Georgia, Tennesse game before the Bama game starts? Can we really beat them? Who will Kirk pick to win? I wonder what cool costume Lee Corso will whip out. ... It's no wonder I can't sleep. But waking up Saturay morning is the best. It's like Christmas.

Since most games are crammed into one day a week for only 13 weeks, the fans often find themselves changing channels frequently in an effort to not only watch, but keep up. The truth is: Watching college football as an avid fan can be a lot of work.

Let's face it...If you saw the notorious Graham Herrel, Michael Crabtree pass for the first time as a replay, you missed out on the initial shock value. But, you can't watch them all live all the time.

The week leading up to a big game gets fans pumped. I know, I know, I can't wait! But the hour before kick-off, things feel surreal. It's actually here!

The pleasures of gameday are all around, for me and most hardcore fans. The energy as the team runs out of the tunnel, the crowd chanting. The way the stadium rocks, packed in with football-crazed fans. The nervousness as the quarterback hangs back in the pocket before his move. The frustration with penalties and bad calls. The impatience waiting for a play to reviewed. The excitiment of a running back weaving and dodging as he busts through the defense and makes a break for it. The shock of blocked field goals, missed cues and turnovers. The seeminly slow motion moments as the ball flies through the air on a Hale Mary pass. The nail-biting intensity praying your team can pull out the upset in the final seconds.


Ahh. It's all there. And without it, Saturday is not the same. To all the hardcore, nutjob, obsessive college football fans out there like me,remember:It's only eight months away.

See you next season!!!

Tim Tebow ascending directly into Heaven

MIAMI (SP) -- Shortly after leading the Florida Gators to a national championship with a 24-14 win over Oklahoma, junior quarterback Tim Tebow announced that he would skip his senior season and ascend directly into heaven.

Tebow entered the press room to wild applause. A reporter for a 24-hour cable sports network burst into tears when the 2007 Heisman winner entered the room. Another threw a pair of boxer shorts on the podium. Tebow smiled at the gesture and several sports reporters fainted.

"Sorry I'm late," Tebow began. "There was a six-year-old boy with cancer in row 54 and I had to make my way through the crowd to heal him."

"I want to start by saying that playing quarterback for the University of Florida, winning two national championships, has been a great honor. There has been some speculation about my future and I want to clear that up right now," he continued.

"Don't go, Tim!" a reporter shouted from the back of the room.

"After much consideration, I have decided to skip my senior season at the University of Florida and ascend directly into Heaven," Tebow announced. Upon making the announcement, Tebow was bathed in a blinding white light and vanished.

In response to the news, ESPN announced they will have a month-long tribute to Tebow. ESPN2 will now be known as ESPN-TEBOW and will feature Tebow highlights (including home videos of Tebow's childhood), re-airings of past interviews, Tebow-centric analysis by ESPN air personalities, a Tebow quiz show and a reality show to find
the "most Tebow-like" person in America.

"He wasn't just the greatest player in college football history," said a college football writer at the press conference, tears streaming down his face. "He might have been the greatest person to ever walk on earth."




Albert Press