There is something about the Fall that puts everyone in a good mood.  After a hot August and a great summer, a new and exciting season is upon us.  Before we know it Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas will be here.  As Kenny Chesney says “Don’t Blink”. 

I put my daughter in Kindergarten this week and I watched the streets of Austin once again get packed with traffic.  It is an exciting time.  Change.  Good change.

Football.  Oh, how I have missed you.  Everything about the college football season that gets me excited.  Better Than Ezra wrote a song called “This Time of Year”.  The lyrics say “there is a feeling in the air; just like a Friday afternoon.  You can go there if you want, but it fades too soon”.   How true are those lyrics?  Regardless, I will take it.  The short 3 month season & bowl season seems to bring everyone together.  People you haven’t talked to in years will reminisce about things that happened years ago that put a huge smile on your face.

Now I went to Ole Miss.  They have never been a football powerhouse, but they do play with the big boys since they are part of the greatest conference in the US; the SEC.  Watching them play with Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Florida, Texas A&M  is something else.  What most people don’t realize is that the school  has only 15 thousand students.  I will challenge anyone who says they have the best tailgating school.  Ole Miss is in a league of its own.   It is something special.

The best known names from Ole Miss are the Mannings.  Archie was a legend and Eii has already won 2 Super Bowls.  Sandra Bullock won an Oscar for Blindside based on Ole Miss’s player Michael Oher.

Ole Miss, although a great tailgating school, has been known to disappoint you if you are a fan.  We always seem to play tight games, but find a way to loose.  Just last year, Ole Miss lost some heartbreaking games to Vanderbilt & A&M. 

This Thursday the scene was set.  Ole Miss had lost 4 straight against Vanderbilt.  They had recruited the best recruiting class in the school’s history with the number one overall sought after player in the US (Nkmedche) and the number one sought after receiver  in the US (Treadwell) .  They looked to have the game locked up when Vandy scored with only minutes left in the game.   Ole Miss had 1:30 on the clock when they handed the ball off to Jeff Scott who ran for a 75 yard touchdown.  If you haven’t seen it, check it out herehttp://bit.ly/18wl42b.  I wasn’t at the game, but I was with fellow alumni at an Austin Alumni gathering. When Scott made the TD, it was electric.  It felt like we won the superbowl.

On Saturday, My wife and kids went to the Texas/ New Mexico state game.  This was a big deal because we took our kids to a collegiate game for the first time.  It was hot, and an uneventful 1st half, but it was fun watching our kids experience what we have experienced for years. Texas did end up blowing New Mexico State out, but with 2 kids- one 5 and one 2, halftime is all we could make.

And then.. Of course.. You can’t forget dove season.  Being from Texas, you have to love dove season.  I won’t make it opening weekend this year, but will go soon enough.  There is nothing quite like sitting on a cooler of beers in the hot September sun and getting your limit of doves.  Pat Green says it best in West Texas Holiday “September comes to Texas, just one time every year.  So we get our guns, and our pickup trucks and a bunch of that lone star beer”.  It's game time fellas!  They are flying!!

So, Better Than Ezra is right.  It does fade too soon.  BUT!! It is here.  It doesn’t matter what school you route for, or what college you attended.  There truly is a feeling in the air.  We all understand it.  Take the time to enjoy this Labor day weekend and the Fall for all it has to offer. Watch all the football you can watch, spend as much time with your family as you can and if you can make it hunting, go get your limit on doves.