There is glory to be held in the greatness of this sport. Don't ever forget, this is where legends are born, this is where men are separated from boys. This is where the gridiron produces heroes and goats.
What say you who despises football? Why, Mr. Gladwell and Mr. Bissinger, should such a great sport that produces drama in plays and emotion in fans and players alike, be banned? I'm sorry, but kayaking does not produce the same drama that football does...and what of basketball? Basketball is approximately exciting for two minutes every game, and does not produce the same kind of drama. Equal drama? Sometimes. Same kind of drama? Absolutely not.
Here, you have rage.
Here, you have hope.
Here, you have tears.
Here, you have joy.
Many of us remember some particular game, or moment that made us truly love the sport. I have many of these memories, but I will share just two:
The first was when I was six years old. We had at my house a twelve inch TV next to the kitchen, and basic cable. This TV is where I would sit and watch as much college football as I possibly could, specifically the Duck games (this is pre-Nike). On October 22, 1994 I was sitting and watching from the same place I always did. This time, the Ducks were up 24-20 late in the game, but Washington was 9 yards out of the endzone. Then this happened:
Kenny Wheaton - The Pick (via jtlight)
While the announcer was screaming his head off, I ran around my house, excited as a 6-year old could possibly be. Being that excited, I probably while screaming, woke my baby sister up to cause more chaos, which would only lead to me getting in trouble. It didn't matter, I knew what I had saw, and for that any time-outs that I had gotten was worth it. I remember sometime after that, I would try and re-enact the play to the best of my memory.
The second memory is definitely more recent. I had just finished my first semester of undergrad and successfully coaxed my father into buying Fiesta Bowl tickets for the Boise State-Oklahoma game as my Christmas gift. Freezing my ass off, waiting in line at 4 am to pick up the tickets at the student section, to me, the experience would be worth every penny. Finally, New Year's Day rolled around, the time had come. Entering the stadium, the will-call seats had put us in the endzone, right behind the band. However the game looked on TV, I can tell you that the stadium was almost 60% orange and blue. I don't need to tell you what happened in that game, you should already know. I will tell you this though, the play before the Statue of Liberty was the most nerve-wracking from a fan perspective. To see, from the opposite end of the field, your quarterback go in motion, gives a sickening feeling. Once Peretta had completed the pass to Schouman, I knew the game was over. Statue Left, just confirmed that fact to me.
Feel free to share your memories below. I will try to be respectful, however, if Nevada-Boise State comes up in the comments, I might retire to the fetal position (I was seriously considering putting that up there as a "bad memory").