Rumor has it that all of the Wisconsin Badger tickets for all home games have been sold. That can only mean that 2007 college football expectations over in Madison are sky high. So the excitement reins supreme. Saturday afternoon. Drunken students. Badger band. Good food. Magical smells in the air. A student section of fans yelling eat sh-- (or alternatively f--- you). Time spent with good friends and family. Does it get any better? Can you feel it?
Actually as a high school football player I got my face shoved into the turf many times. As the evening temperatures cool and the smell of wet grass floats through the air, July suggests that "good stuff" is coming.
The Badgers kick off their first full practice Aug. 2. That is 3 weeks away. The hell you say!
The Packers have their annual meeting on July 25 when they will announce that they made $22 million last year that they can piddle away on mediocre free agents. Then July 28 (2 weeks from now), full practices begin in ernest. The first Packer pre-season game begins in early August. Can you feel it.
Grasshopper No. 4 will soon be talking "smack" about his coaching prowess and how the pre-teen children football draft is just awesome. Last year No. 4 had the players and the dynamite game plan. They lost their first 4 games. But here we go again. Hope springs eternal. Can you feel it?
The best part is that the first Wisconsin Badger football game is at home against Washington State (Hall of Fame Game) on Sept. 1 and we have tickets. Go Bucky!
I realize the euphoria of anticipating the football season will quickly wane and the reality of a long season will settle in.
The lesson Grasshoppers is that anticipation is everything. The mind conjures up all kinds of good thoughts. Sometimes the real event turns out to be a disappointment. Don't deny me my fantasies. Football season is just around the corner. Can you feel it?
Love,
Dad