re: The anticipation I once felt for football season is gone

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3. I guess I'm just getting older and it doesn't consume me like it used to

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I used to think this had something to do with my apathy but then I realize I'm not even 40 yet and I've already lost interest in the sport I once loved. My Dad was still closely following recruiting in his late-50s/early-60s. However, the early signing period ruined what once was an unofficial holiday in Signing Day. After that he slowly began to lose interest.

We used to know the starting two-deep like the back of our hands. Now I probably couldn't even tell you a single projected starter on the defensive side of the football going into the season.

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At least these guys have some spending money to go see a movie and hit up Taco Bell afterward.

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Those laughable, fabricated sob stories sure went away quickly lol.

The game is just never going to be the same. At best they'll somehow limit the transfer portal chaos. But players will never be held in the same esteem as former legends...not that they care as long as they're "getting theirs." Even the players that never actually transfer will be "weighing their options" as leverage for their payday...so it's just not the same. Yeah, there was dollars under the table for decades...but at least there was the perception, right or wrong, they were playing for the university. That's blown up completely now...thanks to a moronic, unelected robed moron(s).

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i'm just waiting on pavia to find a judge to let him come back to college football

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Joe Namath not being able to suit up is "impeding his earning potential."

At the very least he'd sell some tickets lol.

I’ve been saying this for a little over a year and most of the crimson colored glasses crowd just thought I was an old man yelling at clouds.
It’s just not the same. This is what it felt like during the Perkins years. It was life after a legend then just like now. And the fanbase having to adjust to a different kind of football where we don’t just line up and impose our will on the opponent and we are a long shot for a natty. But at least the playing field was level and we could find the right coach and we could get to the top of the mountain again. I don’t think we can anymore, at least not with any regularity. Maybe DeBoer’s strategy to keep and develop players works and we can compete but even then we will have gap years where we are developing the next group of upperclassmen in the system and we go 8-5 or worse. We don’t have what it takes to play this NIL game. We just don’t.

And those of you who are saying just wait, things will work themselves out are kidding yourselves. If anything, it’s only getting worse. There is no governing body to restrain the Cody Campbell’s and Mark Cubans of the world and until there is, it’s just a matter of who buys the right players and puts them all together to win a natty. LSU is trying real hard to do that now. Until changes are made with player compensation a realistic goal for Alabama football will be to make the playoffs. We might catch lightning in a bottle every now and then and make a deep run or maybe even play for a natty, but it will be a rarity.
And yes, the quality of play on the field is suffering greatly. And who would be surprised by that? Like someone said, when you can’t develop a kid, how do you expect him to get better and more polished? I stumbled across a video of Alabama versus USC back in 1978 or 79 today on YouTube the difference in quality of play was astounding. You could tell there was a gap in athleticism compared to the players of today but the cleanness and crispness and quality was night and day different from today. It was particularly evident in the blocking and tackling. It was refreshing to watch and to listen to Keith Jackson and Ara Parsegian call the game too. Yeah, I’m just an old man yelling at clouds and it doesn’t hit the same anymore, but there’s a damn good reason for it and if you don’t believe me, just go back and watch a game from the mid to late 70s.

I feel pretty similar. I just turned 35 and have my first child due opening weekend. I was a student during the prime Saban era. I know most of it is due to being on campus at our absolute peak but so many changes keep happening to the sport and you can feel the decline.

I still buy my Phil Steele magazine. I still post here. I’ll still get in discussions with family and friends about the team but a lot of the passion is no longer in me. I think for me personally it’s just been the perfect storm and honestly, I’ve been enjoying college basketball way more the past few years and I’m still eagerly awaiting this upcoming season.

Obviously I will still support and cheer and watch every Saturday but it just doesn’t feel the same. Almost everyone close to me agrees and has the same feelings as well.

I have completely given up recruiting season. It matters not who signs and even less who commits. I will pay attention once things kickoff. I haven’t rescheduled events around football for 2-3 years now. It’s kind of refreshing as Fall is such a great time to be outside.

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They're legit convinced he's Saban 2.0 and reality is about to hit them like a freight train.

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It will be glorious.

All I can say is godDAMN there are some lame arse fans on this board. I'm in my late 40's and have four kids with a fifth on the way, and I'm as excited for football season as I've ever been. You pansies need to take off your skirts and man up. You are everything that opposing fanbases claimed you were when Saban was in peak form.

I can absolutely relate to this, and maybe it's just a bit of absence makes the heart grow fonder, but I'm really excited for football season.

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will be downvoted and insulted for saying this but some of the same people complaining about the current football team success are some of the same people saying they had apathy or it got "boring" when we were winning.

In the end happiness comes from inside and not from outside and it comes off to me that many people are just unhappy and projecting their inner feelings on external situations and factors.

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Just me but my inner feelings are that the sport is not correctly aligned to maximize fan interest and seemingly has no path to rationalizing itself. Fan interest doesn’t matter if this was just amateurism but it ain’t. This is an entertainment venture that is fairly pricy even just to watch it on TV these days.

That demotivates me about college football a bit but I’m still roll tide all the way and will probably watch every game barring commitments.

That is the way I know I am not as passionate because I didn’t miss a play live from my freshman year in 2004 until 2022. But that streak ended before Saban was even gone.

It really ain’t been the same since COVID. I love the 2020 team but 2019 despite the disappointments is sorta my demarcation for the last true college football season. So many great teams. We will never see that again. The top 10 teams that year would probably beat any 2021 and forward champion.