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There was a time in a past that is becoming more and more distant when New Years Day offered fans of college football one of the most-anticipated days of the year.
There was a slate of five or six games, all televised, that meant a fan could start watching football late in the morning and continue watching through early in the morning.
That has, of course, all changed. And, while playing on New Year's Day still is a significant marker of success, the growth of cable and satellite television as well as streaming services has meant that there is a greater number of football games available every Saturday during the college football season, the bowl season remains special.
It features about 40 games, a schedule that began Dec. 16 with a full slate that included Ohio University's 41-21 win over Georgia Southern in the Myrtle Beach Bowl. Things start to heat up tonight, when West Virginia University faces North Carolina in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.
Friday's schedule includes the Sun Bowl, which will see Notre Dame take on Oregon State. That night, Ohio State will meet Missouri in the Cotton Bowl. Saturday will see Penn State facing Mississippi in the Peach Bowl.
That sets the stage for Monday, when the schedule includes Michigan facing Alabama in the Rose Bowl in one semifinal of the College Football Playoff while Washington takes on Texas in the Sugar Bowl in the other. The winners will play for the national title on Jan. 8 in Houston.
Fans realize that the college football landscape has been changing dramatically and will go through even greater transformations in the coming years. The consolidation of the major conferences; players being allowed to share in name, image and likeness money; and the transfer portal certainly have -- and will continue to -- make the game look different.
And, beginning next season, the playoff will triple in size, meaning 12 teams will be given the chance to compete for the title.
It's a far cry from where the game was when the bowls were created as a way of attracting teams and their fans from the north and east to then-exotic locales such as Pasadena, Calif., and Miami, where they could escape the cold and snow and enjoy sunshine and pleasant temperatures. It was a time when schools the size of Washington and Jefferson could play in the Rose Bowl (a 0-0 tie against California in 1922), Duquesne could earn a trip to the Orange Bowl (a 13-12 win over Mississippi State in 1937) or Carnegie Tech (now Carnegie Mellon) could play in the Sugar Bowl (a 15-7 loss to TCU in 1939.)
All of those changes, though, can't change the fact that there is a special connection with college football and the end of one year and the beginning of the next.
Sit back and enjoy the games.