Game of Thrones returns for its final season on April 14. College Football season is still a little under five months from kicking off. Let’s compare the two.
Game of Thrones is back on April 14 after a long, 20 month delay since the ending of Season 7 and the debut of Season 8. The long night has set in on the show, so it was only fitting that the darkness of the show’s absence would engulf our collective consciousness for a longer period of time than normal.
I don’t think any of us are prepared for what’s about to happen in the final season. I know I’m not. If there’s one thing we’ve all learned from watching this show it’s to expect the unexpected. College football is similar in that you never know what to expect, probably not to the same degree as HBO’s flagship show, though.
Game of Thrones is like if we lived through a 2007-esque season in perpetuity.
Pop culture and sports often intercede, and there’s typically some striking similarities that can be drawn between the two.
The majority of the characters in Game of Thrones, whether they are willing to outwardly admit it or not, have one goal in mind: to sit on the Iron Throne and rule the seven kingdoms of Westeros. Even those who don’t have their designs on ruling the seven kingdoms are mostly obsessed with power, with their eyes set on bettering their circumstances. Most are willing to step over others and cross boundaries that can’t be uncrossed in order to find even infinitesimal amounts of power.
College football isn’t much different. Coaches will side-step rules and boundaries of player safety in order to win at all costs. The slightest misstep can mean your head, figuratively in the world of college football as opposed to literally in the Game of Thrones world. The end goal for every team is to win a championship, and while that goal is realistic for some and not so much for others, there’s bound to be some inspiring underdog stories who catch a giant by surprise.
With the return of Game of Thrones on the horizon, and the long haul of the college football offseason firmly upon us, I thought it would be fun to look at some of the major players from the hit HBO show and compare them to college football programs, coaches, and players.
Game of Thrones spoilers ahead.