There is an undeniable energy to a football game's opening kickoff. Teams run out of tunnels with hopeful optimism as a buzz encircles the crowd. A pyrotechnic display and videoboard montage provides the restraint before players break charge out from behind banners. The kickoff itself is the crescendo of the time spent waiting specifically for that moment.
It begins the process of turning hope into reality, but unwritten and unspoken risks exist under the surface. The impossibility of ties means one team needs to lose, whether it's a close, hard-fought game or a blowout. It's a big reason why wins are so emotional and why losses feel soul-crushing.