Rollercoasters are a marvel to me. Incredible amounts of energy, supremely focused and harnessed, sending literal tons of metal screaming past giddy onlookers. That impeccably controlled violence, focused on wheels and tracks and bits of specialized machinery, the nearly-imperceptible cushion of physics separating a thrill ride from a tragedy—the people on board delighting in their perceived blurring of that line. It’s all a blur of screeching metal and speed, an all-too-brief smear of color sandwiched in between standing in lines at an amusement park.
Something similar can be said about the college football season. This is one of the longest offseasons in sports, with no preseason games to overreact to nor free agency to speculate about.