This Is Why We Watch
Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 11:18AM By JOHN P. WISE
One Great Season
NEW YORK -- I've written a variation of this piece several times over the years. And when a friend recently suggested I write it again so other friends less familiar with America's greatest sport could get a better idea of what makes college football so special, I figured I'd oblige.
It's a good idea coming from a buddy here in New York, where college sports aren't a big draw. And since I've lived here for more than three years now, perhaps my perspective has changed.
YOUR THOUGHTS: Why do you love college football?
No longer living in the midwest, where a short drive in any direction could put me at a good game on any autumn Saturday, has forced a change in how I follow the sport. I'm a University of Cincinnati alum who spent many years in the Queen City, just a 90-minute drive down I-71 from Columbus, home of the Buckeyes.
But now to get my Ohio State jones, I have to go to a sports bar called Blondie's. Months after moving here, I met Steve at a bar at LaGuardia Airport. Hold on to your hats here; we both were waiting for our delayed flights to board.
Nonetheless, I started the conversation because he was rockin' an Ohio State T-shirt, and I was writing a college football column at the time. Turns out Steve was instrumental in turning Blondie's into Heineygate North.
What started nearly a decade ago as a small gathering of like-minded Ohioans turned into a full-fledged celebration each week that often devolves into a Chittenden Avenue keg party after yet another OSU blowout. The only proof that we're 600 miles from Columbus is the absence of flaming couches.
But when friends like Arun ask an Ohio native about college football, we like to talk about the purity of the game, the speed and strength and spirit and effort given forth by 20-year-old boys who seem to play for the love of it, as opposed to a (legal) paycheck. They play for their coach, their school, their colors, their classmates and their pride.
Sure they do it well down south and in other parts of the country, but we love it in the midwest just as much. We enjoy a few games in the sun, but by midseason, we're rockin' our favorite sweater or sweatshirt, and come November, we're packing on the layers and hats and scarves. When the colors of the leaves change, that's our cue that another gray and cold Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and it's time for us to be grateful for another run at a conference championship. The season may change but not for one moment does the dedication of teenage gladiators.
We talk about traditions and the culture, and loyals sporting the scarlet and gray say those things get no better than they do in Columbus. Others make similar claims about their level of fanaticism in Gainesville and Austin and dozens of other proud college football towns.
Like anything about which you're passionate, there isn't merely one aspect that turns you on. Some love the game but are indifferent about the pageantry. Others come for the tailgate, take in all the color and appreciate being a part of the history.
Some schools have a football culture more rich than others. But no matter who you root for, the marching band always shows up and everyone still keeps playing the game. Not just in the stadium, but in backyards all over Ohio long after the clock runs out.
Reader Comments (2)
Autumn is my favorite season, and the whole season feels crisp and exciting, like the first day of school in high school and college. When football starts, it reminds me of tailgating in the RV of my friend Ann's family at Notre Dame, and nights and afternoons at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati.
Once I met my husband, an Aggie, football took on a whole new meaning. Kyle Field is a one-of-a-kind place to watch a game, and the whole stadium rocks. The rest of his family went to UT, and now that we live in Austin we are surrounded by Longhorn country. I expect this football season to be the most exciting one yet.
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