The Catch-22

There are few things I love more than football season. For two days every weekend from September to January I can be in front of a TV or at a stadium and there are few places I’d rather be in the world. While soccer may be the most popular sport in the world, football is king in America. Every season is enthralling for different reasons with many pieces making the tapestry of the game breathe taking. While there are derivatives to the game that I greatly enjoy I will stick with the game of football itself. From rookies or freshman making unexpected splashes to wiley veterans showing that they still have it the seasons never lack interesting stories.

There are few things I despise more than late fall and winter in Eugene. These seasons blend together and beyond a few degrees in temperature you can’t tell they different so I call them “Not Summer”. Eugene doesn’t require Spartacus or dances to bring the rain; it just falls naturally from October to May in unnatural amounts. The sun hides for weeks only peeking out every once in awhile to see if you are still there mentally and physically and haven’t checked yourself into a doctor to treat your seasonal depression or as they call it in Eugene, depression.

Its hard for me, as you may perceive, to look forward full heartedly to football season because of the impending doom that comes with it. However during the months of July and August one can’t help but yearn for some football. After the NBA finals wrap up at the end of June there are few things to save you from total domination of Sportscenter from baseball. This is not a knock on baseball because I like it, but more so a plea for more diversity in the summer sports schedule. Sure there are a few golf tournaments worth noting besides the Open Championship, and there is Wimbledon in tennis, but few things save the Olympics can save a summer. This is why this country does everything they can to involve football even during the offseason. Deep down we all love going to the ballpark and watching baseball, but 15 games a night (give or take) from April to August gets old after awhile. This especially applies when your favorite team the Seattle Mariners is getting ran into the ground for the sake of being good 30 years from now.

So as scary as the outlook seems, I’m ready for some football! This season should be great and not just cause I am a Seattle Seahawks and Oregon Ducks fan. So many story lines this year in the NFL such as, will the NFC be the power conference in the NFL with Seattle and San Fran being joined by a rejuvenated St. Louis team? How do the Patriots rebound from losing their three top receivers from the last two seasons? Will Chip Kelly be successful in Philly, or will he get run out of town? Will the big 3 rookie quarterbacks from last year (Luck, Griffin and Wilson) suffer from the sophomore slump or will they continue to shine as they did last year? Will the Ravens miss the playoffs after being in the Super Bowl this last year? How will the Cowboys screw up this season too? These are all potential story lines for the NFL season and there will be plenty others than pop up as the season goes along. In college how do the Ducks fair after losing Chip Kelly to the Eagles? Does Mike Leach’s air raid offense finally get going in season two of his regime? Who will be the Heisman trophy winner and who brings home the crystal ball?

So many things to look forward to this coming season, but the only think I can count on is the rains will come again to the Willamette Valley, but to hell with it. Bring on football season, I’m ready!