7 ways to enjoy 2018 CFB just fine, even though Bama’s gonna win

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

The Tide are probably going to go 15-0. That has nothing to do with how much fun you can have with this season.

Alabama’s almost certainly going to the College Football Playoff for the fifth year in a row, and the Tide will be favored to win their seventh national title under Nick Saban and their 253rd all time. This has some sports fans tuning out, comparing the whole thing to the NBA under the Golden State Warriors, and pretending they won’t watch any more college football this year.

That’s silly. Let’s walk through some ways to keep having fun this season.

1. Be a fan of Alabama or maybe Clemson.

This is the simplest solution. If you’ve already chosen otherwise, that’s fine. Read onward.

2. Be a fan of Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, or Georgia.

These are also great options, but be careful, because you’re probably going to lose to Alabama, so you’re gonna need to diversify your emotional investments anyway.

3. Realize there’s more to life than which team wins the title game. Find other stuff to enjoy!

We’ve preached this for years. College football is huge! There are 130 teams in just FBS, 74 of them will play bowl games that have nothing to do with the title game, and the NCAA alone has three entirely different championship tournaments. One team probably winning one game in the San Francisco 49ers’ stadium in January should not ruin your mood days, weeks, or months in advance. Nothing that happens in the 49ers’ stadium will ever matter that much.

Our 2018 season preview was themed around the idea that every college football team, from 1945 Army on down to the worst JUCO team, has its own quest with its own set of goals. Find some progress in your team each week, a player to appreciate, or a new friend who’s just as upset with your team as you are.

2017’s centered around the idea that you can have so much more fun as a college football fan if you break out of a single-team mindset and learn to love dozens of different teams. Only in college sports do you literally have HUNDREDS of rooting options, and in college football, you already know with near certainty which ones have zero chance of meeting in the postseason. You have no conflicts of interest! Add 100 other favorite teams to your alma mater!

4. This is one of the best years in the last decade to just pick some random oddball team and run with it.

It’s no 2007, but nothing is. Teams like Washington State, West Virginia, Kentucky, NC State, Boston College, Syracuse, Fresno State, Iowa State, Utah State, and so on are enjoying some of their best moments in a long time, so why shouldn’t you?

This is the best description for a season in which Bama, Bama Jr. (Clemson), and Prehistoric Bama (Notre Dame) are undefeated, but the bottom half of the rankings is a circus:

5. Still, yeah, Alabama is all-time awesome. So what? Fall into a deep well, accept it, and come out appreciating greatness.

Alabama wins every week. So? Why does that bother you? Did you place bets on all of Alabama’s opponents? Are you an Auburn, LSU, or Tennessee fan? Are you the Auburn fan with the Long Island accent on the Chick-fil-A commercials? Did Chick-fil-A run out of hard-B blue cups for you?

Crying about dynasties is for fans of the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets. You don’t want to sound like a Bills or Jets fan, do you?

When you play NCAA Football, do you make sure all your opponents have 99s, so they can push you deep into the fourth quarter every week? Or do you hoot and holler while rocking the shit out of overmatched suckers? Bama is just playing NCAA Football for all of us right now.

Tua Tagovailoa might win the Heisman despite playing two or three fourth quarters all year. Tua’s fun to watch! Through two months, the Tide averaged under 120 seconds to score their first TD. Bama just doubled up maybe the most amazing point spread in football history. Top-four teams are never two-touchdown underdogs, and LSU lost by four touchdowns. The Tide went into Saturday night at Death Valley and arguably came out with more impressive numbers on the year. We really somehow allowed Nick Saban to have the best quarterback, the only thing the most accomplished coach in college football history had never had before.

This is all hilarious! How are you not laughing? A crawlspace laugh is still a laugh. Lighten up!

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

6. Stay mad about Bama if you want, but don’t take it out on hundreds of other teams!

We can either mope about how we know this season is likely to end, or we can treasure every precious second that happens beforehand. You’re really telling me you’re pouting about a college football season in which this happened?

And this?

And this?

And this?

And this?

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.UK Athletics

And this?

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

And this?

And this?

And this?

Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.

Seriously, though, Alabama-Clemson Round 4 should be awesome.

7. Look forward to Alabama-Clemson Round 4.