YHTS Countdown to Kickoff 2013: 13 Days Out, 13 Ways to Kill the Time til Kickoff
By Adam Zimmerman
We're almost there people. 2 weeks from last night we'll be watching as Rece Davis once again starts another year of punishment (having to turn Mark May and Lou Holtz into a semi-watchable product) and kicks it from the studio in Bristol to the booth in Nashville for the first, meaningful college football since January. But that's 13 days from now. Longest 13 days of the year if you ask me. But have no fear, here are 13 Things to Do to Kill the Time until Kickoff:
13. Read YHTS's Conference Previews
The YHTS Staff has tried to provide you, the reader, with some relevant information to take with you into the season. Will everything we wrote come true? Probably not. But it will give you a great look into what to expect and hopefully keep you entertained.
- Marshall has taken on the Big 12 here. And here. And here.
- Bernard looks at the PAC 12.
- Nick Cantilo with his preseason look.
- And I am #blessed to cover the SEC with this and this. (There is also a Power Rankings hidden somewhere in the depths of the internet. If you find it, please let me know.)
12. Go to a Practice or Scrimmage
Depending on the team that plays home games in your hometown this will be easy to accomplish or impossible. Some coaches open up all of their teams preseason practices to the public, while some only open up one or two. Mack Brown opened up 3 last week and I went to the Thursday one. Unfortunately the Horns were not yet in full pads so there was nothing exciting going on but it was still fun to watch Ash and Swoopes throw and Manny Diaz coach up the LBs. The more you know about your team the more you will understand what is going on in the practice. The closer we get to Game 1, the more physical the practices will get and the closer what you see in practice will look like what you'll see during the season. Even if there aren't any practices that you can make it to, most teams have scrimmages still left that are open to fans and those can be a lot of fun (live hitting). Plus, you can trick some people into thinking you know what you're talking about when you casually whip out a "Player X was getting a lot of reps with the first team. He looked very comfortable" at your next ice cream social.
11. Watch one of 2012's best games
ESPNU is going through the Top 25 Games of 2012. I'm not sure they are aired in any order but they seem to be on all day. While I admit it is hard to watch a game that you already know the outcome to (except the 2006 Rose Bowl), we are in the beginning of August so football is football.
10. Expand your Football IQ
Do you know a lot about 5 players on your favorite team? Learn about 5 more. Feel confident you can talk intelligently about a couple of teams or even your conference? Read up on some other teams in conferences besides the one your team plays in. Despite the obvious that this will make you a better college football fan, it will help you know the NFL once the players move on and it will help you make better bets come Bowl Season, if that's your thing.
9. Learn how to BBQ
If you don't know how to BBQ yet, chances are you won't be in charge of the burgers and brats this season, but it always helps to know your way around a bag of charcoal and a Weber. You never know what could happen on Gameday. If by some chance your number is called to man the grill while the chef has to step away to the powder room, you don't want to set the parking lot on fire.
While learning how to BBQ is connected to this, it does not encompass all you'll need to know for game days. You may even think you know how to tailgate, but if you are routinely unable to make it to the games, or even worse, go to games sober, then you don't know how to tailgate. This will be addressed further in #3, but essentially you need to take the time now to figure out what you need to eat beforehand and which liquor or beer quenches your thirst best. Also you want to make sure you have the proper attire that won't (a) give you heat stroke (b) send you home shivering and (c) result in endless ridicule from your friends and/or the opposing teams' fans.
Because hey, they used to be college players too. And everyone loves Fantasy.
6. Pick a Team to Hate
Let's face it, your home team sucks. My home team sucks. And even if they don't suck, they'll still probably lose a game or two. There may be some weekends when both of your favorite college and pro teams lose (or, if you're like me, a whole month: Texas/Tennessee/Cowboys went 1-11 in October 2010). How do you defend against the depressing feeling that hovers over you all week following a loss? Root for someone else to lose. Personally, I love it when USC loses. That's an easy choice though. Pick a team that has an asshole coach, pretty boy QB or weak defense. Whatever makes you happy. Hopefully their losses will coincide with your team's losses. Silver Linings.
5. Follow the top sports writers on Twitter.
The most useful thing about Twitter is its function as news provider. If you follow the right people, you're always going to be on top of breaking news and have access to the best commentary. My recommendations:
- Bruce Feldman, CBS - National college football writer, left ESPN when they benched him for being too honest.
- Clay Travis, OKTC/Fox - SEC writer, going to be on Fox's Saturday pre-game show. Much of his content can be seen as fan-baiting but has a very accurate perspective on the current college athletics landscape
- Dan Wolken, USA Today - One of the top national writers, breaks a decent amount of news, will have content for you all week about the biggest storylines
- Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! - May be the top college sports writer going right now. It is largely thanks to him that Yahoo! has surpassed ESPN as the reliable source for breaking news in college sports
- Pat Forde, Yahoo! - Former ESPN writer, made an enemy out of YHTS editor Marshall Weber with his over-the-top praise of Boise State. Live tweets from the stands of a big game each week.
- Ivan Maisel, ESPN - With the departures of Forde and Feldman, Schlabach has become my top choice as far as ESPN coverage goes.
4. Watch Rudy and The Program
- Paul Pabst, NBC - Not a writer but he is the Executive Producer of the Dan Patrick Show and consumes more sports than any one man should be able to. Regularly tweets out alerts of both close games (ex: Michigan v Iowa, tied with 2 min left, on ESPN2) and obscure games (ex: DIII Iona v. S. East Missouri State on Versus).
Perfect examples of what we want the NCAA to be and what it actually is.
As I alluded to earlier, knowing what you can and can't handle is vital, not only to the tailgate but to the whole weekend. Do you get viscious hangovers after drinking Jager? Skip the bombs on Friday nights before noon kickoffs. Need a case of beer to get drunk? Stock up on whiskey on Friday afternoon. But start practicing now. Just like the players, fans need to take some practice reps at standing out in the sun and pounding alcohol all day. Don't think that you can just show up Saturday morning and reach your game day potential with no preparation. You'll end up waking up sometime during the 3rd quarter in the neighborhood surrounding the stadium in someone's yard you don't know.2. Figure out the Fridays you are going to miss
There are 14 weeks in the college football season. If you think you are going to make it to work/class all 14 of those Fridays, you are lying to yourself. Pick out the Fridays that you'll be going out of town or welcoming visitors. Circle them. Make it your goal to be in attendance for the rest of the Fridays so that (1) you don't feel so bad when you do play hookie, and (2) you'll be around next year and able to enjoy the season not at some distant community college or a job that makes you work Saturdays. Enjoy College Football Responsibility.1. Place Your Bets
Make your picks. Fill the void of real football by analyzing stats and making predictions. And if you feel really good about it, hit me up here and put your money where your mouth is.
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