Every year on the first Saturday of September, or in some years the last Saturday of August, is the start of college football. All around Ohio it’s very common to see people start rockin’ the gear of their school that graduated from or are currently attending.
It seems to be the way people express themselves to show others where they’re from & are proud to display their schools helped shape them to the kind of people they are today. Where I live, the schools most commonly seen on the Ohio side is Youngstown State, Kent State, & Ohio State. There’s a fair amount of Mount Union apparel as well.
And since I live close to both Pennsylvania & West Virginia it’s common to see Penn State, Pitt & WVU clothing. This is the time of year people get excited about seeing their school start another year on the gridiron.
College football always seems to lift people spirits & gives people something to get excited about, whether people like to watch the games in person or watch at local restaurants or taverns.
But unless you’re a Pitt or West Virginia fan, it’s not happening this fall.
I think we all know why.
Except for the University of Cincinnati, all college football programs on the FBS, FCS, Division 2 & Division 3 levels in Ohio will not play this fall due to the coronavirus pandemic. The most common reason for conferences such as the Big Ten, Mid American, the Ohio Athletic Conference, just to name a few, was ‘health & safety concerns’
But is that the right decision not to play football? I don’t know. That’s not for me to decide. I’ll leave that decision to someone else.
But what I do know is that many people, like myself, will have to find something else to occupy their time. Something else to look forward to. Something else to get excited about.
I don’t know about you but for me that will be quite difficult.
I don’t know where else on a Saturday where crowds gather & create a lot of excitement at a football game. It’s just something that usually is more emotional than the atmosphere at high school football games & almost always than that at NFL crowds. There’s just something about the college crowds, both current students & alumni, that create excitement at a college football that makes it special.
Hopefully this is the only fall we have to go without it & everything will be back to some type of normalcy in 2021.
Hopefully.
by 
