Pac-12 Football Is Back, and Football Fans Are Fired Up

Saturday morning, football fans woke up to a stacked schedule of games. The Big Ten, SEC and ACC were all in action, but another Power Five conference joined them on the schedule. The Pac-12 teams were in action for the first time in 2020 — although two teams were not set to play. Cal vs. Washington faced a delay due to COVID-19. The other colleges, however, were set to kick off their respective shortened seasons.

When football fans saw the news, they immediately expressed excitement. The Pac-12 has the nickname of the “Conference of Champions,” and many viewers expressed that something just seemed off when the teams weren’t in action. They wanted to see Oregon State, Washington State, Utah, USC and the other teams get back on the field.

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Pac-12 football returned on Saturday, bringing along a number of traditions. Some fans donned their team-branded socks and jerseys in order to send good vibes to their favorite players. Others made plans to drift in and out of the action while sitting on the couch for roughly 12 consecutive hours. These fans knew that they would miss some big plays, but they would still fall asleep happy. 

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Saturday was big for many fans of football and politics alike. Several expressed excitement about the PAC-12 returning and then immediately proclaimed that the morning was “perfect” after seeing that Democrat nominee Joe Biden was projected to win the 2020 Presidential Election. The ballots are still being counted, but he reportedly crossed the 270 electoral college threshold. These particular fans said that there was nothing that would ruin their Saturday. 

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Was there a “cause and effect” in play on Saturday morning? Some fans expressed this opinion after turning on their TVs. They said that Biden reportedly winning the 2020 Presidential Election made an immediate impact on the world of football, resulting in the Pac-12’s return. 

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Pac-12 referees have a certain reputation for blown calls and countless mistakes. According to many fans, this trend continued on Saturday with the conference’s return and some confusing calls during the USC-Arizona State game. The fans expressed the opinion that the extra time off did not help the referees make any improvements to their eyesight or judgment, leading to angry reactions to each penalty flag or instant replay review.

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Considering that many teams in the Pac-12 are on the west coast or close to it, there is an expectation that the games will take place later in the afternoon and into the night. The first game did not follow this trend considering that USC vs. Arizona State began at 9 a.m. PT. Kickoff was early for many people, but they expressed the opinion that they didn’t care. They said they were simply happy to see the conference back in action. 

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The past week has been stressful for many people due to uncertainty about the presidential election. Many stayed up way past their bedtimes while waiting for any updates about Biden vs. Trump. Once news surfaced on Twitter that Biden was projected to win, his supporters reacted with happiness. Those that cheer for both the Democrat nominee and Pac-12 teams had extra reasons to express excitement. 

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The first game on the Pac-12 schedule was full of mistakes, highlighting that the teams had a lot of time off prior to taking the field for the first conference game of the season. There were multiple fumbles and other issues, but the fans said that they didn’t care. They just expressed excitement about the return of Pac-12 football.