I know it’s only football, but I like it

On a slow Friday afternoon at work, some 20 years ago, my creative writing juices began to flow. If memory serves me correct, it was the Friday before Labor Day weekend. Sitting at my desk, I began to write on my PC. Struck with a wild and crazy inspiration, I wrote a brief, but substantial, commentary on seven college football games being played that weekend. Each game commentary was sprinkled with dose of humor – maybe more than a dose.

After completing my analysis, I emailed my seven-game commentary to 12 friends – mostly fellow workers – all of whom were college football fans. Not only college football fans, but more specifically, they were graduates and/or dedicated fans of Duke, Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, Purdue, Texas or West Virginia – the seven teams whose games I analyzed.

Little did I realize what I was conceiving on that slow Friday afternoon. As a result of the prodding and encouragement from my 12 friends, I continued to write weekly previews and analysis of the games of those seven teams for the remainder of that football season. Not only that football season, but every football season since then. What began 20 years ago continues today – but on a much larger scale.

The weekly commentaries grew from about a page and a half of text to several pages. It grew from those original seven teams to many more teams. It grew from commentary on seven football games to everything about college football – and then some. The email recipients also grew from the 12 friends in 1995 to more than 700 by 2009, along with countless, unknown others that it was forwarded, and forwarded and forwarded to. Since 2010, several thousand more readers have come aboard when my weekly college football commentary went online via my blog – www.collegefootballweek.blogspot.com.

Along the way, what began in 1995, eventually took on the name “College Football Week.” My wife became Swamp Mama and Swamp Mama gave me the name Touchdown Tom. For 13 seasons, beginning in 1998, Touchdown Tom co-hosted a 30-minute, weekly college football radio show on WMMB (Melbourne, Florida). Originally working for six seasons with radio host Larry Brewer, the show continued for another seven seasons with radio host Bill Mick. The past two years, Touchdown Tom made several guest appearances on “The Mark Moses Show” on WSJZ Sports Radio 95.9 – The Fan.

This coming Monday – August 17 – College Football Week will begin its 21st season. For the next five months, come aboard for a thorough, in-depth and fun-filled weekly look at college football as seen through the eyes of Touchdown Tom and his accomplices Swamp Mama, Rockledge Gator and Bootsie. CFW is simply everything college football and then some. You can follow it all each week at www.collegefootballweek.blogspot.com. So sit back with your cold pizza, chili dogs and beer and get ready for CFW 2015.

Twenty-one days to the first game. Four days to the first CFW.

I said, it’s only football, but I like it….like it, yes I do.

Touchdown Tom
August 13, 2015