One final lap to go before the start of the 2012 season

The wait is almost over. The finish line is in sight. Wednesday marks the final full day before college football returns.

And it still can't get here soon enough.

You know, when I was a kid, I remember, maybe around the age of eleven, lying in my bed and thinking that the excitement of Christmas Eve would soon be gone. I would grow up and it would mostly be just another day to preoccupy my mind during winter break and then, as an adult, maybe the one or two days I got off from work (if I was even lucky enough for that). It was depressing. I liked the feeling ... the anticipation and excitement of tearing open my gifts and experiencing the wonders of that day.

I won't lie - Christmas is still magical for me. Not as magical as when I was a kid, but there is always a bit more excitement on that eve than before any other day ... except one.

As I've grown up, and my fanaticism of everything Utah has grown, I look at the first day of college football kind of in the same vein as Christmas when I was a kid. When August rolls around, I can't help but begin my countdown the way I used to do it in December. With each passing day, my excitement grows and it becomes clearer and clearer the day is finally arriving.

Then you hit this point ... just days away ... hours ... minutes. You finally reach the eve of college football.

Like a kid waiting for Santa to arrive, here I am, anxiously anticipating the first day of college football. Maybe that means I have an obsession ... I don't care. As a kid, lying in that bed thinking about losing that special feeling, I embrace it once again. This is my Christmas now and gosh, it's almost here.

A little treat after the jump to get you even further in the mood...