Things that make College Football Great

[PonySoprano]

By my count, it is 31 days before the start of our season. To get ready for the season, I put together a little list of some things that make College Football great, in no particular order. Feel free to add on, if you like.

1. One word: Tailgating. Great tailgating venues such as The Grove, LSU, and the best tailgating in the Southwest – The Boulevard

2. The hopes and dreams in every stadium in America of National Championships and BCS Bowl births just before the opening kickoff of the season…

3. The beers you drank on the Boulevard to fuel those sadly desperate dreams that will likely be quashed by halftime

4. Great Stadiums like the Rose Bowl, Notre Dame Stadium, the Big House, Camp Randall, Neyland Stadium, and of course, Ford Stadium…

5. Marching bands from Michigan, Ohio State, USC, the Hub of SMU Spirit and on and on…

6. Peruna, Ralphie the Buffalo, and other live mascots that lead their team on the field

7. Rivalries! SMU/TCU, The Iron Bowl (Alabama/Auburn), Crosstown Rivalry (UCLA/USC), Army-Navy, the Egg Bowl (Ole Miss/Miss. State), Red River Shootout (Texas/OU)

8. The Rivalry Trophies: The Iron Skillet, The Little Brown Jug, The Old Oaken Bucket

9. Michigan's helmets, their "Go Blue" banner at midfield, and "Hail to the Victors"

10. Schools that share a fight song, but act like they're two different songs …

11. Cheerleaders and song girls. At USC, they know there's a big difference between those two groups

12. Cheerleaders and Dance Team. At SMU we know there’s a difference between these two groups.

13. The Heisman pose.

14. Checkerboard end zones…

15. Weekender road trips for a conference road game…

16. Hospitable fans when you reach your destination. On a roadie, there are few things better than weekend-long drinking buddies who can get past the fact you're rooting for the opposition. Especially if they're girls…

17. That giant papier-mâché looking head on the Nebraska mascot…

18. Touchdown Jesus…

19. Whatever the hell that "U" logo represents on the side of Miami's helmets…

20. LSU's white jerseys at night in Baton Rouge…

21. Those state troopers that surround coaches only, it seems, in the south…

22. The World's Largest Outdoor C0cktail Party, aka Georgia vs. Florida…

23. Keith Jackson saying, "Live from Tuscaloosa” or “Live from Los Angeles” or saying “Live” from just about anywhere

24. The fact that changing the facial expression of a team's animal logo can cause consternation and controversy among the school's most vociferous alumni.

25. Texas-Oklahoma at the state fair in Dallas, at least for a little while longer.

26. Those dudes with the homemade "Roll Tide" contraptions…

27. The Wisconsin Student Section at Camp Randall Stadium between the 3rd and 4th quarters, when they play "Jump Around" over the PA.

28. ESPN's College Gameday broadcasting live Saturday morning from a school's stadium.

[CalallenStang]

19. Whatever the hell that "U" logo represents on the side of Miami's helmets…

I have to admit, I about fell out of my chair laughing when I read that...

25 is an awesome experience. I wish we had something similar for SMU.

29. National Championship game, on a two-point conversion, Keith Jackson says "Still 19 seconds, the clock didn't run on that play." And his commentator simply says "Well it's a two-point conversion."

30. Fans at the Cotton Bowl telling LSU fans to "go back to the 3rd world country" with the LSU response of "Where's that, Plano?"

31. Joe Paterno chasing the refs (who are half his age and twice his size) out of the stadium

32. Any game Notre Dame bills as Catholics vs. Convicts, in which Notre Dame has fewer Catholics than their opponent.

33. Fans converging on small towns, such as Charlottesville, Blacksburg, and Chapel Hill, nationwide to cheer on their alma mater

34. The fall weather, unless you are in Texas, in which case it's STILL summer

35. Ohio State-Michigan

36. The game ball delivered by skydivers at the Army games

37. The Midshipmen at the Navy games. And if you don't believe me, or don't know what I mean, just go to one.

[EastStang]

Great List. Tailgating has hit the professional ranks as well. Go to Redskins game, or an Eagles game and walk through the parking lot. It smells like on big barbecue pit. Some folks have rigged up their DirectTV boxes to their car batteries and watch Sunday Ticket well after the game is over.

[ponyplayer]

how about the coeds at Florida State...........and SMU.................

[Kiper]

Florida State is nice, but SMU is No. 1 in the country in that department.

[ThadFilms]

23. Keith Jackson saying, "Live from Tuscaloosa” or “Live from Los Angeles” or saying “Live” from just about anywhere

Too bad we won't get to hear that anymore. It's a said day to be going into a football season knowing that Keith Jackson won't be calling games this season.

[MustangStealth]

25 is an awesome experience. I wish we had something similar for SMU.

We did. 1999 SMU vs. Hawaii @ the Cotton Bowl during the state fair. Strangely enough, it wasn't quite the same atmosphere.

[MrMustang1965]

Add this one to the list: SMU 21 TCU 10 in 2005!

[CalallenStang]

25 is an awesome experience. I wish we had something similar for SMU.

We did. 1999 SMU vs. Hawaii @ the Cotton Bowl during the state fair. Strangely enough, it wasn't quite the same atmosphere.

When's the Louisiana State Fair? SMU vs. Tulane in Shreveport...oh wait, then we couldn't go to NOLA.

[EmeraldCityPony]

Which schools share the same fight song melody?

[CalallenStang]

Which schools share the same fight song melody?

UT-Austin, UTEP, and Stephen F. Austin off the top of my head

[RGV Pony]

LSU and Clemson each have their own version of Tiger Rag.

UGA and Ole Miss play versions of either the Battle Hymn of the Republic or Dixie.

[MrMustang1965]

Don't Notre Dame and aTm share something in common, too?

Note to Mustangs35SMU: Longview Lobos share the same with aTm, right?

[mrydel]

The Lone Ranger is mad at a lot of schools.

[PonySoprano]

'Boomer Sooner' uses the tune from 'Yale Boola' and Tennessee's 'Here's to Old Tennessee' is taken from Yale's 'Down the Field'