This weekend marks the first full weekend of the year.

I know there has been football played both on TV and in your local neighborhoods these past couple of weeks, but this weekend will have even more opportunities for games available to watch with the start of the latest NFL season.

There is something in the air this time of year that just seems different. In many ways it feels like a fresh start regardless of whichever teams you may align with.

This will be the third-straight week I have joined forces with the vast number of sports fans that exist in welcoming back football.

First came the high school season, which opened up with a bang as most county teams chose to play during Week 0.

The next week the majority of college football teams took to the field and gave fans a glimpse of what to expect during the upcoming season, and in the case of Auburn fans, already provided them with a “game of the year” candidate.

Now we prepare for this weekend, when the NFL joins the pigskin party.

There are only so many weekends during each year where football consumes the nation over a Friday, Saturday and Sunday period.

We are now about to embark on that stretch of weekends where football becomes the weekly talking point and reminds what it means to be sports fans in the good ole United States of America.

For some, the leaves changing or pumpkin spiced-everything may mean the start of fall, but for me any many others fall begins when toe meets leather and all three levels of football are back to playing meaningful games.

The offseason is over, so say hello to fall by finding that comfortable spot on the couch or that table in the sports bar with the perfect angle to the TV.

Stand up and rejoice! It’s football season!