Football Training Camp

July is the month known for the 4th of July, 24th of July, hot weather, and…football training camp. I know it seems early to be talking about football, but for us die hard football fans talking football is a year round hobby. It all starts with the NFL draft in late April and then comes the mini camps in May and June. Then the real training starts in late July.

Training camp is a very hard and demanding time for the players. They have 2-a-day practices on the hot field; they learn and perfect the plays not only on the field, but also in the film room and the class room. The players move in together to eat and breathe football 24/7. (If you asked my wife, she would tell you that I eat and breathe football 24/7 all the time).

I am a huge football fan. I am also a dedicated Green Bay Packers fan. I love to watch football, talk football, and read about football. I love to read articles about training camp each year. All of the players come in to Green Bay to practice together and make themselves better as a team. I served a mission in Green Bay and was able to attend a training camp practice. You would think it was a live game by the amount of fans that would show up for these training sessions. People would line the fences and cheer and yell and act like it was a playoff game. I love this time of year because there is so much hope and optimism for the coming season. It is fun to listen to fans talk with each other about players, strategies, coaches, and anything football related. The amount of time and money that fans spend on football is astounding. When you factor in players and coaches salaries, game tickets, concessions, apparel, trading cards, fantasy football leagues, etc—it is easy to see why this is truly America’s favorite sport.

My anticipation for this year is already starting to build. The training camps are opening soon, the fantasy football leagues are starting to form, the football fields are being groomed and prepared for that day when the players take the field, and both the fans and players alike are full of hope that this season will be the one where their teams go on to win the Super Bowl.

(Of course we all know that the Packers will be the team this year to take home that honor.)

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