I know it may be hard to believe, but the summer is drawing toward its final days. Baseball is on the homestretch following Tuesday’s trade deadline, and the summer Olympics have gotten underway in London. However, the most exciting part of this time of year, or at least for me, is the buildup to the upcoming football season.

Don’t get me wrong, I love other sports, as well. There is just something special about the game of football that keeps me captivated on a constant basis. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that football season just doesn’t last long enough. You have to enjoy it while it’s here, because the offseason will arrive before you know it.

The fast-paced, highflying, physical nature of the game has always been compelling to me, and obviously millions of other Americans. It is my absolute favorite time of year, and I soak up every last second of it.

Here’s what a football Friday is like for me each and every week. In the afternoon, we commute to the office for a few hours to make sure everything is set for our Sunday paper, aside from the football pictures and recaps. We head back home for a bit to rest and prepare for the night ahead.

Around 7 p.m. is when the fun begins. I will spend the next two and a half hours at high school football games, sometimes bouncing between two or three different games, before heading back to the office to get to work on our recaps and upload photos. Once the frantic scramble is over, and we get the section edited, it’s nearing the early hours of Saturday morning.

The rest of my weekend is spent glued to my television set. Saturday’s college football keeps me completely occupied from the noon kickoff until the late-night games on the west coast conclude around 1 a.m. Sunday is no different with the pro game, aside from the hours spent in the morning making last minute adjustments to my fantasy lineups.

So, aside from proclaiming my obsession with the sport as a whole, I am looking forward to covering the local high school squads in Lapeer and Genesee counties this fall. The four remaining Big Nine schools finally get to belong to a full conference, and Mayville rapidly put together an independent football schedule after finding out that their new league, the North Central Thumb League, would be moving to the ever-growing eightman football format. Mayville’s enrollment is too high to compete in the eight-man game.

One thing that could also make things very interesting, especially here in Lapeer, is the transfer of a certain star player. Running back Monta Stangler, who barreled his way through defenses last year with Lapeer East, has decided to jump over to the west side to play for the Panthers. Just when you think the rivalry couldn’t get any stronger, the plot thickens in a major way. bpope@mihomepaper.com