The boys are back in town. The boys who wear the blue and white, that is. Today is the day that truly signifies to me that football season is around the corner. The 2009 Eagles report to campus today to get set for fall camp. The veterans know the drill, the newbies are wide-eyed and the coaches are chomping at the bits to get them on the field. That will come soon enough as they will take to the practice field on Beautiful Eagle Creek early Wednesday morning.
All of us, observers, will be drawing our opinions fast and furious come that morning and we will change those opinions time and time again before the 6 o'clock kickoff against Albany comes on September 5th.
More important to me, however, is that like all other fans across the country, this is the time to enjoy that optimistic nature of the football season before we all begin the overly-positive or negative feelings that come with early, mid, and late season.
It's a new canvas for this coaching staff who have the most stability and continuity going into a season since 2005. They have the opportunity now, for the most part, to count on the upperclassmen to show the way of the program's philosophy and expectations to the new young men that join their ranks this season.
It will certainly again be a young team, but it is more and more becoming Hatcher's team. A team, that I have no doubt, will become a mirror of he and his staff. A staff that has known nothing but winning their entire career. I have always believed that winners are winners, period. Does not matter the level, the classification, winners are just that and they don't like to experience anything other than winning. This staff is no different. Did they expect to win immediately upon arriving in Statesboro? Yes. Have they honestly been caught up in a program that need a complete rebuild? Again, the answer is yes.
We have a great young vibrant staff that works untold hours to be better, faster, stronger, than their opponents. Over time, the kids have taken to this work hard (practice, workouts, classroom)-play hard (Saturday on the field) mentality and we the fans soon will be the recipient of the fruits of their labor, and when I say soon, I mean very soon.
Congratulations to all the other FCS schools who have worked hard to battle for the top spot each and every year. They too had to weather tough times and make hard decisions to be where they are today. Good for them, I hope they have thoroughly enjoyed their rise and their recent ability to keep the Eagles off their tails, those days are numbered and we don't and won't forget.
See you on the banks of Eagle Creek.
CSB
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