07-24-2004, 11:23 AM
Quote:All Publications Agree On This: Football Rules
MICK ELLIOTT
Tampa Tribune
Published: Jul 24, 2004
Nothing says college football season quite like the arrival of pick-em magazines to a newsstand near you.
Talk about firing the proverbial warning shot. As traditions go, this is the swallows returning to Capistrano and the first Winnebago of tourist season rolling into Disney World all wrapped into one.
You know college football season is near when 1.), the Gainesville Police Department is forced to add an extra shift and, 2.), for $7.95 plus tax, you can be treated to a complete ranking and analysis of all 117 Division I-A teams plus a short list of Heisman Trophy candidates.
And, just for the record, Phil Steele's Review, proclaiming itself ``the most accurate preseason magazine the last five years,'' lists Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang as the top pick to win college football's most famous stiff-arming doorstop. Southern Cal fans, take heart. Ultimate College Football Annual, ``ranked No. 1 for preseason predictions'' according to it its cover, picks Trojans quarterback Matt Leinhart.
Here's what we know for certain. What this cottage industry might lack as an exact science, it makes up for in pure volume. A quick check of a random bookstore magazine rack served up some two dozen preseason guides. And it's July! From Athlon Sports to Sporting News to Ultimate College Football Annual and Phil Steele's, if a team has a fan it has a preview in a magazine.
``You definitely hear the most about them from fans,'' USF sports information director John Gerdes said. ``It's certainly fan- driven, which means there's always going to be debates, and maybe that's exactly what they are trying to do.''
Working Overtime
On this much everybody can agree: football rules. This season will bring 19 consecutive days of football. From Oct. 28 through Nov. 15, no less than one televised football game will be played per day, including 13 days of college ball. During that stretch, college football with be broadcast on every day except Sunday and Monday when the NFL holds court. But there will be college football on Labor Day, with Miami and Florida State playing Sept. 6.
``As a college football fan, I've got to tell you, I love it,'' ABC senior vice president of programming Loren Matthews said this week on a national conference call. ``I don't get tired of it. I imagine there could be some negative effect, but you never understand that until you've crossed the line. And candidly, I don't think we've crossed it yet.''
There's good reason - football fans' insatiable appetite.
Just check their reading habits.
``As far as quantity, the only subject that even comes close [to preseason football guides] is home magazines, and that's not the same thing,'' said Jim Olson, store manager at Tampa's Barnes & Noble. ``We sell a lot. We really do well with them.''
Making The Grade
For the record, Southern Cal is demanding the abundance of preseason publications' support. Oklahoma and Georgia are also being mentioned. And if you want to fast forward to January by reading about it in July, know that Florida State is a consensus top-five team, the Miami Hurricanes are solidly in the top 10 and if all the Florida Gators make bail, they should be among the top 15. The South Florida Bulls, only eight years into a program that started from scratch, are listed between 56th and 68th in the nation.
``You want to be included, obviously,'' Gerdes said ``I'm not sure coaches and players put a lot of stock in the predictions, but that said, you never want to be left out.''
No one is left out; some just get bigger pictures.
Long live the king