The Bengals and Cowboys stumbled through an extremely boring NFL preseason game last night.  There were too many penalties.  Too many stupid plays.  The starters barely played.  Excitement was nonexistent. 

I loved it.

I didn’t love the slow methodological torture that was the game itself.  Watching that game was like watching paint dry…or NASCAR.  Not worth watching at all, really.  But it wasn’t the actual game, it was what the game represents.

It represents the beginning of another football season.  College football kicks off in three weeks.  The NFL follows suit a week later, exactly one month from today.  Real, meaningful football is coming soon.

Do you feel it?  The hot summer weather making way for the briskness of autumn.  Trading in your shorts and tshirt for jeans and a hoodie.  The changing leaves fall from the trees, coating the parking lots in fallen foliage announcing the best time of year has arrived. 

Can you smell it?  The crispness in the air, the smells of a pre-game tailgate.  Bratwurst and hot dogs and a myriad of meat, fat dripping on the grill from the heat.  You breathe in and the air fills your lungs in the morning before the game; it smells fresh like the air right after a thunderstorm. 

Can you hear it?  The singing of your team’s fight song.  The zip of the air rushing past a thrown football as you play catch with your buddies in the parking lot.  The chanting for your team and the heckling of the opposing team’s fans.  The sound of a top popped on a beer in the early morning hours; the first of many.  The whoosh of the propane igniting on the grill.  The sound of the pregame emanating from the radio or television. 

Its more exciting than baseball.  It lends itself to a better pre-and-post game experience than hockey.  It crushes basketball in every conceivable way.  Its The National Sport.  America’s New Favorite Pastime.  The most anticipated season of the year. 

Football Season.  The Real Most Wonderful Time of the Year. 

Its almost here.  Its almost here.