Ad Disclosure
10 things to do on National Signing Day if you hate recruiting
By Keith Farner
Published:
If you’re not the type to dissect the recruiting rankings and star systems that envelope the weeks leading up to Wednesday, Feb. 1, we have just the tonic for you.
Not the kind of middle-aged person to follow dozens of teenage life-changing decisions across social media, not to mention the announcements with hats, puppies and cakes for starters?
Love your team, but hate the behind-the-scenes schmoozing and coddling of 17 and 18-year-olds, here are 10 things to do on National Signing Day:
1. Find a marquee road game for your favorite school, and map out ways to get there. For Georgia fans, as an example, StubHub lists tickets to the Notre Dame game on Sept. 9 at $345. Fly in early Friday, the day before, and catch the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers at Wrigley Field for an afternoon game.
2. Look for new and easy tailgating recipes, such as the Southwestern Snack Mix, which adds chili powder, salt, ground cumin and red pepper to an otherwise standard table snack.
3. Predict which games your team, if applicable, will wear alternate jerseys such as a “blackout game.” Or will any shenanigans happen in the rescheduled game on Oct. 7 between LSU and Florida, now in Gainesville?
4. Schedule a football-free weekend when there’s a light schedule in the SEC, such as Oct. 21. Or take advantage of your team being off that week, and plan to travel to Louisville at Florida State, or Michigan at Penn State.
5. Scout the market for the best restaurants in the SEC, and schedule a visit when your team is in town. There’s City Cafe in Tuscaloosa, Last Resort in Athens, or Satchel’s in Gainesville, just to name a few.
Even better, scout out your favorite craft beer breweries in SEC states.
6. Familiarize yourself with the SEC’s history of Heisman Trophy winners, from Georgia running back Frank Sinkwich in 1942 to Derrick Henry at Alabama in 2015. It might come in handy on a trivia night at your local watering hole. And when someone mentions George Rogers, remind them that South Carolina wasn’t in the SEC in 1980.
7. Watch film of the new coordinators across the league, from Randy Shannon on defense at Florida, to Larry Scott on offense at Tennessee. Study their schemes and be more informed for conversations at the office printer and with your brother-in-law.
8. Look for 2016 highlights on YouTube across the SEC, or better yet, famous radio calls from the best games in your program’s history. Or favorite player. Herschel. Bo.
That passes the time like nothing else.
Another option is watching every BCS Championship Game, which would include such classics as Miami-Ohio State in 2003 and Texas-Southern Cal in 2006. Or even the most recent instant classic national title game (sorry Alabama fans).
9. Wives and girlfriends might be more into this, but make decorations through arts and crafts for the upcoming season. A coffee table book of former coaches and All-Americans. A tailgating table cloth with pictures from memorable games and trips.
10. Look up the Fulmer Cup standings and find a buddy who went to, or roots for, one of the teams at the top and give him grief about bail bondsmen and student-athletes.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
