Not pro football, not high school football, but college. College football. It’s back. Have I already mentioned that? I know I’m rambling a bit, but there is a point I’m trying to make here. Every story line, every expert opinion, every move a player made within or between schools is all about to come to life.

And, as an unabashed fan of college football, particularly in the South, I couldn’t be happier.

No longer do we have to speculate on how dominant Alabama’s offensive line can be – we’ll be able to see it paving running lanes for Eddie Lacy and company soon enough. No longer do we have to wonder how the defense will handle the mass exodus of talent from a year ago – we’ll see them handle that pressure as well. No longer do we have to muse about who the next breakout player will be, on either side of the ball – they’re about to make themselves apparent.

I’ll try to make an analogy here. Have you ever had a favorite TV show? You’d wait every week for the newest episode, soak it in, talk about it for a day, maybe two, and then wait impatiently for the next episode. And once the season is over, you had to find something else to occupy your time until the next season.

Now multiply that by about 100 and you’ll have a typical fan’s take on college football. Because, unlike that favorite show of yours, it isn’t scripted. It’s a week-by-week, day-by-day, play-by-play, moment-by-moment event that keeps you constantly waiting on the next installment. You simply don’t know what’s going to happen.

Football, particularly in the South, is a social phenomenon that takes up a lot of fans’ time. It keeps everyone on the edge of their seats, clamoring for the latest updates, news and topics coming out of their respective universities.

It’s an all-consuming roller coaster ride that keeps you transfixed for months at a time, but I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way. The pageantry, the tradition, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, the rush of watching a close game wind down to the final seconds, these are things that, collectively, you won’t be able to find in any other event, maybe even in any other sport — or at least not as often.

And, although the season may seem long or winding at times, it never becomes stale. I don’t know what it is, but college football allows people to continue to talk about games in the past, even as we’re in preparation for more. Don’t believe me? Mention the 2009 BCS National Championship game against Texas to your average Alabama fan, and see if you can’t get that guy to shut up about that game.

But really, I guess what I’m trying to say all winds down to this: sit back, relax, and get ready for what should be another great year of college football.