Why we’re here.

Every once in a while, it really hits me why I enjoy this blog so much.  Certainly it’s nice to have a public outlet to express myself and it’s gratifying when I get a public response to my opinions.  It’s no secret that I enjoy the give-and-take of a good debate as much as anybody and I’ve had plenty of those with you guys in the comments.

But the best part of the GTP experience for me, hands down, comes every time I’m reminded what’s at the core of why you and I have a special feeling about college football, which, after all, is just a game.  And that core isn’t statistics or playoff formats or whether this coach or that one is the right man for the job… and it sure as hell isn’t money.

It’s community.  It’s being part of a group of people who bind together, both face to face on a few special Saturdays every fall and by sharing something of themselves in a virtual sense the rest of the year, over a common passion.  You know the pain and pleasure, the highs and lows that everyone feels, even if those sometimes are expressed very differently.

I’ve been lucky in both ways.  I’ve celebrated the fall with a close group of friends for more than thirty years now.  We’ve watched each other get older, seen our kids grow up, had our laughs and our share of tears.  And on the blogging side of things, I’ve been the recipient of a steady stream of e-mails that start with something like “I’ve been a long time reader of your blog and wanted to share this with you”… and then they do.  And I honestly marvel every time I see that how this shared experience matters.

Where I’m getting to with this is that somebody e-mailed me yesterday about a video that’s posted on YouTube.  It struck a chord.  I’ll let the author describe it:

I made this film to profile my father’s tailgate. I’ve been going to University of Georgia football games since I was 6 years old. I wanted to share with everyone what our tailgate experience is all about. Family, love, and compassion are just a few words to describe what these people mean to me.

Watch it.  I hope you get as much out of it as I did.

There’s something I try to say every time somebody reaches out to me with an e-mail like that.  And I hope you understand that when I say it, it’s not offered as some automatic gesture of politeness.  It’s sincere.  So I’ll say it now in that spirit, Jon.

Thanks for sharing.

*************************************************************************

UPDATE:  The NFL, on the other hand…