Time Passed
Different mindset. Different approach. Same dumb dude and his sports opinions.
It’s 7:51PM MST. The Wednesday before the opening weekend of the 2024 college football season. Barely watched a minute of it last year, if any. I’ve got my reasons but I certainly do not wish to evangelize.
I do not have any true allegiance in the college game. Sure, I’ll root for my hometown Memphis Tigers or my wife’s Razorbacks. Surely, I’ll find myself rooting for the two Big12 schools within 40 minutes of me, one north and one south of my house. One red, one blue. Hopefully going to a game or two. Of course, my long-lost puppy love for the Mississippi State Bulldogs will still have a place in my heart, but can’t say that I’m a fan at this point. I mean look, I’ll never forget the buzz of Scott Field, Davis Wade Stadium the first time I went. Sure, they were walloped by the Tennessee Volunteers 35-17, but the fighting under dogs had a 17-14 advantage over them late in the 3rd quarter and there was a belief, a stir, a feeling, something I could only describe as unconditional love from the 55,000 strong on that Sunny Starkville afternoon. It was contagious. I wanted what all of these people wanted. The team decked out in maroon to beat the team in white and putrid orange. It was my first real taste of an SEC Saturday and I was hooked, and in love, with the team that always had the heart, but rarely got the win. Had my first game been ‘Between the Hedges”, The Swamp, or Bryant Denny, my fandom would’ve been rewarded with titles and trophies and bragging rights for a lifetime. Instead, the memory bank is overflowing with close calls, narrow wins, shock upset victories, and beating Auburn…Oh that was sweet. I believe it was fall 2007. If I remember right, Miss State was catching nine points on the road. I hadn’t ever wagered on anything in my life. I was barely 19 and fresh out of Fayette County, TN. Clueless to the world…And I’ve just decided I won’t tell the entire story right now. Maybe I’ll be bored one of the days and scribble it together but the long story short version is I won my first sports bet that day. $250. If I ever move back into the humid armpit of America that is the Mid-south, perhaps I’ll rekindle my once long-lost puppy love for the Maroon and White. But for now, no true allegiance from me. Just a hopeful observer from the fringes.
The conferences are different creating opportunities for new rivalries to forge. I want the drama. I want the passion. I want the energy. The raw moments. The Bluegrass miracle in like 2002 comes to mind. Kentucky returning the favor over LSU in 2007. This sport isn’t just about the national champion. Its about the comebacks and stories to tell while sipping Kentucky bourbon next to a fireplace with long lost friends.
I’m just here to watch the story unfold and see how it ends… perhaps tell some stories as I go.
Find the humor, and keep on movin’
Whit. W