The clock at the top of the pirateradio1250.com home page is counting down to the kickoff of the ECU football season, and everywhere I go, the phrase "I can't wait for football season to start" is uttered ad nauseum. Don't get me wrong, no one is more excited about the pigskin season (high school, college and pro) than I, but don't wish away the time, because then the season will come and go before you know it.

ECU is about to enter a new era, and everyone is giddy at the direction the football program seems to be going. But it's going to take time, and that time starts today with off-season workouts. It starts in August with preseason practices, and the Pirates will need as many of those, and as much time on the practice field, as possible. Spring football was a time to start learning the new offense and defense, but many of the players missed time during the spring, and need as many reps as possible.  Remember the old saying, "perfect practice makes perfect". Well, in football, the more practice a team has, the more perfect an offense can run. But Skip Holtz is still trying to figure out who will be driving the bus, so he will take as much time as he can before the season opener.

We are all excited to see the finished product that hits the field at 1:00 p.m. September 3rd, but let's let this thing progress slowly. Let the anticipation build, soak up as much information as you can each day.  Savor it, appreciate it. Let the players get bigger, stronger, faster, smarter. Enjoy the summer heat and humidity before the cold of fall and winter hits. Enjoy the prospect of an undefeated season before that first loss brings you down (come on, only one or two teams have the chance to go undefeated, losses happen to every school, and if ECU goes undefeated, it might be the biggest turnaround Cinderella season ever, but it still doesn't mean it can't happen.)

Enjoy today for today, because tomorrow will be here before you know it.  And then you will wonder what happened to those lazy days of summer.