Unlike Richard's post below, I am a die hard college football fan. I spend a good portion of my day wasting away reading about almost anything related to it that I can find. I can't wait to get to the local pub tonight, kill some brew and watch the 2009 season get started. It's finally time to end the talking (and believe me, living in Alabama, it has been non-stop since ... well, since the Tide beat Clemson last year) and start the hitting.
If at all possible I always like to try and find a rooting interest for games that are on TV. Sometimes it's just because I have a personal dislike or like for certain players or coaches, but most of the time it's based on how the outcome could theoretically affect LSU many moons from now.
I almost always cheer for the SEC in non-conference play (I say almost, the R! T! R! crowd makes it difficult sometimes). Sure, it doesn't really matter, but it does a little. The amount of respect the SEC has gained over the past six years, and in particular, the last three, becomes a tiebreaker for a spot in the national championship game. See 2007. That comes from performing well outside of the conference, particularly in marquee games. But even in mid-tier ones like South Carolina-NC State tonight. The SEC will face the ACC somewhere between 6-10 times this season (forgive me for not counting). It would not be helpful to lose more of those games than to win. So, I'll likely pull for the Gamecocks just to make the league look good. Besides that, I've always kind of liked Steve Spurrier, don't ask me why. Maybe it was because he told you he was going to beat you, then backed it up and poked fun at you afterwards. And there was nothing you could do about it but fume. It also wouldn't hurt to see a solid South Carolina team, one that might make Florida or Georgia sweat later on in the season.
Later tonight, I will absolutely be watching the Boise State-Oregon match up. It has the huge storyline of whether Boise can be a BCS buster this year. They're schedule is is pretty much tonight, then 11 wins, so it's sort of an all-or-nothing proposition for them. It's also two top 20 teams facing each other, which is always fun. And as much as I root for the SEC, I tend to root against other conferences in games like this. I want the Pac 10s second best team to get pummeled by a WAC team (even if it is Boise State). This game will also remind me of the good old days when you could turn on a BYU-Wyoming game at 11 p.m. and watch each team hang half a hundred on the scoreboard. What's better than buzzing, eating cold, leftover pizza and taking in a couple wide-open offenses cranking out big play after big play. I say not much.
So, let's tee it up and finally get this show on the road! It's not quite Saturday, but it's the appetizer to my main course. And I do love my cheese fries!