Something new in football: humility.

• Author: Schley, Stewart
• Position: SPORTS biz

Like the swallows returning to Capistrano and the leaves of Aspen trees turning a brilliant gold on Independence Pass, football descended again to the planet Earth. And it was good.

It happened without announcement or ceremony or any particular blowing of any particular horn. It just happened. Suddenly one Friday afternoon, cued by some unseen force, high school kids smeared black polish under their eyes and stuffed their heads inside freshly polished helmets and ran onto fields where eager cheerleaders bounced up and down and referees blew whistles, and the smack of colliding shoulder pads could be heard up in the stands.

Colorful jerseys that had been stuffed inside dark closets and lockers for the better part of the year burst out in full display on Saturday afternoon at college stadiums. CSU's Rams took the field in Boulder, signifying the start of big-time college football in Colorado, and promptly upset CU, and everybody talked about it the next day. At local bars on Wednesday evenings, private rooms were set aside where participants in fantasy football leagues gathered to draft players named DeShaun and Cedric and Marion, scribbling notes and consulting lists and high-fiving partners because they were pretty sure this year nobody could touch their team. On the eve of a very uncertain Denver Broncos season, hopeful fans dug deep and found reason to believe that somehow things would come together. Some of them even bought jerseys labeled "Orton."

In the worst recession the U.S. has seen in a long time, football's return seemed to deliver an affirmation of sorts: that despite the tumult and pain of a deep, lingering economic slump, some things remained the way they always were, predictable and certain and solid. In the return of players to the field and coaches to the sidelines and highlights to the evening newscast, fans found reason to delight, to cheer, to hope--as they hoped every year at this time--that this season would be the season.

But has football really escaped the brutal correction the recession has forced on nearly every element of American life? Not so much. The pageantry and uplift of football's re-emergence are very much evident, but behind the scenes, football, too, has been changed by the reeling economy.

The impact is hitting hardest where the stakes are highest. The multibillion dollar...