Brent's Blog

When it comes to college football, I’m never ready to Pack it in

We all mark the seasons in different ways.

As a teen, I plotted several points on the calendar to get me from one day of high school drudgery to the next. The N.C. State Fair meant fall had officially arrived. Next up was Christmas. The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition meant winter was halfway over.

The ACC men’s basketball tournament meant the beginning of spring, followed by spring break, the end of the school year and summer vacation and the beach.

The Masters Golf Tournament means it’s my birthday. Around February, I buy my annual can of shaving cream. And the first N.C. State football game means the end of summer.

I’ve been going to State football games since I was a kid. Football season definitely marks up the calendar in the fall around our house because it eats up our weekends. Drive an hour to Raleigh, tailgate a couple of hours, sit through a three-hour game and drive back and your Saturday is shot.

State’s season ended last week with a loss to Rutgers in the Papajohns.com Bowl (yes, there is such a thing) in Birmingham, Ala. State carried a 17-6 lead in at halftime, but Russell Wilson, our first-year quarterback who was the first player ever voted All-Atlantic Coast Conference at quarterback as a freshman, went out with a knee sprain. Things went straight downhill from there.

All in all, a good year. State suffered from a freakish number of injuries early in the season and had no quality depth at linebacker or in the defensive secondary. Just getting to a bowl was a miracle and with a great quarterback, the next two years should be promising.

Here then, are a few highlights and lowlights from the past season as a State football fan.

Highlight: State runs the North Carolina Tar Heels out of Kenan Stadium, 41-10.

Lowlight: A middling South Florida team looks like the University of Florida in Raleigh, beating State by the same score.

Best home game: My son attends his first home game, falls asleep at halftime and misses the second half, when State finishes off an undefeated team from East Carolina Teachers College.

Worst home game: That miserable South Florida game, half of which was played in the rain.

Worst away game: There is no best away game. I only attended one, at Clemson, in the 95-degree September heat. Though I enjoyed my friend Frank and his wife, Connie’s, company, State went down 27-9. A girl who appeared to be in middle school (or as they call it in South Carolina, “higher education”) taunted me.

Worst decision: I had considered attending the Carolina game, but figured that State would find a way to lose. Instead I missed the biggest State beatdown in Chapel Hill since Dick Sheridan’s 48-3 win when I was 15. It was second only to my terrible decision to skip State’s 24-7 win over second-ranked Florida State in Raleigh, despite the fact that I had a ticket, so I wouldn’t miss the beginning of an engagement party being thrown for my wife and me.

Best new cocktail: Frank created a new State-themed libation that mixes Aftershock cinnamon liquor and Cheerwine. Then he drops an Atomic Fireball in the glass for good measure.

Best moment: Shea McKeen sacks James Pinkney in overtime, forcing a fumble and setting up the winning touchdown that beats East Carolina.

Worst injury: Nate Irving intercepts a pass at midfield against Miami, I jump up and twist my neck so severely that I actually saw stars for the first time in my life.

Worst part about the college football season: It doesn’t start up again until next summer.

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