Ladies and gents, buckle up your seatbelts. That moment you've all been salivating over and anticipating like giddy schoolgirls since 13 May 2012, is right at our doorstep. And, given the amount of transfer drama that has unfolded over the summer, it looks likely to be a smashing season.
Come tomorrow, the English Premier League season 2012 / 2013 kicks-off in all its hype and glory. Men everywhere in the world, rejoice and reclaim that weekend spot in front of your television sets. Women everywhere, it's time to catch up on all your Korean dramas or rom-coms on your laptops.
How will this season deliver then? Whilst I doubt that anything can quite beat the sheer climax of season 2011 / 2012's heart-stopping injury time equaliser by Dzeko followed quickly by Kun's winning goal that snatched the title away from the jaws of United at literally the last minute of the season, this coming season has all the ingredients for the making of a vintage.
The arrival of big names with bigger reputations to fill like Hazard, Oscar, Santi Cazorla, Kagawa and Podolksi offers the opportunity for the big boys to shake up the order of dominance in the league. So too would the big money transfers like RVP to United should whet our appetite in anticipation of whether him and Rooney could form the most fearsome strikeforce in the land.
Managers too have a thing or two to prove, especially in the case of Brendan Rodgers and whether he can turn Liverpool into a fashionable, fluid, tiki-taka unit, whether AVB can shake off the tag of overrated prodigy who failed at the big time with Spurs, whether Paul Lambert can imbue Villa with a new sense of attacking nous and whether Pardew can keep Newcastle ticking as surprise dark horse and everyone's favourite second team.
Amidst all the hoopla surrounding the big boys, there is also the added drama of seeing whether the 3 new boys of Reading, Southampton and West Ham can replicate the success of their predecessors of season 2011 / 2012 in staying up and punching above their weight. Or how about predicting which 3 teams will find themselves in a relegation mudscrap come the end of the season.
Wherever your allegiances lie and whichever drama tickles your fancy, this season's EPL has the genuine capacity to sizzle like never before. It's been an interesting summer of sporting spectacle; beginning with the nerve-wrecking final day of last season, to Chelsea's underdog-overcoming-all-odds to being crowned champions of Europe, to the exciting Euro 2012 competition and finally ending with a bang in the form of a great Olympics that has just ended.
The kick-off of the season represents a new dawn. A new beginning to what should be a great season of football.
So sit back, hold tight, quickly put in all your last minute bets and predictions in ... and open your arms to the beginning of the greatest league in the world tomorrow.
Let the games begin.
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