Labor Day has passed which means one thing: FALL IS HERE. For me personally, this is my all time favorite time of the year because so many great things transpire at once. Here are the ten best things about the fall season.
10. Apple Cider Donuts
Picture this. You’re wearing a nice pair of jeans (we’ll get to that), a cozy hoodie, and you’re at a local market. You round the corner past the pumpkins and catch a nice whiff of apple cider donuts. Let’s be real, you’re buying at least a dozen. The cinnamon and sugar coating paired with the sharp apple flavoring of a warm donut means that fall is here. Getting your first batch of the season is a fabulous experience and one of the best things about fall.
9. Flannels
Flannels scream fall. I personally think that they’re a bit overrated, but there is a place for them on this list. Certain patterns really make me think of fall like blue and gray, red and black, and yellow and light orange. Any other colors border on acceptable to rock. Flannels are a true fall essential.
8. Pumpkin Flavoring
Some people may be upset by me calling flannels overrated. Those same people probably won’t be happy about this selection. No matter what you say about pumpkin flavoring, it’s more essential than flannels in the fall. Whether you’re eating pumpkin donuts or drinking a pumpkin coffee, you know it’s fall when it hits your lips. While some people overdo it with pumpkin, the right amount never hurts when the leaves are changing.
7. Jeans
Very few things beat a sweet, broken in pair of blue jeans. It’s too warm to wear them in the summer because you risk swass, which is never good, but you’re really itching to wear them. When Labor Day passes, it’s great to breakout your favorite pair. One of the best fall experiences is playing a bit of two- hand touch with your friends and getting a light green grass stain on your denim. It’s a good look and shows that you mean business.
6. Tailgating
Unfortunately and fortunately I haven’t really experienced good tailgating because I have been playing on Saturdays in the past. Even though I haven’t had that experience, you can’t deny that tailgating is a great time. Breakout the grill, crack open some blue cans, and run play action on air in the parking lot. Life doesn’t get better than this. The crisp fall air fills your lungs as you’re ready to house a hot dog before watching a three hour football game. It’s the perfect lead up and sometimes you want to just stay in the parking lot instead of going in the stadium.
5. Halloween
As a child I enjoyed Halloween. Then in high school I kind of grew to dislike it. Now in college, I find Halloween to be an absolute ball. You get to dress up as your favorite movie characters or favorite athletes and show it off. Planning a group costume with friends (see below) can sometimes be a pain in the ass, but when you pull it off, it’s truly epic. Halloween feels like the midterm of fall and is one big party.
4. NFL
The main reason that the NFL isn’t higher is the fact that it’s so synonymous with the Sunday Scary’s. Traditionally, Sunday is a recovery day and there’s no better way to recover than by sitting on the couch from 1 PM to 11 PM watching NFL football. For me, it’s usually spent wallowing in more pain being a Vikings fan, but hey, it’s a new year. The NFL is a staple in the fall and takes over my life along with the sports news cycle.
3. Alternative Rock Music
For me, alt rock stands at the top of all music genres. It hits especially different in the fall. Last fall I wrote about Alt Rock Autumn during October (the prime month of the fall) and covered a song every day for thirty one days. Bands like Counting Crows, Arctic Monkeys, O.A.R., and The Foo Fighters personify the fall season with their guitar play and elite song writing. If you don’t have at least a twenty song playlist with alt rock on it, you shouldn’t be able to enjoy fall.
2. Thanksgiving
Turkey. Football. Family. That’s what Thanksgiving is all about and I’m all for it. Personally, Thanksgiving is my all-time favorite holiday. I’d even incorporate the whole week long festivities leading up. When you get back from college and get together in one of your friends garages to cruise brews and shoot the breeze, it’s refreshing and happens once a year. Then, you’ve got football on Thanksgiving day. My dad and I find games across CT to attend because Enfield High doesn’t play on Thanksgiving.
Once that concludes, the feasting starts. I throw on my comfy sweats, a hoodie, and sit on the couch waiting for my mom to put out mac and cheese (yes it belongs on the table), potatoes, green beans, and turkey. Then I get bloated and pass out watching football. It’s quite glorious.
1. College Football
IT’S UNDEFEATED. College football is the clear cut number one thing about fall. While I’m definitely biased because I love college football, college football takes a lot of the great elements of fall and combines them into one. For me when I think of watching college football, it’s a crisp afternoon. My back sliders open and the windows are cracked. I’ll be sporting a warm hoodie, possibly a comfortable pair of jeans, and I’ve got my Alt Rock Autumn playlist going in the background. College football is the focal point, but it incorporates so much more.
In addition, nothing beats a full Saturday slate of games. At noon, you could be watching Iowa and Michigan State run the ball down each others throat. Then 3:30 rolls around and you have Baylor vs Oklahoma posting 45 points a piece. Primetime 7:30 means you’ll be watching a cream of the crop game like Alabama vs Auburn or Notre Dame vs Clemson. You think you’re done? Think again. When the primetime game wraps up, you’ve got Pac-12 or MWC after dark. It’s a packed day that captivates your attention all day, and it only happens from September to December.
