One of the hardest things about the coronavirus is the way it plays with time. We’ve been in a nationwide quarantine for about a month now, but the time before feels like a lifetime ago. Remember the Clemson-LSU national title game? That was allegedly in January, but it might as well have been in 1986.

As such, I miss football. It’s not even football season right now — not really, anyway — but I miss the game all the same. It’s a hunger for normalcy, a life that revolves around football feels normal to me. And I suspect I’m not alone there.

In fact, I know I’m not alone. The Boise State staff, following an initiative created by the National Football Foundation, got together to share why they love football under the hashtag #WhyWePlay.

Football teaches: love, brotherhood, toughness, discipline, commitment, perseverance, teamwork, belief, and so much more. In Boise, ID… Football Matters! And we’ll be back on the Blue soon, hang in there Bronco Nation!!! This too shall pass.#BleedBlue 🔷🔶🔷 #WhyWePlay https://t.co/rxySKbkWlt — Coach Zac Alley (@CoachZAlley) April 13, 2020

We can't wait to see you all again, Bronco Nation! We know that the connection matters and we believe in the game.#BleedBlue | #WhyWePlay pic.twitter.com/O3lAD5hp9c — Boise State Football (@BroncoSportsFB) April 13, 2020

Football teaches: love, brotherhood, toughness, discipline, commitment, perseverance, teamwork, belief, and so much more. In Boise, ID… Football Matters! And we’ll be back on the Blue soon, hang in there Bronco Nation!!! This too shall pass.#BleedBlue 🔷🔶🔷 #WhyWePlay https://t.co/rxySKbkWlt — Coach Zac Alley (@CoachZAlley) April 13, 2020

We cannot win games by ourselves, it takes a whole team working together to earn our one common goal🏆#BleedBlue #WhyWePlay https://t.co/wXwNNQBufY — Jeff McDaniels (@coachjmcdaniels) April 14, 2020

It’s a great reminder about why we’re yearning for football, especially if and when that yearning grows in the weeks and months to come.