Fall is in the air. And we all know why we love this time of the year. It’s not the cooler weather or the changing colors of the leaves. It’s what we have been missing since last January — college football. This institution in our culture is one of the factors that make America great. But as great as it is, this was the summer of dirt in college football.
The scandals began surfacing quickly after the BCS championship game, which itself was won by a Heisman-winning quarterback who was engulfed in controversy. Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel, a man of solid character, was forced to resign due to activities by players on his team who seemed to lack the integrity of their coach.
The U is facing a Category 5 storm head-on as they face a possibly meaningless season with a new head coach.A wealthy felon alumnus befriended Miami players with lavish indulgences that they gladly accepted with arrogance.The Canes’ season has most likely blown away, particularly if Miami joins SMU in disgrace by getting hit with the death penalty.
Someone forgot to lock the Tiger cage in Baton Rouge.A group of LSU players were involved in a late-night bar brawl, landing a patron in the hospital. This scandal that involves four players, including the starting quarterback, is still under investigation and far from over.
The biggest low blow in the offseason involved trees — the poisoning of them. A crazed Alabama fan poisoned the old, stately trees at Auburn’s Toomer’s Corner, and they are slowly dying. After learning the trees can’t get much sicker, Auburn officials decided to allow fans to roll the trees this season. The Auburn faithful will no doubt still gather at the corner of College and Magnolia with handfuls of Charmin but it won’t quite be the same.
With college football in full throttle, it’s time to put the scandals to rest and gear up for this new season. While scandals will always plague the system, the sport that we love will always stay the same.
But who really cares?
Yes, these scandals do give college football a black eye, but it quickly goes away as the excitement of the new season begins. The frenzy that this sport creates is undeniable. When the players take the field amid the blaring music of the bands and the cheers of the fans, the world seems to stop while the battle takes place.When the game is over, the anticipation for next week carries us through the mundane tasks of life.Who will win the Heisman?Who will win the championship?We share our thoughts and feelings on these subjects with eagerness reserved for something so important. College football is truly the winner of the best sports trophy in America.
Even though scandals exist and always will, college football is uniquely an all-American phenomenanon. Put on your favorite team’s gear and put new batteries in the remote. It’s game day.
