Monday, September 1, 2008

My favorite season of the year

The changing leaves, the crisp breeze, and copious amounts of homework. It can only mean one thing: a new season. And I don't mean fall or autumn. I mean football season.

My two favorite teams are my school (Grand Valley Lakers, whoo) and my Big 10 fave, the MSU Spartans. I know what you're thinking. I'm a spartan fan which means over the last few years I've struggled with the team as we endured bad players, even worse seasons, and the worst coaches. But this past Saturday was the start of the new season and I embraced the return of coach Dantonio and watched what the Spartans would bring to the table.

I wasn't impressed. Sure it was the first game of the season and I knew they would be a little rusty getting back into the groove of things, but wow that wasn't a good game. With the exception of Ringer doing a good running job, I found myself frustrated. Hoyer's throwing was way off par and it shouldn't be. He's a senior and after a few years I figured he would have his throwing game down. Another issue was our defense. We lost Caulcrick this year (the man was a beast) and the defense suffered. They got mowed over time after time, with the exception of a few good stops. Next was the kicking. I had no problems with the kicker. I think he did a phenomenal job but the guy giving the ball is another story. I watched time after time as the ball was thrown too low, which resulted in chaos. My final issue was the refs. Their calls were tilted towards California nearly every time and when they realized they blew a call they made up for it the very next play which wasn't even a violation.

I've finished my competitive ranting and conclude with this: It doesn't matter whether the offense is off, the defense is crumbling, or the refs are crooked; football season will always be my favorite season of the year.