Just thought I’d check in with everyone, especially because this time of year has me so excited! It’s the beginning of both the college football and NFL seasons, and most of you guys know that I’m a huge college football fan. (Go Tigers!) Had I not signed out of high school with the Braves, I would’ve played football and baseball at Clemson University. Now don’t get me wrong, this is also an exciting time of year for me in baseball, with October baseball right around the corner, but the anticipation of football season is great.
Growing up in the South, college football was “it.” The buzz about the season started well before preseason camps had even begun. Beginning in June we were talking about our teams, coaches, big matchups, injuries, quarterbacks, National Championships…you name it! Now we’re about two weeks out from opening weekend and, although I’m missing a lot of the college football banter back home, I’m still excited for College Gameday to be running all day Saturday. I’ll tune in Saturday morning to hear Herbstreit, Corso, and Fowler breaking down the big games and then head to the field for my own game. More often than not we’ll have a game on in the locker room while we’re getting ready. Once I’m back home in Atlanta after the season, I’m sure Catie and I will head out to Athens to see the Bulldogs play. And hopefully we’ll get up to Clemson for a game as well.
Preseason NFL games started a few weeks ago and it’s been a totally different feeling being here in New York for it. Here, the focus seems to be more on professional sports than college sports. There’s definitely a buzz about Sunday and Monday night football. I can’t wait to start seeing ESPN’s NFL commercials that count down to Monday night. I’m really hoping I can go to a Jets game or a Giants game. Any Sanchez or Manning fans here?? I’m not sure if I’ll end up pulling for one New York team over another, but I’ll probably always be pulling for the Atlanta Falcons since I grew up down there.
A lot of guys in the Majors still find time to do Fantasy Football Leagues. Many of us played football in high school and some even played in college, so we’re still completely wrapped up in the game even though we’re playing baseball for a living. And while trash talk is always common in the locker room and on the field, football trash talk reaches a whole new level. I’ve seen (and possibly participated in) heated debates about one college/NFL team over another. I love it.
Well I’m sure this blog may have thrown some people off a little bit…thinking you were going to read about me and baseball! I just figured I’d switch things up this time. Happy College Gameday, Sunday Countdown, and Tailgating seasons! But don’t forget about the MLB boys for the next couple of months either…we play every day and those football guys only have to play once a week.
Talk to you soon!
Jeff
New York Mets