Tonight in Canton, Ohio, the NFL season kicks off with the Hall of Fame game. While OTAs have come and gone and we are two weeks into training camp, the first preseason game is when it becomes really real. Football is back!

We are mere weeks away from some spectacular Saturdays and Sundays, and Mondays, and Thursdays. The two-night opener is also taking place on Friday, and with last year's success of Christmas games, the NFL will feature a pair of matchups on a Wednesday.

Don't let the incoming abundance distract you from the duration of this football drought. Tonight in Canton, Hall of Famers Andre Johnson (Texans) and Devin Hester (Bears) will be honored as their former teams play the first preseason matchup.

The buzz around this Texan’s team after last years unexpected success is huge. While Chicago is dealing with some huge expectations as well after securing what has been promised as a generational quarterback in Caleb Williams with the first pick of the draft.

Tonight at 8 pm EST on ESPN, ABC, and ESPN + we will hear the the Monday night football theme. Joe Buck's sweet, smug voice will welcome us back. The familiar score bug will display logos, a running clock, down and distance, and timeouts. It is going to be awesome.

If that all sounded boring and uneventful, and not awesome at all. This one's not for you. However, if you read "football is back" and got goosebumps and a rush of blood to your short pants, my friend, you and I are the same.

This game is going to leave us with some questions but also answer a few as well. For instance, the long-awaited new kickoff rule will be on display. Do teams have a unique approach to the tweak? Will special team scoring take off and returns increase? Or will this simply reward touchbacks? We will get are first look at the rule tonight.

What will the Caleb Williams-led Bears offense look like? Well, that we won't know, as it was already announced the number one draft pick will not be featured in tonight's game. However, the Bears' new OC Shane Waldron will give us a glimpse into the scheme we can expect see them run on offense this year.

Other notable additions to healthy DNPs are the star receivers of the Houston Texans. Although DeMeco Ryans has not listed the players who will not partake tonight, he did indicate that he would like to see younger players have an extended opportunity.

Meaning it is unlikely we will see the Stroud-Digg connection or last year's standouts Nico Collins and Tank Dell. What we will see is if John Metchie III's role will expand, now being two years removed from his leukemia diagnosis. Will the Alabama standout crave out a role in what should be one of the NFL’s most dynamic? Tonight should be a good indication.

There will be a lot of position battles settled and futures of undrafted free agents determined. A bit of insight into the defensive and offensive schemes these teams will be running. But mostly, it will just be nice to see football on TV and know we are only weeks away from it being back for good. We made it, friends—it's football season!