Out of habit, I turned on the TV this morning to tune into college football. My team isn't scheduled to play until this evening, so the game that was on was the Miami Hurricanes at the Virginia Cavaliers. Not exactly a marque match up, so I played casual observer and went about fixing some breakfast. The game basically would just be on as white noise.
As the morning wore on, every once and awhile I would check in on the score. Miami was ranked, so it came as a surprise to me that the score was 24-0 Virginia in the 4th quarter. The game wound down and in spite of a valiant comeback by Miami, Virginia won 24-19. So what?
Well, Virgina's head coach fell to the ground at the end of the game because he was so overcome by emotion. Yes, I believe he was crying. The students rushed the field in jubilation. I began to tear up as well as they celebrated on the field.
This spirit of college football, the old college try, is lacking in so many contests across the country week in and week out. Virginia's season record moved to 4-4 with the win, so it was just the fact that their team...won. How odd. To play a game and win and be overcome with joy. I haven't seen that in quite a while.
As a student at Texas, I remember rushing the field my first year to celebrate a victory over Arkansas at the end of the season. It was cool walking amongst the fans and players. The players actually conversed with you. I felt like I was part of something special. So today, when I saw Virginia's reaction to their victory, it reminded me why I like college football. The underdog pulling it out. Kids acting like kids celebrating a win. The old college try...
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