Are You Ready For Some Football?

Ready or not, and I know most of you are ready, it's football season, again. Don't believe me? Have you been to your local bookstore lately? All the big time football annuals are out on the shelves. The Sporting News, Lindy's, Street and Smith's, Athlon's, they are all available.

While I've only linked the pro editions, the college annuals are on store shelves, too. The always popular fantasy football guides are starting to show up, as well. (Although, I remain in sticker shock, I figure around twenty-one dollars should get you one each of pro, college and fantasy guides for '04.) With all the preview mags out, can the games really be that far behind?

Need more proof? A quick trip to your local sports shop should yield the first look at new NFL jerseys for 2004. Your team's first round draft choice should have his jersey for sale a solid month before he even puts it on for the first time. Does your team have a nice uniform change this year? I suspect the revised logos, hats, jerseys or whatever are probably on sale right now. Where would the obsessive fan be without new threads for the new season? (Let's see, I'm out $21 on magazines, a new cap is probably another $20, then there are those fantasy football league dues, and if I break down and get that rookie's jersey.... I could be out quite a bit of dough before even one game is played.)

While the NFL and college kids are still almost two months away from actual games that count, the Canadian Football League is now heading for Week Two of their regular season. They have an impressive collection of goodies available for sale as well. (Do I want that green Edmonton Eskimos Reebok cap or the white one?) If the CFL boys are playing for real, the boys here in the States must be next.

While free agency, NFL Europe, the Draft and mini camps make it seem like the NFL season never really ends, much as continuous recruiting news and spring football keep the college game in the headlines year round, the arrival of a new football season for me has always been the sighting of those first football annuals each summer. It may not even be July 1, but it looks like the boys of the gridiron have returned. Now, I just have to figure out where I am going to get all this money.