After reading through pages of newspapers from around the country on Thursday to see who signed with which school and where, I now wonder out loud on this computer if there is a help group for us college football junkies.

There are so many organizations and support groups around the country for so many things. There's plenty of groups for alcoholics and drug addicts.

There are support groups for every walk of life from those who are suffering from being obese to those who had gastric bypass surgery to drop a few hundred pounds, like myself, to adjust to a new person.

There are support groups for people who have eating disorders, and there are groups that look out for the well-being and treatment of animals.

I know there is a support group for the humpback whale, but what about a college football addict?

In the South, football is regarded as a second religion. Up north, it's just something to pass the time away until hockey or basketball season rolls in. And if you play football up north, it's a good conditioner for all that snow you're gonna shovel when it's stacked 6-feet high.

But there are college football junkies all over the country. There are as many rabid college football fans in Michigan and Ohio as there are in Georgia and South Carolina.

Alabama, on the other hand, is one of a kind.

We are deep in the heart of basketball season right now, and no one could tell you where Auburn or Alabama stand in the Southeastern Conference. Are they near the top in the SEC West or in the cellar?

Who knows? Better yet, who cares?

College football consumes most of us who love it. When Aug. 1 rolls around, we don't care about the blistering, fry an egg on the pavement heat. Aug. 1 means the countdown is on to the start of fall practice and the first game of the year.

But talk of the next season doesn't start just then. It starts on Jan. 2 or in this year's case, Jan. 3 when Auburn and Alabama are done with their respective bowl games.

Talk of recruiting and next year's team flood sports radio talkshows throughout the state.

College football consumes our lives.

The world we live in revolves around college football.

I remember earlier this year when the question was posed to me, if I were engaged, would I get married on the day of the Iron Bowl?

The answer was simple.

It was an emphatic NO!

Just thinking about that, seems like cruel and unjust punishment.

But that's the world we live in.

A bomb may kill hundreds in London, but that coverage better not interfere with the Alabama vs. LSU game coming on at 2:30.

It almost seems sad, doesn't it?

So I still wonder with all the support groups we have in this nation, why can't someone come up with a group for college football junkies?

If you need help, just call me.

I'll be the one listening to you on my football phone, while I watch the replay of the 1993 Auburn vs. Florida game on ESPN Classic.

Kevin Taylor is sports editor of The Greenville Advocate. Call him at (334) 382-3111 ext. 122 or e-mail kevin.taylor@greenvilleadvocate.com.