Football season is here!

I love football , especially college football. I guess you could say football is in my blood. My parents took me to high school football games in Pensacola, Florida when I was just a toddler. I remember how hard it was for me to climb those big concrete steps in the stands with my little legs. I remember being scared to death the first time I experienced everyone around me standing up and screaming wildly because somebody on the field outran everyone else with a football in his arms, running the length of the field into what I learned was the end zone. Back then my only interest in football was the halftime show with the bands and the majorettes. "Is it time for halftime yet?", I would ask impatiently. But I soon learned that a touchdown or a first down was a good thing if your team was the one that made the touchdown or a first down.

As I grew older I began to feel the excitement of the game. I was in the stands once when the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant was coaching the University of Alabama. He wore a light blue pullover sweater that day with his trademark houndstooth hat. That was back in the days when it was still easy to get a ticket to a college game!

When I was in grade school, my father took me to see the Rose Bowl Stadium on a vacation to California. There wasn't a game that day and the stadium was empty and quiet. To this day, everytime I watch a game on TV from the Rose Bowl, I recall that day my father and I were standing at the gates. I sensed the obvious pride he had in showing me the Rose Bowl.

My favorite college team is the University of Alabama Crimson Tide. I think the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is among the very best football conferences in the country. Why? Because every Southern boy grows up wanting to play football for an SEC team! I think it's something in the water down there. Whatever it is, there are many exceptional football players born and raised in the South.