Maybe there's something we can learn from soccer...

With all the hullabaloo over the World Cup over for four more years, there won't be a lot of talk on the various CFB blogs about how we could learn a thing or two from the soccer fans of the world about fandom/passion/whatever. I tend to disagree, since the only thing I think I could learn is how to literally live and die by my team's performance instead of just metaphorically.

And you thought burning couches to support your team was hardcore...

So the other night I was thinking about the NFL pre-season and how it would be nice if college football had something similar; Obviously it wouldn't be feasible to play a five game pre-season schedule, but that's where soccer comes in. Why not allow college teams to schedule a "friendly" before the start of the season? Instead of playing an NCAA mandated 12th game, they could schedule a friendly the week before their season opener and play a scrimmage against the cupcake they usually open with (or in the case of the cupcake, get their lumps in from a BCS team before starting their reign of terror in the Sun Belt). This way banning the scheduling of D1-AA opponents would have even more weight (seriously Auburn, you already played Western Kentucky once this year), and rules about BCS teams scheduling other BCS opponents would be an easier sell. The money's the same for the teams involved, the only change is that it doesn't count on the regular season record. Just a thought.