FOOTBALL FANTASY

I GREW up in Nebraska, and that means becoming a college football fan early in life. It's a consuming madness, and my family is no exception. My grandparents started going to the games in Lincoln in the 1920s, and my parents have had season tickets since the 1950s. I went to my first game in 1969, and as I got older, I made many road trips to away games in places like Lawrence and Manhattan, Kan.; Columbia, Mo.; Ames, Iowa; and Boulder, Colo. All of these are college towns, of course, and a great place for a drunk like me, with all of the bars and nightlife that go along with college football gameday.