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Vol Navy

The Vol Navy is a pretty neat tradition.  I guess it's been a thing for a long time to some degree.

When I was in school "back in the day", people who tailgated were cheap folks who didn't want to pay stadium prices for food.  They'd literally stand and eat off the back of their pickup.

I'm not sure when that became an upscale and widely spread tradition.  These days it's obviously a major thing.

I like when it's held on grassy areas on campus.

They also do that in Warshington.

College football is the best because of the sheer volume of silly traditions and uniquities.
ND has TD Jesus, the lined end zones, actual gold on the helmets, a silly ginger prancing around as a leprechaun, and no hope of ever winning a NC again.
Florida actually has thousands of alligators on its campus.
Georgia and Tennessee have actual dogs.  Maybe Warshington, too.  A&M even?  Idk, dogs are great!
Where else can you see a bunch of Ducks boat race some Trojans?
USC and FSU have dudes on horseback, wielding a sword and flaming spear, respectively! Fire!
A dancing tree, the putt-putt mascot, a large-horned bovine, an actual stampeding bison, and a coon-skinned cap-wearing redneck can all be found on college football sidelines!!
Fight songs!  You love yours, hate several others, but can hum along with at least 5-6 of them.  Marching bands spelling out school names, the shapes of states, and even MJ doing the moonwalk!  
The coaches!  Generals of the gridiron!  Some of them trying to beat you 9-0, some of them setting out to hang 50 on you...some fuming, with steam coming out of their ears, others - just as effective - calmer than the Dude after smoking a jay.
The colors!  The cheerleaders!  The crowd being a healthy mix of students, alumni, and others (mostly others, in Miami's case).
The best trophies!  The Heisman!  I don't have a fucking clue what the NFL MVP trophy looks like, but the Heisman is iconic.  The Floyd of Rosedale:  trophy in pig form!!  Buckets, spittoons, and unwieldly invented nonsense like the Arkansas-LSU boot thing!  The way the MN-WI winner sprints for that axe!  
.
This post could fill a book.  There are a great many books on college football, but it'd be cool to have a comprehensive love letter to it.
But I think it'd be a past-tense thing.  With a playoff now open to mediocrity and a multi-loss team Mr Magooing it's way to a NC......thanks to Meyer and RichRod, 95% of teams running the same offense.....and the gradual monopolization of conferences (SWC, PAC,...) into an eventual one big beautiful league....our precious darling has gotten ugly.

Been watching a bunch of 90s football on YouTube recently.  I'm going to start sharing thoughts.  Regret I didn't start doing this earlier, because I'm up to 1999 in my playlist

Was watching the 99 Nebraska-KSU game, and they were "showing" the Michigan-PSU game in a PIP situation.  It was too small to tell what was happening, but also blocked so much of the screen.  Also, what was the deal that allowed this?  I certainly never saw it during the old ABC regional coverage era in Michigan.  Was this a weird state restrictions thing?

Had totally forgotten about Earnest Graham.  He was such a fun RB, and was always "good", but man, why was he never great?

3:30 games being the marquee games still holds such a place in my heart.  Starts in the afternoon, and then as dusk sets, it gets real.  Instead we have 8 million prime time games, and BIG NOON, but we've largely abandoned what feels like the best kickoff time IMO.  If it was up to me, the SEC and Big Ten would rotate putting their best game at 3:30 and 8, and ACC and Big 12 would do the same.  Then put every other game at 12.  Put bulk at 12, then the 8 best games are at 3:30 and 8, 4 in each.

Man, OSU had Michigan dead to rights in the 1999 game.  It wasn't what OSU had the line in 1993, 1995, or 1996, but they could have kicked them out of shared title and a BCS bowl.

I don't remember how close that game was.  Missed chip shot FG that would have made it a 2 score game.  UM came down and tied it, then won it after an OSU fumble.

Also, stand by 1999 being the peak Big Ten season.  Insane that this OSU team didn't even go to a bowl.

Wisconsin went to the Rose Bowl.  The Big Ten's #2 and #3 teams (UM and MSU) beat the SEC #1 and #2 teams (Alabama and Florida).  Penn State might have been the best team in the country that year, and went 10-3, because they lost 3 conference games.  8 win Minnesota and Illinois teams.  Purdue with Drew Brees finished 7th, OSU was 8th, and Indiana with Antwan Randle-El was 9th.  Only Northwestern and Iowa were pushovers

And 2 years later was the worst Big Ten of all time.