Know what I’m a real sucker for? Countdowns.I legit love ‘em. I love knowing how many more days until a thing happens. Give me a countdown to something (good) and chances are I’m going to be pretty stoked. I apparently passed this down to my 7-year old, who has always counted everything in “how many sleeps.”
Anyway, back to my actual point. I love countdowns. And it’s hard to start June without thinking about the number of days to count down as the arrival of college football season beckons. And I’ve seen some good UVa-specific countdowns out there that I’ve been enjoying.
For example:
So if my math (aka the date calculator website) is right, we’re 90 days out from UVa’s season opener against Richmond which we now know will kick off at 12:30 p.m. and be televised by the ACC’s regional partners.
We also know UVa’s Week 2-matchup at Illinois the following Saturday will kick off at 4 p.m. (ESPNU) ahead of the team’s return to Scott Stadium on Sept. 17 for a 2 p.m. matchup with Old Dominion (ACC Network). Lastly among the season’s early start times that have been announced, we also know the Cavaliers will play at Syracuse for a 7:30 p.m. game (ESPN) in the newly-named JMA Dome which will probably be the “Carrier Dome” to all of us forever.
There’s something very “college footbally” about the excitement that comes when you’re close enough to know the game times. That pales in comparison to when the teams start fall training camp, of course, because then it really is almost go time. June and then July before August hits all really do have such a special place in all of our hearts.
But I had a similar jolt of excitement the other day when UVa shared some images from Day 1 of summer workouts.
In addition to wondering how Amaad Foston can be anything less than 37 years old, it made me think about how quickly the season approaches. Pair that with the announcement of the start of construction on the new football operations facility (shoutout to the UVa social media folks for linking the team being “under construction” with the pending work to build the facility) and there’s plenty to be excited about.
All of this has me thinking this past week about time and how rapidly something goes and something new or different arrives. It doesn’t feel like all that long ago that word was spreading about the chance Brennan Armstrong was about to flip from Minnesota to UVa, just days ahead of when I was scheduled to talk then-QB commit Wyatt Rector. Yes, it instantly joined a long line of interviews that had a shelf life resembling convenience story sushi.
It doesn’t feel like all that long ago when Nick Jackson, who sounded like a 30-something year old himself speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony last week, committed to his dad’s alma mater the following fall. Or when the Hoos were able to hold on to Aaron Faumui on NSD that year.
Heck, it doesn’t really feel like all that long ago when Virginia opened its indoor facility, which of course would then be named after Hall of Famer George Welsh. I hate to break this to you, dear reader, but that was nine years ago.
It’s okay if that blew your mind. It’s pretty crazy, though, that the place is already old enough that it’s now gotten an interior redesign.
All of this is a long-winded way to shine a light on the fact that it’s June, which means the offseason that may be in full swing is growing smaller by the day. Soon we’ll look up and notice that the team only has a couple weeks of offseason work ahead of the start of camp. Before you know it, Tony Elliott will be leading that new squad of his out of the tunnel.
Who knows what pregame will be like. Who knows what the sights and sounds around Scott Stadium will be like. Who knows how things come together for the offense in Armstrong’s (likely?) final season as a Wahoo and Jackson’s final campaign in the heart of a new defense.
Like Ritchie McKay told me one time when I asked him how long until he became a head coach again, every day is one day closer.
Every day is one day closer to football. Only 89 more to go.
Ya know, if you’re the counting-it-down type…
