TAMPA — All roads lead here. All teams have us in their sights. This one is ours.
We are the home of college football.
Like how that sounds, Tampa Bay? Here, us, ours, we?
College football is always a big deal in these parts. In Tampa Bay, we make Bullhorns and do the Gator Chomp and the Tomahawk Chop. Our colors are green and gold and orange and blue and garnet.
But this year, there is even more reason to get ramped up about college football. The national championship game is coming to Tampa's Raymond James Stadium on Jan. 9.
That's right, Tampa Bay.
Here, here.
When you think of college football, you think Alabama or Oklahoma or Texas.
But this year, think Tampa Bay.
"You think about the passion and affinity for college football, but then in the Southeast," said Rob Higgins, executive director of the Tampa Bay Sports Commission.
"The fact that our community is the first ever to host this game in the Southeast, it's almost surreal. It truly is incredible."
The pageantry. The passion. It's all on display for Tampa Bay. Not just in January, but all season.
Not that we wouldn't be paying attention already, but this year, all of college football's showdowns take on even more meaning for us.
Ohio State-Michigan. Oklahoma-Texas. FSU-Clemson. Florida-Georgia. USC-Notre Dame. Alabama-Auburn.
On any given Saturday, we in Tampa Bay will have our eyes elsewhere. From South Bend to State College. From Gainesville to Starkville. From College Station to College Park. From Tallahassee to OKC.
You never know where the season might change, where the upset might lie, where the championship jigsaw will lose another piece.
That's what makes college football so great. It's constantly evolving, constantly shifting.
And we get to enjoy every step of it, every big play, every pivotal moment.
So how did we get this game, the third in the new college football playoff format?
"Even before the format was formulated, when we knew there was a chance that this would happen, that's when we started to formulate our bid," Higgins said.
The first game went to Dallas. No surprise there with Jerry Jones' insane stadium. But that's where Tampa Bay's dream started.
"We knew we would have an uphill battle against Dallas for the first one, but we made it a lot closer than people expected for the inaugural year," Higgins said. "No other community but us went up against Dallas. We were able to establish what our bid vision was, that we were a community to be reckoned with. We wanted to show that we were so focused that we didn't care who we were up against."
With spectacular new scoreboards and sound system, Raymond James now hosts what could be argued as the second-biggest sporting event in this country after the Super Bowl. We've already hosted four of those and could end up with more, partly because of this national title game.
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Explore all your options"There are certainly similarities," Higgins said. "I think the biggest difference for us is there have been 50 years of Super Bowls, so the model has really evolved over the years. There have been two of these. … We love the event, and we hope we have a future with it, a long-term relationship."
First things first. Let's enjoy the first one. Let's enjoy this season.
Who will be here? Nick and 'Bama? Urban and Ohio State? Jimbo and FSU? Les and LSU?
How 'bout a surprise? Like Mac and the Gators. Or how about Willie and the Bulls? That would be something, eh?
Either way, we'll enjoy it. College football kicks off for real tonight. It ends somewhere special.
Fans will flood the area. ESPN's Lee Corso will bring his mascot heads. The community will go football crazy with events all over celebrating one of this country's biggest sporting events.
"I think people in our community should take a lot of pride and enjoy this journey," Higgins said. "And it ends here."
Here. Tampa Bay.
Sounds awesome, doesn't it?