So, here’s what happened. I began hammering out my column for February, and so much of what I wanted to write about revolved around football, that the entire column became ridiculously too long.
Solution? Write a special It’s All Greek to Me column, trying to sort out some of the crazy things going on in the worlds of college and professional football.
Now many of you know that I am a former high school football coach, and that football at all levels, high school, college and professional, is important to me, and a source of enjoyment in my life. But recently I have had a hard time making sense of what has gone on in football at the collegiate level and also the professional level.
I don’t know about you, but…
When I was young, the football season was always associated with the season of fall. It still is to some extent, with the Thanksgiving weekend being the “nirvana” of the football season. However, both the collegiate and professional champions are crowned in February. This means many of the most meaningful games are played after Christmas. Longer football season? That works for me!
I don’t know about you, but…
I think both the college and professional football games that I had the pleasure of witnessing recently have been truly entertaining and fun to watch with some unexpected outcomes that were somewhat difficult to comprehend.
I don’t know about you, but…
I would guess that most of you have forgotten that in my February 2025 column, I mentioned that it would be nice if the football team from a school in the Big Ten conference not named Ohio State or Michigan, would win a national championship. Don’t look now, but I got my wish. I guess I never really thought it would be Indiana. I mean what in the name of the wide, wide world of sports is going on here?
Indiana’s football program has historically been one of the worst programs in college football history. I mean ever! The team has had only four winning seasons since the 1994 season, a span of over 30 years. Heck, the Indiana team has had decades go by when it didn’t win as many games as it did in the last two years.
But this season Indiana defied all logic and expectations and went 16-0 to capture an undefeated national championship. And it did it in dramatic fashion in the championship game. Go figure! Well, all I can say is congratulations to Coach Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers. In my opinion, it was one of the greatest accomplishments in the history of any sport.
Now in full disclosure, I must admit that being a lifelong Illinois football fan, I have a little envy thing going on. Do not get me wrong. I am very happy with the results that Coach Bielema is getting with the Illini. The team has a school record of 19 wins in the last two seasons, with each season ending with a win in a post-Christmas bowl game (over two SEC teams no less). But deep down, part of me wishes it could have been Illinois instead of Indiana. Just saying!
I don’t know about you, but…
There was another significant happening in college football that brought a smile to my face. I don’t know if you have been paying attention, but that makes three consecutive national championships for the Big 10. Meanwhile the big bad SEC failed to make it to the championship game two years in a row. Aww, that is too bad!
I don’t know about you, but…
I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around what is going on in the crazy world of college sports in general, and the Big Ten conference in particular. I mean, who would have thought when Nebraska entered the Big Ten Conference in 2011, that 15 years later, Indiana would win an undefeated football championship, and Nebraska would be undefeated and atop of the conference standings halfway through the men’s basketball season? Are you kidding me? I don’t think any Big 10 fans would have predicted that…
I don’t know about you, but…
I believe Coach Brock Spach and the Illinois State University Redbirds’ run through the NCAA FCS football playoffs was a truly remarkable feat. I, and our two children, call ISU our alma mater so I paid particularly close attention to what was going on with the football team from Normal. If you weren’t paying attention, this is what transpired.
Despite entering the FCS division playoffs as one of the final four teams selected to a 24-team field (ISU’s 10th FCS playoff appearance), the team went on the road and won four consecutive road games. This included going to Fargo, North Dakota to defeat perennial champion North Dakota State with an improbable finish to earn a place in the championship game. No team had ever won four consecutive road games to reach the championship in FCS division playoff history.
The championship game on Jan. 5 in Nashville against Montana State was an instant classic. Despite being down 21-7 at the half, ISU clawed back and had a chance to win the game at the end. However, a missed short field goal in the last minute of regulation and a missed extra point kick in overtime resulted in a 35-34 loss. I would have loved a different outcome, but, wow, what a ride. What great effort and great excitement! It was as exciting as playoff football gets at any level.
I would like to congratulate Coach Brad Spencer and the North Central University Cardinals from nearby Naperville, Ill. for earning their sixth consecutive birth in the NCAA Division Three football championship game this season. They lost 24-14 to UW-River Falls, but six title games with three championships earned in the last six years is nothing to sneeze at. I say keep up the good work.
I don’t know about you, but…
I would guess that if you were a Chicago Bears fan, you really enjoyed the wild ride your team took you on this season. I am not a Bears fan, but I really enjoyed watching their games toward the end of the year and in the playoffs. I know it didn’t end as Bears fans might have hoped, but it had to be more fun than recent seasons. Have the Bears finally found the quarterback and coach to lead them to the promised land? Only time will tell. But if I were a Bears fan, I would have more hope now than I have had in a long time.
I don’t know about you, but…
I thought this year’s NFL playoffs made for compelling television. Many of the games came down to the wire with the outcome in doubt to the end. With comebacks and multiple lead changes the game kept your interest.
Speaking of the promised land, this year’s Super Bowl is a rematch of Super Bowl XLIX following the 2014 season with the New England Patriots facing the Seattle Seahawks.
I don’t know about you, but…
I will not be watching this year’s NFL championship as keenly as I did Super Bowl XLIX. I had an intense dislike for both the head coaches in the game. Simply put, I was not a big fan of either of the head coaches in the game, Pete Carroll or Bill Belichick, or their teams. I kind of hope both teams will lose. How does that work? Probably only in a mind like mine, ha!
I don’t know about you, but…
I feel that unless your favorite team is playing in it, the Super Bowl game has become an afterthought. I mean for the fans of 30 professional football teams the season ended with a gut-wrenching loss or worse yet, not making the playoffs at all. The Super Bowl has become a corporate party with exorbitant ticket prices and many fans in attendance that don’t have a rooting interest. (That wasn’t the case in Miami on Jan. 19 with most of the fans in attendance for the college football championship game, having either Miami Hurricane or Indiana Hoosier garb on).
Now don’t get me wrong. I will still watch the game, at least until it becomes a blowout. If Mrs. Christakos watches, it is primarily for the halftime show and commercials. Oh well, it is an American tradition.
I don’t know about you, but…
I believe there is another tradition in both the college and professional levels of football, which I find disturbing. It usually occurs towards the end of or immediately following the season. That tradition? It’s the firing of head coaches. It would be best for me not to get started on that subject as I have already rambled on too much. I will save that for another time. By the way, sometimes writing about football can make a person sleepy. Go figure.
