The season of my discontent is nearing. I can feel it breathing down my neck, taunting me as I steel myself for the probable disappointment that awaits me. There have been glimmers of hope in the past, but I know better than to truly get my hopes up.

Yes, last year wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. But it was the exception in a string of horrific, frustrating years. What makes it difficult to take were the years of success. The years of triumph in a tightly contested field. The years of being so close to the top, only to taste bitter defeat in the end. In two weeks, it begins again. Will it be another season of discontent? Will it be a season of mediocre success, blunted by defeats at the hands of the usual suspects? Or will this be the season where it all turns around, where success and victory are finally ours?

Stanford football begins September 4.

The first game is actually against Sacramento State, the university where I work. Normally, I would say this is an easy win for Stanford. But they  lost to Division II UC Davis five or six years ago, a game I attended and was thrilled by because Davis is my alma mater. Stanford, however, is my first football love. I have rooted for them, usually in vain, for decades. I have spent Saturdays at the stadium, watching them throw away games they had won and winning games they shouldn’t have had a chance at. I watched the infamous band mock the opposing team’s school. I have listened to that damn USC fight song so many times that I twitch now whenever it begins. I also got thrown into a fountain after a game against Notre Dame, but that’s a story for another day.

I can only hope that Harbaugh doesn’t get all wussy with his play calling, like he did last season. We are without one of our greatest assets, Toby Gerhart, who opted to go to the NFL. Hopefully the other running backs can fill his shoes. I don’t know what to expect this season, which may be good. Oh hell, who am I kidding? I always hope for the best each season, always hope that THIS season will be the one where Stanford crushes everyone and wins the conference. I always hope that they pummel USC and Cal.

You can count on a few things once the season begins:

• most of the games will NOT be televised, leaving me to catch updates on the internet.
• IF a game is actually televised, I won’t watch most of it because I get too irritated and scare the dog when I swear.
• IF they win, I will be in a good mood and will more than likely gloat.
• WHEN they lose, I’ll be pissed off and looking for the closest bear or trojan to beat up.

Go Cardinal!