It’s that time of year, what we call in our household…The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!   

Last year, Davey was nothing more than a growing bean in the womb when the season started.   I spent the Labor Day weekend suffering through the heat and humidity of the Deep South just to savor one small morsel of college football before my baby arrived.   After his arrival, the sheer enjoyment of the age old tradition (at least for us Southerners) took a back seat.    This year is a different story.

Thursday night, before the first official game of the season started I had a little chat with my son.   It was imperative for me to make sure that he understood that in this household college football is a sacred ritual, one not to be confused with any other sport.   College football is a gift from God.   It’s an amazing time of year, when victors are spoiled, losers are baited, patience is tested, and for the first time all year, the entire universe comes together.

As I explained the importance of college football to Davey, he looked up at me studiously.   He maintained intense eye contact, never wavering, and actually acknowledging through nods and shakes of his head, that he knew the impact college football had on my life and what it could mean to him.   I had this same talk with his daddy (a Northerner, who didn’t at first appreciate all the camaraderie of college football) when I first met him almost 10 years ago.  

So, the first game of the season started, and Davey yelled at the referees with me.   He stood in front of the television a few times shaking his head.   He clapped when I clapped and actually at one point raised his hand in the air as if to say “Yeah, go team!”   And the best part was that he managed to stay awake the entire first half of the game!  

I knew early on that Davey would be a football fan.   I knew he would honor the traditions that came along with it.   And to watch him all weekend as game after game after game was played out on TV, only melted my heart and made me one proud mama!