The opinions expressed in the following essay are those of the writer and not necessarily those of Underdog Dynasty or SB Nation.
Trigger warning: This story contains sensitive content regarding suicide.
Football season is over. That’s what author Hunter S. Thompson wrote at the top of his suicide note. Pistol to the mouth. Quick. Messy. At the bottom of his note he drew a heart. Pink? Red? No one knows for sure. That detail was left out when his body was found in Woody Creek, Colorado. Woody Creek is about three hours from where I live. It’s one of the many mountain towns I considered visiting in the Fall when I got the news. Football season is over.
For many fans last summer, depending on your rooting interest, it never began. On August 11, 2020, the Pac-12 and Big Ten decided to cancel their football season as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to wreak havoc on the world. Less than four weeks later the MAC followed suit. UConn, UMass, New Mexico State and Old Dominion reached the same conclusion. Football season is over.
But the other FBS conferences lived in a different world where football season was just getting started. On September 3rd, UAB defeated Central Arkansas 45-35 in an old fashioned Conference USA shootout. Tulsa would’ve been proud. In this world is where normalcy presided. After watching their FBS brethren play with no immediate health risks to student-athletes, the MAC, Pac-12 and Big Ten decided to jump through a portal. On the other side is…
