One of the most fascinating things about America is our extensive folklore. We have the benefit of being such a big, diverse nations. There are so many different subcultures in the United States. Each region and subculture has a distinct folklore that captures the history of that places better than fact does. Oddly enough, America’s greatest regional piece of folk Music comes from a Canadian, Gordon Lightfoot. In 1976, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” was released, and one of the craziest, most tragic events in American History was immortalized by a folk song.

This past weekend, November 10th, was the 44th anniversary of the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. As Americans, we immortalize people, places and events through stories. Much like our regional histories, we also do this with college football. In its 150th anniversary, we’ve had the opportunity to explore the people, places and moments that have meant so much to so many people over the years. Even more of those moments are happening right before our own eyes in 2019.

As football fans, we’ll tell the next generation about the greatest quarterback in LSU history, Joe Burrow, and his meteoric rise. There’ll be a star in Patrick Norton’s eye when he tells his grandkids about the greatest comeback in Illinois football history. As old men, we will swear up and down that Chase Young is definitely better than any player this new generation could ever hope to produce.

The statues of Mark Dantonio, Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin will stand strong against the wind as tales of their triumphs are told and retold. The fabric of our nation’s history and college football is knitted by how we remember things and pass them on to our kids and grandkids.

There are only a few games left to be played. As the sun sets on another season, I’m excited to see how it all plays out. I’m enticed by the prospect of a once-in-a-lifetime miracle. So let’s enjoy these last few weeks of regular season together. That next big “holy shit did that just happen” that breaks twitter is right around the corner.

As it goes, the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald claimed the lives of all 29 of her crew. In one of America’s greatest tragedies, one of the most fascinating stories was born. My favorite way to hear it was always from someone who experienced it. The hyperbole is too much to resist. Maybe I’ll tell my kids about #9Windiana with that vigor and hyperbole.

Maybe it’s symbolic of this sport as a whole, the way we immortalize things through spoken word. College football is the quintessential experience in American sports. Rightfully, it’s story has been passed by generations of those who were there to experience it. There’s no way you could go back in the annals of college football history and even scratch the surface of what it was and what it is with a compilation of box scores. No, it will be the way we remember it. Just like we were told stories of the greats, we’ll tell anyone who will listen about the glory days of Dabo Swinney and the Clemson dynasty. We’ll tell them about the Shakespearean tragedy that is Mark Dantonio’s stubbornness.

But we’ll always remember things our own way. And that’ll be the way that we tell others about them. Ultimately, college football will continue to be told and retold the way that American history always has been: by the people that lived it. This season’s almost over. How will you remember it?