The Weekend Warrior's Word: Five Ways to Survive the College Football Drought

It's that time of year again. A very sad time.

You start having dreams of Lee Corso picking your school's mascot on College GameDay, Lou Holtz and Mark May going back and forth on the College Football People's Court, and Todd Blackledge's "Taste of the Town" special on Saturday night broadcasts.

And then you wake up.

The morning of Jan. 9, 2009 was a bittersweet moment at best. You get up and cringe at the fact that your wife or mom awakes you from your glorious, fantasy-filled slumber and yells at you because she finally realized the bowl-shaped indent you left in the couch over the span of about four-and-a-half months.

Bummer.

College Football won't start back up for about eight months, January to August. You're thinking to yourself that you will go crazy without those Sunday night recaps of the day before's glory. College Football courses through your veins. It is your anti-drug.

But never fear, the doctor is here.

Here are some tips on how to deal without those days where Kirk Herbstreit and Brent Musberger tell it like it is on prime time television.

1. Follow your team's recruits

If you're constantly as eager to see how the future of your team is "graded" as I am, then you go on your computer and bookmark the list of the future faithful towards your team.

There are always a handful of top recruits that wait to make their decision and take it down to the wire, leaving you mad. You hope they go to your school, and you most certainly don't hope they go to one of those schools that will under-utilize them and have them ninth on the depth chart.

Unless that is your team, then you know you are in good position for next year. Make sure to book a trip to your team's spring game, and see what prodigies are waiting to play on your team's sacred gridiron.

2. Enjoy the NFL playoffs

Most college football fans favor the sport over the NFL because it's more unpredictable and full of breathtaking 80-yard scores, while the NFL loves to bust it up the gut.

For those of you NCAA fans who don't like the NFL, you still tune in sometimes to see how your favorite player from college is doing. You tune in to players so you can brag to your friends on how you were the one who said they would be a bust. And right before you change the channel back to something else, you realize only the top tier of teams are left and this part of the NFL season is in a world of its own.

You get somewhat depressed again because you realize you missed out on the action of some famous player's swan song performance, or a coach going out with style. So you live up the rest of the playoffs to the fullest, and the season ends with a bang because you enjoy the Super Bowl no matter who is in it and no matter the score.

You say, "Hey, nice beer commercial."

3. Soak in all the draft prep you can

It's the most wonderful time of the year—well, besides that opening kickoff in August.

You say goodbye to the famous alum who left their marks at the college level and are ready to take that next step. You start spending your down time fixing your hair with grease and put on a suit and stand in front of your mirror, pretending you're Mel Kiper Jr., and you give your own presentation of your Mock Draft.

You write down your picks, send it to any sports fan who cares, and hope to have good feedback.

Then in the final days of April, you re-enter that abyss on the couch and stay there until Mr. Irrelevant is announced.

4. March Madness

You can hate the sport all you want, but you know you can't resist Dick Vitale getting laryngitis over some half-court shot. Brackets are passed around the water cooler or at lunch, and pools are made to see who has the best combination of smarts and luck.

It's a wonderful time to be a sports fan, even if you shy away from basketball every other time of the year.

5. Enjoy summer

Get off the couch and go out and play the sport you love watching. There's 11 weeks of mess-around-late-partying to attend to. Anything to occupy your time: a part-time job, going on a trip, sleeping in 'til dusk. It's a great time to either prove you can play sports and not just study them, or to be a nocturnal party animal.

You have a great time, and you're sad when you have to reset alarm clocks, buy school supplies, or start up earlier hours for work.

Late August came so quickly. And if you've been paying attention, that's a good thing. So follow these steps and in no time you will hear the College GameDay country song wake you up with a great big smile.

So until the next article, survive the work week and stay the vicious weekend warrior you are.