The NFL season is right around the corner, and we cannot wait for the season to start. We have been somewhat distracted with the baseball-trading deadline, but we can’t help but look forward to the start of the NFL season. Fortunately, there are a few things we can do to distract us or make the days go by faster so that kickoff is here already.
The first thing you can do is attend an open NFL practice. It isn’t a game, and many times, it isn’t full contact, but it is still exciting and entertaining to go see an NFL practice. For a true football fan, you are able to evaluate and assess the team on your own, seeing firsthand the changes that were made in the offseason and the improvement by the returning players. For teams like the Philadelphia Eagles, you can actually go to the stadium that they play in to watch some of the open practices. For the Eagles, entry to the practice is free and you can sit anywhere you want. They also have the concession stands open so you can grab some of your favorite food at the stadium. Oh, and no worries for those Eagles fans and fans of select other NFL teams, as even parking is free.
If getting a free, close-up look at your favorite team and some of the league’s most talented players wasn’t enough, there is even a chance that you will get an autograph or two from some of the players after the practice is over. If you’re lucky, your team may even have an open scrimmage with another NFL team, so you will be able to see two NFL teams and that intense competitive spirit that you are bound to see between any two NFL teams. Sitting through the practice and watching your team run through drills in the stadium that you love truly gets you excited for the season to begin. Even if you don’t live in an area where you are able to attend an open practice, keeping up with the reports is always interesting, definitely does the job of getting you excited for the season, and helps pass the days.
Another option that football fanatics have is starting your fantasy football a little early. I never like to start my fantasy football seasons before the majority of the preseason games are over because of injury and depth chart issues, but if you are really itching for the season to get here already, it is a great distractor. Being able to go through the draft and do research on draft boards and sleeper picks, will get you excited and more involved in the upcoming NFL season. After the draft, you take time analyzing your team and the other teams in your league, trying to figure out ways to trade for the players you were not able to select in the draft. All in all, it will take up a good amount of time and bring you closer to the NFL season.
Although there is no bulletproof way to make the NFL kickoff get here sooner, these few options should help subdue the pain and impatience. Be cautious of football movies like "Remember the Titans," "Invincible," "Rudy," "Radio," or any other inspiring film that includes football in any way because it will make you want football even more than you did before. Thursday, September 10, is when the wait will be over and we get to see the Tom Brady-less Patriots lose to the Steelers. Until then, I will see you at the Eagles open practice and a couple open practices for the Dolphins.
