It’s the most wonderful time of the year.
Football season is upon us. Get out the wrapping paper, hang those stockings and don’t forget to leave out some milk and cookies! Christmas is here, at least for any person who dares to call him or herself a fan of the great sport of good, old-fashioned, testosterone-injected American football.
Everyone considers the Super Bowl as football’s biggest day of the year. You can’t argue with the largest annual event in America, but if that is the biggest day of the football season, August has to be the best month for football fans. No regular season NFL games even begin until September. So how can the eighth month of the year possibly be considered football’s golden month?
Every football fan has uttered, “I know I could do a better job than a coach or general manager” for his or her beloved team. Fantasy football and the release of “Madden NFL 08” give every football nerd the opportunity to throw on the power tie, shine up the wing tips and put on a general manager’s hat to build a football dynasty.
It is safe to say I have done more research crafting a strategy and spreadsheet for my fantasy teams this year than I did for about 90 percent of my finals at MSU. It makes me question that $15,000 per year on tuition. It’s like when you couldn’t wait for Dec. 25 as a kid. You just knew the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figure was waiting for you under the tree. Fantasy football is the same way. It makes grown men act like mere children. We read fantasy football insider magazines like we used to read the Toys “R” Us catalog.
But fantasy football is only the beginning. Football fans covet the release of the most recent Madden game like the Sahara yearns for rain.
Parties are planned, work is skipped and sleep is nothing but an afterthought, so football junkies nationwide can start working on becoming the Madden version of Bobby Fischer. It is all a part of Christmas in August.
And no football has been played yet.
John Clayton is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer leading the football sleigh. Camp updates, negotiations and injury reports make everyone feel like they are being guided to inside information the other 30 million ESPN viewers don’t have. Eggnog and candy canes are replaced with beer and chips.
This is August. This is Christmas, and I am making my way to the artificial turf to make grass angels.
Sam Klemet
2007 MSU alumnus
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