In the air

You can feel it in the air. As I walked outside our Bedford, Texas hotel, there was something different in the air. It's the start of college football season and I love it. Why?

• It's something I can do with family. Most football games involve going with my family. For home games, my sisters, my dad, and the rest of our family spend the whole day together. It's like a birthday party every week. And road games are a chance to travel with family too. Today, for example, my nieces Haley and Macy are in Arlington for the Bama-Michigan game and we will spend the whole weekend together. That's time I wouldn't miss for the world.

• But not just family..friends too. I see lots of friends at games that I don't see any other time. This weekend is a great example. Out of my team that went to Ethiopia in July, two of them live here in the Dallas area. Along with Macy and another friend who traveled with us, we will have a mini-reunion this weekend - five out of the seven team members! Stuff like this happens all the time when we go to games. And I make a point of going to games with good friends (in fact, I'm a Florida State fan because of my good friend Steve) or getting together to watch games on TV with them.

• It's a reminder of great times with my sister Kim. We went to games together from the time I was eight years old up until her passing in 1996. I never go to a Bama game without thinking about her and my mother.

• I've seen alot of places going to road games. I love seeing new cities and different campus atmospheres on game day. It will be fun to see a game in Cowboys Stadium (aka JerryWorld) today.

• Scoreboard watching. It seems the whole country is connected as the national drama rolls out throughout a day. I love feeling like we're all in the same place. It makes it a small world.

So many reasons. So much fun. Let's kick it off!

Roll tide.