Football. My favorite sport. It’s getting closer. But it’s not here yet.

How much longer do I have to wait? About one month from now I’ll have as much football to watch as I can handle.

I will have high school, college, junior varsity and youth football to watch in about a month, so my love for the sport and need to watch it will likely be filled, but one never knows with me. That’s how much I love football.

I have only seen one football game in Franklin County since I moved here. That was the spring game between Russellville and Giles County, Tenn.

That didn’t really fill my need to watch football so much as it sparked it. Now I’ve got a fever, and the only thing that can cure it is more football.

Phil Campbell, Red Bay, Russellville, Tharptown and Vina will all have to do their part to make sure I’ve got some football to watch, but come a month from now they will be delivering.

When I’m not watching local high school action, I will have youth league and junior varsity football to watch. It might be my job to do such things, but my passion for sports makes those working hours go by so much quicker and easier.

Another outlet I have for my football obsession is to watch the UNA home games in Florence. UNA is only a little over 20 miles down the road, and I have the added benefit of being an alumnus, so I don’t mind watching the Lions beat up the competition.

One interesting aspect of this season will be the new head coaches that will lead teams onto the field for the first time, like Jason Hill and John Ritter, while Michael Jackson begins his second year as head coach of Russellville.

One thing that does not neet to be overlooked is the progress local players make after high school. Many go on to play at the collegiate level, whether it is at a community college or an SEC school.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask the parents of athletes around Franklin County to their kids who go onto play college ball to keep in touch with their local Sports Editor with The Franklin County Times.

If players from the area sign with a college to play ball or have success while playing at the next level, I would like to know so we can cover all your sports bases in Franklin County.

J.R. Tidwell is sports editor for The Franklin County Times. He can be reached at (256) 332-1881, ext. 31.