TCU Horned Frogs vs Samford Bulldogs Gamethread

There's nothing quite like football season, even in other sports worlds. For one, it's the shortest season- even with the 12 game season expansion, Conference Championship game participating, playoff qualifying and first round winning world we now live in- that's a maximum of 15 games. The TCU basketball team, which didn't make any postseason last year, played 31 games. In a lockout shortened season the NHL still played 48, while usually playing 82 like basketball, each with a chance of another 28 playoff games, and baseball seemingly never stops playing. These games in other sports often come multiple times a week, so even if your heart is broken by a buzzer beater on Tuesday, a driving layup and a blowout could have you feeling better on Thursday. In football you get one game a week, and will only play against any given team once in a season (unless ESPN decides that your 9-6 puntfest was such captivating television that they scuttle talk of any other game)- which means that a loss results in 365 days of having to keep your head down in the office when that one guy with the "Boomer Sooner" ringtone walks by. You know the one.

Football season is also unique, in that it creeps up on you- the end of one season and the start of another are eight months apart, and the offseason drags on and on to the point where you end up writing articles about how the teams in your conference are like My Little Pony characters. But then, suddenly, it's there and a hundred teams are ready to play college football on the highest level, and millions of fans living and dying with every result. And this is the time of year where every fanbase is buzzing with life and excitement, as that long wait has made them look past the fact that their offensive line was kind of awful last year, or that their entire defense graduated, or that their previous head coach finally took that job in the Pac-12 he kept getting mentioned for. By the time football rolls around, even a Kansas Jayhawk fan will have convinced himself "You know, we weren't that far off last year..." and has started dreaming of Crystal footballs (or at least awkward looking Gold football shaped things). Half of those fans will end this weekend having their idealistic outlook shaken by defeat, while the other half will live on slightly tarnished for another week- looking at the warts that were visible in the game. That hail Mary pass that just barely went over the receiver's fingers that would have tied the game, that opposing running back dashing into the secondary seemingly every time- but for at least a little while, as the sweet taste of victory is all they need.

Today, at last, football season is here again for TCU fans. It crept up on us, just as it always does, and we're all thinking "You know, with a break here or there, this could be the year!" Maybe it even will be. Maybe this game will be like 2012 Grambling, the most complete performance I've ever seen from any football team, or maybe it will be like SE Louisiana and incredibly frustrating throughout. Either way enjoy it, there just aren't enough of them to take any for granted.

This is your gamethread to share thoughts, observations and ideas with your fellow frog fans. And here's to another crazy year.

Go Frogs.