The NFL Season Starting Feels Surreal, Are You Ready for Some Football?: Unchecked

The 2020 NFL season is officially upon us, which still feels surreal.

Are you ready for some football? The start of the NFL season feels surreal, and I suppose it’s spectacular.

The quest for the Lombardi Trophy begins tonight. #Kickoff2020 #ItTakesAllOfUs pic.twitter.com/1GIENog2Kp

— NFL (@NFL) September 10, 2020

I never would’ve imagined a scenario where a league that I’ve dubbed the single most popular thing in the country would sneak up on us, but here we are. (The NFL did account for 41 of the top 50 rated television programs in 2019 after all.)

NFL ain't promo the start of this season at all. They ain't want none of that "In a pandemic? Really?" smoke.

— 🦫✨America Is Musty✨🦫 (@DragonflyJonez) September 10, 2020

Now there are a number of factors that led up to this sneaky start: no preseason or other traditional ramp-up events, the NBA bubble playoffs in full swing in September and our perception of the space-time continuum seemingly being broken due to current circumstances.

Just to be clear, tonight is not the Hall of Fame game. This is not a drill, people. This is the REAL thing! Let’s goooooo!!!!! I ❤️ NFL

— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) September 10, 2020

And while the NFL won’t be playing in a bubble, I’ll give them credit for creating a pandemic information bubble of sorts, where along with incredibly fortunate timing—if everything had happened one month earlier there would have been no Patrick Mahomes Super Bowl or J-Lo and Shakira—Roger Goodell and Co. have been able to successfully keep much of the talk surrounding actual football-related matters.

The NFL made the bet that Covid-19 would be somewhat stabilized by the time the season started.

They won that bet.

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 10, 2020

The league has certainly had to navigate many of the issues currently facing the country but have been able to avoid COVID-19 from dominating the offseason conversation. With that instead shifting to Tom Brady heading to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the virtual draft, the schedule release or Cam Newton joining the New England Patriots. 

Ranking Cam Newton over Tom Brady in Week 1 has me feeling ALIVE

— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) September 4, 2020

However, the fact that these things will really be playing out on the field still doesn’t feel totally real. But it isn’t fantasy, there will be football played today.

knowing we’ll watch NFL football in mere hours pic.twitter.com/NWJEDRGUIz

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 10, 2020

And I’m sure once kickoff begins with the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans, I’ll feel right at home. Or Mahomes.