Why we love college football

The college football season started Wednesday night with an exciting matchup with Georgia State topping Abilene Christen, but the real action begins Thursday night and runs through Sunday with plenty of good games. We discussed for the first 15 or so minutes on our Week 1 podcast we tackled the issue of why we love college football.

There is not really one thing to put a finger on and say this is why. A few reasons are you went to the school, from an area and fill a sense of pride. All of that trumps the NFL yet despite being a better product, college football is vastly popular. We will get in the action on Twitter to watch the weeknight #MACtion, a Sun Belt game, the late-night Hawaii game or even FCS playoffs. Just check Twitter on any college football night and people are interacting and talking about any and every game.

It also comes down to tradition such as the flyover at Air Force or its falcon that flies around the stadium, the various ridiculous trophy games out there and to the million other traditions that each and every school feel that they really do have the best or most unique tradition.

Before you read the next part make sure to click play on the YouTube video below and then read the excerpt from Bill Connelly's book, Study Hall.

"In Lincoln, Nebraska, 85,000 people make an incomprehensible amount of noise watching on an enormous jumbotron as 100 young men walk through a hallway.

In Columbia, South Carolina, old Southern men yell and wave towels to the pulsating beat of a nearly 15-year old song by Finnish trance DJ Darude.

In Blacksburg, Virginia, engineering majors make an equal amount of noise following the opening notes to a classic rock song from Los Angeles-based Metallica.

In Madison, Wisconsin, after 45 minutes of play, the home crowd jumps along in disturbing unison to a decades-old song from faux-Irish rap group House of Pain. It is so fun you can occasionally catch members of the visiting team joining in on the sideline.

In Auburn, Alabama, a town of 53,000, up to 87,000 people show up to watch an eagle fly around a stadium. A retired eagle still hangs out on campus. (The team's nickname is the Tigers, by the way.) In Tallahassee, Florida, a student is given a scholarship to dress up as a Seminole chief, ride into Doak Campbell Stadium on a horse named Renegade, and plant a spear into the ground.

In Starkville, Mississippi, home fans clang cowbells incessantly, and they are the only fans in the country allowed to do so. This is a big deal. In Stillwater, Oklahoma, the Cowboy Marching Band plays "The Waving Song" after the home team scores. The fans don't clap along, of course; they wave.

In Clemson, South Carolina, the home team pats a rock and runs down a hill to thunderous applause. In College Station, Texas, proud Aggies cheer along with male yell leaders dressed like milkmen, repeating chants that you don't understand and nodding quietly to the collie graveyard on the north end of the stadium.2

In Shreveport, Louisiana, local Louisiana State fans show up at the Independence Bowl, a game in which their team isn't playing, just so they can get some tailgating practice. In Boise, Idaho, Utah State beats Toledo in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The trophy they receive is basically a crystal bowl of potatoes. Winning this ridiculous trophy is one of the program's finest moments." -- Bill Connelly, Football Study Hall.

Rejoice that college football is finally here, and enjoy these next four months because they will fly by in a blink of an eye.