Four more days. They can't go by fast enough. I've been waiting since that dreary November day. I've been waiting, for what has felt like an eternity at times, but now only four more days remain. Four days until "The Victors" blasts and the players run and touch the banner. Four days until I can see what progress is being made. Four days until I can stop reading practice notes and see real results on the field in a real game.
It has been a long off-season for us Michigan fans. Longer than any off-season in my lifetime. In 2008, there was no winning season, no bowl game to look forward to, and very few hints of success. We had to grasp to singular moments in games, even in games we lost to hold on to hope or watch old highlights and games from glory past. No, Michigan hasn't been the old powerhouse it used to be for sometime now. Sure 2006 brought us to Ohio St. undefeated and at #2 in the nation, but it also ended with two losses. They haven't beat Ohio St. in five years, they haven't been ranked #1 since they won the 1997 National Championship. They've lost to Toledo and Appalachian St. Yet, for me, there is still hope. Hope that we will return to our rightful place amongst the college football elite.
For every sport I love the build up towards the first game of the year. I can't wait for Opening Day, to see the Dodgers take the field for the first time since October. I love the first NFL weekend so that I can see the Pats start another quest towards greatness. I love Late Night and college basketball's start (although it does get better in March). This Saturday feels different than most other openers though. This is the first step in the road to redemption, the return to glory, to prove doubters wrong. There is so much anticipation for the game, which also makes this a somewhat scary event. As much excitement that can be generated, it can be topped by disappointment. But in the end, that's what fandom is all about.
We hope for the best, we expect the best, and are crushed by the worst. Even if we've been there before, even if there isn't much hope, the disappointment still comes. Fortunately, it is matched by the pure joy of success. That pure happiness and excitement that takes you back, if only for a moment, to childhood. Where nothing else matters and life is so simple. It's often hard to explain these feelings, why you see grown men act like little kids, and dance around a television set because a ball flew over a fence or a ball dropped into a basket. But for me, for people like me, it doesn't really need to be explained, maybe because it can't be.
Saturday is a day I live for. Anything can happen this season. We cannot predict the future. It might be another disaster, it may show only a glimpse of progress, but for me Saturday offers what sports fans all want to feel. Hope.
