And so the day is upon us: NCAA Football 11 hits shelves today everywhere. Go pick up a copy and rebuild Maryland into a powerhouse.

EA Sports has one quick thing to mention:

When you go to a particular school or grow up around college football, you are more than just a fan. It's who you are. We thought we could leverage this pride in your roots and show that "where you come from" is more than just a statement about geography. By positioning NCAA Football 11 as a game that understands this pride and is authentic to these traditions, the takeaway should be that anything that is in college football is in NCAA Football 11.

And this doesn't just include game play (though that's a huge part of it). It's rivals and mascots; it's legends and stories. It's those things that are at the very fabric of the game itself. Of course the game is great this year as well. With authentic entrances, mascots and specific offenses for each team, the term "where I come from" takes on a much larger meaning. While playing NCAA Football 11 is ultimately a great sports sim, it should also give you a sense of the pride and emotion one has for being a fan of a team they will never not be a part of.

Well, this whole thing killed a week-and-a-half. Hope you enjoyed it; I know I did.

By the way, would anyone getting the game be interested in an online dynasty?

This is the sixth of a series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 11.

Expectations are a tricky thing.

I, for one, thought that Maryland football was going to be fine last year. Sure, the offensive line looked a little weak and the defense was questionable, but Chris Turner and Da'Rel Scott were back, and I was already on the Torrey Smith bandwagon. A bowl game and 6-6 seems reasonable, I thought.

I was wrong then. Very wrong, as you probably know. So when I saw today's Where I Come From prompt, I wasn't exactly thrilled. But like a valiant, blogging soldier, I worked through my disappointment. 

This season is incredibly important for Ralph Friedgen and James Franklin. We didn't really know what Debbie Yow required from her football coaches for them to retain their jobs for another year, but we do know that Debbie Yow is now gone. And it's highly unlikely that whoever new comes in to replace her, especially a big name like Joe Castiglione or Jeff Hathaway, will tolerate a coach that has turned in two unspectacular (or downright bad) seasons in the school's biggest moneymaking sport.

They'll have even less reason to keep either of them considering neither is their own choice. They have no reason to defend these selections; they didn't make them. And if last year was any indication, they'd have no way to defend them even if they wanted to. Friedgen's seat is burning, and Franklin - HCIW and buyout in place or not - is not far behind him. So when I say this season is absolutely pivotal for both of these guys, I really do mean it. 

My thoughts on the upcoming year, in a far longer form than necessary, with prediction at the bottom, are below. Feel free to skip it all and just share your thoughts/predictions, if that's how you roll.

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This is the fifth of a series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 11.

People watch sports for a lot of reasons: great teams, great athletes, and great moments.

We already covered #1 and #2 on that list, and today's topic of Where I Come From is for the third of the trio. And luckily, Maryland's had plenty of memorable moments over their history and in the past few years.

Without further ado, let's just get to the list:

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This is the fourth in a series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 11.

Throughout the years, Maryland has been home to a variety of great, likable players, in both football and basketball. Sure, part of the reason they're so beloved by the fanbase is because they play for Maryland or win for Maryland, but plenty of Terrapins have been extraordinarily likable for a variety of reasons, be it their personality or the way they play.

For a basketball example, take Boom Osby. When he was at Maryland, the Terps were nowhere near where they were earlier in the decade or later in Greivis Vasquez's senior year. But Osby was extraordinarily likable: his 'fro, his gigantic smile, his playing style, his old car collection. It was impossible to not like Boom Osby.

The same can be said for Juan Dixon, though for some different reasons. Juan's story is well-known by now, and we recently saw that the type of childhood Juan endured can easily take a life of even the best basketball players. Juan ended up at Maryland, though, and the skinny kid from Baltimore that was never considered a phenom won a national championship through gritty hard work.

But I'm stealing all of my favorite Terrapins. A quick list of my favorite Terps of all time - not best, favorite - including the two above, in both sports:

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This is the third in a series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 11.

There are few joys like Saturday afternoons in fall: the crisp air, the smells of autumn, and the prospect of a football game about to begin in a few hours. Oh, and the company one spends with a few others (and sometimes gratuitous amounts of alcohol) tailgating, which is half the reason football has become as successful as it is in America. (As much as we love basketball and baseball, people don't turn those occasions into 3 hour-long outdoor parties in preparation...usually).

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This post is th second of a series of posts sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 11.

This whole series about our Maryland fanhood and all that has a funny qualifier attached to it: it's supposed to be about football. And if you ask any Maryland fan, they'll probably tell you that Maryland is a basketball school first. So when the "all-time favorite team" question popped up, it was pretty simple to me: the 2002 NCAA Champion team with Juan, Lonny, Wilcox, Byron, and Steve. I'm guessing that all but the most seasoned of you would probably agree.

In fact, I'm not entirely sure that needs full explanation. I never really experienced a national championship other than that - my teams, pro and college, don't do much national competing. And I've never found a feeling to match it. Simply because of that, I feel a connection to that team, and they're undoubtedly the favorite team I can remember.

But like I just said, this whole series is sponsored by a football video game, not a basketball one (they're not making those anymore, unfortunately). So I feel somewhat obligated to figure out the favorite football team, too.

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*This post is sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 2011.*

Everyone has a story. Some people were  Maryland Terrapins fans before they came to Maryland; others became fans during their four years in College Park; others never went to UMD; others became fans during the youngest years of "Fear the Turtle." But everyone has a separate, unique story of when they really and truly became a Maryland fan. Those are what we're going to explore today.

I was born in Annapolis and lived there for a few years before beginning a series of moves between Pennsylvania - about an hour outside of Philly - and Virginia - several hours south of DC - before my family finally settled in VA. Because I split time in most of my formative years between a variety of towns and two states, I felt the strongest emotional attachment to Annapolis and Maryland, my birthplaces. I loved everything from my home state, including Terp sports, which proudly advertised the fact that they, like me, were from and represented Maryland.

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Let's face it: there's not much to talk about in July. Maryland's AD search is just beginning and won't be hitting full-throttle for another couple of months. Basketball recruiting is thankfully about to kick up, but there's no guarantee that'll lead to an exciting commitment (let's hope it does). And football won't start up until next month.

Luckily, though, there's something to help us pass the time: video games. EA Sports is releasing NCAA Football 11 next week, and they've sponsored a series of posts on college blogs - like us, Gobbler Country, Burnt Orange Nation, From the Rumble Seat, and a bunch more - to help them count down to the release.

These posts are entitled "Where We Come From", and as the name implies, they'll be used to reveal where we come from in terms of our fanhood - favorite teams, how we became a fan, etc. - and will hopefully inspire you guys to share your stories with us. Each day for the next week there's a topic; Dave or I will post our thoughts on it, and then we'll ask you guys to share yours. Simple.

The full schedule is below the jump, so you can get your thinking caps on ahead of time.

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