It's hard to believe that in only eight days, North Dakota high school football will begin a new season.

And for the umpteenth time in the last decade, it will have a different look due to another realignment.

Several teams from the Tribune's readership area are in different divisions this fall.

St. Mary's, a long-time Class AAA team, is in the Class AA ranks now, while Watford City, Hazen and Bowman County have gone from Class AA to Class A. Watford City is the defending Class AA state champ.

Heart River, the South Heart-Belfield co-op, went from 9-man to Class A, while Beach went from Class A to 9-man.

Wahpeton and Fargo Shanley also made the move from Class AAA to Class AA. The Class AAA division now only consists of 12 teams.

With several experienced skill players returning, St. Mary's could make some noise in its new division. The Saints' first opponent will be Wahpeton, which made the AAA playoffs last year and nearly knocked off Century in the quarterfinals. The Huskies look like they too could make an impact right away, mainly because of running back Ryan Smith, who would have been a serious contender for the Class AAA Senior Athlete of the Year award had Wahpeton stayed in that division. Smith, who recently made a verbel commitment to play football at North Dakota State University, rushed for an astounding 2,112 yards and 20 touchdowns on 285 carries in 2008. The speedster topped the 300-yard mark twice - 388 against Jamestown, and 340 against Grand Forks Central.

Smith isn't the only first-team all-stater to change divisions. Others include Brent Sorensen and Baylee Carr of Hazen, and Jason Hagen of Oakes.

Sorensen, a quarterback and return man, rolled up 2,344 all-purpose yards and accounted for 28 touchdowns last season. Carr, a running back, had 1,745 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns.

Hagen's Oakes Tornadoes will play in the Class A division this season. Hagen had a monster 2008 campaign in 9-man, running for 2,077 yards and catching 14 passes for another 250. His all-purpose yardage totaled 2,560. He also scored 45 touchdowns and 304 points.

Oddly, Hagen didn't earn all-state honors for his exploits on offense. He was a first-team selection on defense. He made 74 tackles and intercepted five passes.

Has it been 40 years?

This fall marks the 40th anniversary of me becoming an NFL fan.

Forty years. Yikes. Forty years that have included Johnny Unitas, Fran Tarkenton, Terry Bradshaw, Roger Staubach, Joe Montana, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady; Walter Payton, Franco Harris, Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson, Emmitt Smith and LaDainian Tomlinson; Jerry Rice, Lynn Swan, Steve Largent, Charlie Joiner and Randy Moss; Dick Butkus, Mike Singletary, Ronnie Lott, Ray Lewis, and Mean Joe Greene; Tom Landry, Bud Grant, Don Schula, Chuck Noll, and the Big Tuna; the Steel Curtain, the Purple People Eaters, the Orange Crush, the Doomsday Defense, the Hogs, the Over the Hill Gang, the Cardiac Kids, the Super Bowl Shuffle, the Immaculate Reception, and the perfect 1972 Miami Dolphins.

The first NFL game I saw was a 1969 season opener between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants. The Giants won that one by a point, but the Vikings bounced back the following week to rout the Baltimore Colts. Get this. Vikings quarterback Joe Kapp threw a record-tying seven touchdown passes in that win. And against the defending NFL champions, no less. It was Kapp's red-letter game, not just for that season, but for his brief four-year career. He wound up throwing 19 touchdown passes that season, and then left the Vikings for a little more pay with the Boston Patriots. One year later, he was out of football.

Kapp was no Unitas, but he did enough to help lead the Vikings to their first Super Bowl. The win over the Colts kicked off a 12-game winning streak for the Purple Gang, who finished the regular season 12-2. They lost to Kansas City in the last game that pitted the old NFL against the old AFL.

I spoke of the Vikings' offense earlier, but it was really the defense - the Purple People Eaters - that vaulted that team into the Super Bowl. What a defense it was.

Although I had every reason that season to choose the Vikings as "my team," I chose not to follow the route taken by my brothers, some of the my cousins and most of my friends. I chose the Cleveland Browns (if you want to know why, just give me call and I'll tell you). Hey, I picked well. Cleveland was a winning franchise back then. They won their division that season and made it to the NFL championship game. Just about every year since has been a struggle, but I've remained loyal. Would it have been better for me if I had chosen the Vikings 40 years ago? Well, not a whole lot has happened to that franchise since that fourth Super Bowl in 1976.

In the late 1970s, I chose Philadelphia as my NFC team, mainly because I liked Wilbert Montgomery, a running back who reminded me a lot of Cleveland Hall of Fame back Leroy Kelly. The Eagles have provided me more joy than the Browns have over the years, but no Super Bowl wins. But I remain hopeful. The ultimate Super Bowl for me would be Browns vs. Eagles.

Hey, a loyal fan can dream, can't he?

About Vick

Speaking of favorite teams, one of my favorites - the Eagles - decided to add the infamous Michael Vick to their roster this past week.

I'm not really sure how I feel about it. Vick committed a crime and deserved stiff punishment, but I've always believed that people deserve a second chance if they've paid their dues and turned their lives around. And I'm not saying that because Vick happened to sign with the Eagles.

The evidence suggests that Vick is truly remorseful and wants to make amends. Former NFL coach Tony Dungy believes in him, and for now that's good enough for me. Dungy is the classiest guy in football.

But time will tell if Mr. Vick really means it.

(Michael Weber is a Tribune sportswriter)