Packed college football stadiums are back across the country, bringing with them all of the hype and misery of college football at its best (or worst, depending on who you ask).
That was most clear in Madison, Wisconsin. At a packed Camp Randall Stadium, Wisconsin Badgers fans opened the fourth quarter by singing and jumping along to Jump Around for the first time in 651 days. The moment was so euphoric that the Fox broadcast showed it in its entirety.
About an hour later, those Wisconsin fans were leaving the stadium after a brutal 16-10 loss to Big Ten rival Penn State.
And that, the magical love-hate relationship of college football, played out across the country. Clemson fans who made the two-hour drive to Charlotte, North Carolina, for their neutral-site, top-five clash with Georgia were rewarded with a demoralizing 10-3 loss. Florida State fans undoubtedly had a blast in their season opener in Tallahassee, Florida, up until their upset bid against Notre Dame fell short in overtime. The Minnesota Gophers went punch for punch with Big Ten juggernaut Ohio State, only to fall short of the upset in front of their home crowd.
Fans with expectations both high (the #20 ranked Washington Huskies) and low (the rebuilding Vanderbilt Commodores) watched as their teams lost home games to schools from the lower Football Championship Subdivision. College football is back in its purest form: packed, lively stadiums and the accompanying misery of suffering a devastating loss.
So rejoice, college football fans. The pain is how you know it’s real. And, as usual, there will be plenty of it to go around in the coming months. Yes, maybe there will even be enough for Alabama fans at some point. Hopefully.
