It's Shake & Bake Time!!!

I know, I know- I've been missing in action (to the Anon who wanted more AOG - here ya go), the blog has "died" (not one post since early August?), and a lot has changed in the AMDAL world since last season's pre-season post, but you know what hasn't changed one bit?!? MY OBSESSION WITH COLLEGE FOOTBALL!

That's right, kiddos! We are only a quarter of a day (that's 6 hours) from the mayhem and glorious moment we all have been waiting for... 2010 season kick off!

The weeks leading up to today have been quite fun! For those of you who have been asleep at the wheel, here are some highlights: The NCAA laid a huge smackdown on USC ('bout time! The full 67 page PDF of the NCAA filing can be found here), taking a little swagger out of the Trojans' stride... There have been rumblings from 'Bama thinking they're going undefeated this year (as if!)... Boise State made it into BCS bowl contingency AND the top 5 pre-season rankings (WHAT IS GOING ON?!)... And then - I hope you can feel the excitement here - Nike went to my beloved NYC to unveil the sweet new duds Florida will rock this year, making it even easier to whoop up on the competition. I honestly got a little giddy inside when I saw them- not only are we a solid team, again, but we look dead sexy too!

I hope you will join in this year to watch the glorious wins by your favorite team, cry with our coaches when an unknown team storms the gates and takes you down a notch on your ego-pole, and of course, get furious as the crazy BCS and their nonsensical ranking system determines your bowl game future at the end of the year.

Without further ado, the top 20 teams to keep an eye on this season. So, grab a beer, some friends, and collegial colors as you enjoy another phenomenal year of college football!

xo- AOG*
* which to be fair, should be AOeGWINETHOeBFC, but that's neither here no there

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It's here!!! The best Season of the Year!

Sweet Baby Jesus, I love Fall. It's gorgeous outside right now- the humidity is low, the sun is still warm and the air is clean and crisp. ARod's family took me apple picking last weekend for the first time and I'm currently enjoying some delicious homemade applesauce. Yum yum! Fall up North ain't that bad after all. Even more exciting, today marks.... drum roll please...

THE FIRST DAY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON !!!!

Waaaahooooo! For many of you, this illusive "college football" doesn't make sense. You don't know who those people in the header photo are. You're not worried that Vondrell McGee is gonna make fools of your defense as he and Texas push for the title this year. You're not worried that Joe Paterno is going to keel over and die in the middle of a Penn State game, in his 60th (!!!) season as head coach. You don't know who the Pouncey brothers are & why their combined 638 pounds is frightening to Florida opponents.

There is something special about 50,000+ people wearing the same color, tailgating 2 days before the game no matter the weather and just loving a team because the players pour their sweat and tears into each game. Players and fans always have one thing in common: a heart-of-hearts belief that this year, unlike any other, could be THE SEASON they win it all. I'm so excited for the upsets and the all-star Freshman that pop out of nowhere.

For those of you who don't follow college football, I think it's time you get involved. If you're a NFL guru, where do you think your beloved Pats or Giants or Browns (haha) got their talent from?!?! If you just don't care, well then move onto the next post. If you want to get involved this season, here are some ideas to help you pick your new favorite college football team.


Picking a team is a serious decision for some of us. For others, like someone I know who's name I will not mention, you jumped on the Gator bandwagon last year because we were good and now you're back to loving your crappy Buckeyes again. Congratulations on making the worst decision of your life.

For most Southerners, it's not really even a choice. We start 'em young where I come from, and a "mixed marriage" is a term you hear but not for the reasons you think- for example, it's a mixed marriage if a Gator marries a Bulldog. (sup Cliff... Carrie's amazing but you're still a traitor!) Back when I was a kid, it involved a road trip to Gainsville and spending some quality time with friends and family in the holy land known as "The Swamp." Now, I'm over 1,000 miles away, but Saturdays still involve excitedly waking up, putting on my orange and blue best, tying my lucky Gator ribbon into a bow, grabbing various good luck items, including ARod, and heading to BarCoastal* to cheer my boys on as they work their way towards yet another National Championship.

How do you pick a team now that you're out of the house and your parents don't dress you every day?

Proximity
You may not have grown up with a college team, but you might just live near a good team now. Find out what college is near by and check the rankings to see if they're any good. Chances are, if they're in the top 25, you'll have a fun time cheering your hometown team on.

Personal Experience
Looking to take a long weekend? Pick a location & date, then check the college football schedule to see who's playing in that town. Seeing two teams face off live might be just what you need to feel connected. Or pick a team you hate and go to the game solely to heckle the the other team's fans. Either way- drink beers, make some friends and enjoy a big time game experience in person.

Uniforms
ESPN did a full uniform review. Has ESPN gone metrosexual? Maybe... But bad uniforms are part of the big game and some teams (sup Oregon) have horrible duds no matter how much money their program may have. I know what you're thinking, "it's football- who cares?!?" Well, I don't think guys at Syracuse get excited be dressed like a fruitpop for game day when they could look like Utah and have some svelt threads. No matter what he's wearing, if you see an LSU player, tell him he smells like corndogs.

Cheerleaders
You guys can do your own google image search, but the cheerleaders in the NCAA are usually pretty banging hot, along with the dance team members in most cases. In person or watching on TV, you're sure to get some time ogling tan, fit, pretty ladies in short skirts.

Bands
I'm not going to write about this. Shout out to the band geeks out there: Thanks for all the pep! You rock Funkytown each and every year.

...Moving on...

Make it visually interesting
Mini-helmet spreadsheets , new wallpaper on your desktop or sipping from a sweet new coffee mug in a meeting (that happens to be your boss's alma matter) might suit your fancy. Whatever it takes to get tied to a team- have fun with it. If you can buy it, chances are it's out there with your team's color & logo waiting to be purchased by you.

Find a player you can relate to
Maybe you have the same first name. Or he wears the same number you did in Pop Warner. Or his bicepts are the size of your thigh. For example: Both of the men in my life like to wear Crocs and look great from behind... guess who's getting an orange and blue pair this year?



So my friends, I think that each of you will enjoy college football season once you give it a chance and find your "nitch" within it.

I now give you the world's smartest baby because after all, what would an AMDAL post be without an embedded video? So young, so wise...




* BarCoastal, 78th & 1st Ave (known as BC amongst my crew) Somehow we convinced them to do an all you can drink/eat beer & wings from 12-6 pm for $30 (actually, it was probably the 6 years of pouring money into their bar since they opened that got it done). If you live in NYC, come on over and join us (don't worry- we're a mixed crowd of OSU, Michigan, UF, FSU, ND and Texas (gag) fans) and see what all the hub-bub is about this season.