As an avid sports fan, I’ve been twisting in the wind for months now. Honestly, every since the men’s NCAA basketball tournament came and went, I’ve had a hard time finding something enjoyable to watch on the T.V.
Oh, sure, the NBA Finals were exciting enough, but I didn’t get into them. Moreover, baseball hasn’t been all that exciting either, even though my Yankees now hold a 3-game lead over Boston as of this posting. These, my friends, are the dog days of summer for sports fans. The time when the only thing you can sink your teeth into to fill your competetive viewing Jones is baseball. But, really, how exciting is baseball until the playoffs start? Don’t even answer. I think you get my drift. I hate the dog days of summer!
But … wait … what’s that … that light at the end of the tunnel? Is that … nah … yeah … it is … it’s FOOTBALL! Football is coming to save the day! Last weekend, the NFL season officially kicked off with the playing of the Hall Of Fame game in Canton, OH. Two Cowboys, Rayfield Wright and Troy Aikman, were enshrined, along with Reggie White and John Madden. But I found myself very excited that FOOTBALL was actually here. I watched a few quarters of the Raiders v. Eagles game, just to see some familiar sights and here some familiar sounds. The flight of the kicked all bounding end-over-end as the kick returner waits on it. The click-clacking of the pads. The blowing of the officials’ whistle. Hearing the aforementioned Madden and Al Michaels in the booth announcing the game — on NBC of all networks. Football was officially back! Was I dreaming?
To test this “theory” that football was actually here, I took it a step further. I drove up the street from my house and found myself at Southern High School here in Durham. I drove into the parking lot on the back side of the school … and whadayaknow … the Southern High Spartans were indeed practicing on the field for the upcoming season, which isn’t even a month away. I drove past North Carolina Central’s football field on the way to the radio show … and … you guessed it … they were actually practicing football! I even turned on the T.V. to the NFL Network and saw a scrimmage between Washington and Baltimore. And the preseason is only a few short days away from starting for most teams.
Could it really be? Is football really back? If I’m dreaming, don’t pinch me. Leave me be.
