TGIF! (I know I said that about T[hursday] too, but really, I’m thankful for both days.)

Today, since I woke up, I couldn’t get my mind off of the lunch from Wednesday.  The creaminess of the melted provolone, the crunch of the Roma tomatoes, I wanted it all in my belly.

Well, Jojo gets what she wants:

I knew this was going to be tasty from experience, but honestly… it exceeded my dreams.  Eggy, spinachy, crunch, and soft it was perfect all around.

On the side was a little bag of veggies that I should’ve included in my What’s I’m Loving post from yesterday.

It’s got a great amount of seasoning on the veggies without overpowering their natural flavor. AND it’s got BABY CORN!  You know… like regular corn, but smaller.  Can’t beat it.

For dessert, a Vita Top with some PB:

Unlike some most of the bloggers I read, I’m not a huge nut butter fan, so whenever I do indulge in a little Peanut/almond/cashew/whatever butter, I’m surprised by how salty it is.  This sweet and salty treat, sort of like a Reese’s Cup, hit the spot, regardless.

But honestly, that’s just a puff piece about my lunch.  What I want to talk about, and what I’ve been thinking about a LOT lately is….

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON!!

I’ll admit, I may not always love to watch sports.  In fact, more often than not, sports on TV just bore me to tears (my apologies to the beau, and any future sons I may have.)  But college football isn’t just about sitting in front of a tv and yelling and throwing remotes and scrambling to try and find the batteries because the remote hit the wall and muted when you threw it.

College football, to me, is a romance.

It’s not about stats, it’s not about touchdowns (well, for some folks it is), and it’s not about whether or not your football players get 395 parking tickets (woops, UNC).

This is college football:

It’s tailgating, partying, and cheering your team on with thousands of your closest friends total strangers who bleed the Carolina blue (or Ole Miss red and blue… or Penn State blue and white…. or anything like that) that runs through your veins a little bit faster on game days.

While UNC is definitely a basketball school, football will always hold a special place in my heart.  My first year of college was spent on the UNC Varsity Fencing Team (yeah, I thirsted for the bloodsport) so football games translated to a chance to scoop frozen lemonade out and sell it to drunk fans who made jokes about how cold our chests got (wish I had my fencing weapons to fleche their knickers off) (bonus points for fencing terms.) It wasn’t really until my junior year that I was able to partake in the joy that is…. college football season.

At my fraternity house, we’d sell out the parking lot, grill meat (and veggie burgers…. we had a disproportionate amount of vegetarians in my fraternity… then again, we were also called the “hippy frat” so maybe not), and day drink.

And, by dating a fellow that went to one of the most fun football schools in the nation, I also got to see how they do it down in the deep south at Ole Miss:

”]I can not even patiently wait for football season, in the hopes to maybe even go to a game (haha, you’ll notice that through this post, I didn’t really talk too much about that. Now you see where my priorities lie.)

But really, going to a game, shaking your pom poms [literal ones, not chest, you pervs] in the face of an opponent obnoxiously, and cheering in unison with the entirety of your fan base…. there’s nothing like it.

Though I graduated from UNC in 2009, during football weekends, I feel like I’m a student again, right there with all the other tailgaters, rabble rousers, and Tar Heels.

I can’t wait for the foods, the shouting, the 6am wake-up calls for the noon games, the hooplah, the tiny Tar Heel face tattoos, the smell of grilled meat, the shenanigans I’ll get in with my fellow brothers and sisters, young and old…. I just can’t wait.

 Are you stoked for college football season?  And who’s your team of choice?