CU’s Coach is fond of saying, “No conflict, No story.” It’s our conflicts that make our stories. This morning the Buffs have a story. A signature program win that will mark, for years to come, when the CU Football program made it’s turn. It is a sweet moment. Last night I felt like George Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life.” This morning the air was crisper, runners were (even) more friendly, and the atmosphere smacked of wonder and possibility.
It’s been a long time. It’s been a series of conflicts. I distinctly remember sitting with my dad at Folsom Field in the waning seconds of the CU / OR game on October 21, 2011. Final score was 45 to 2, but it wasn’t even that close. It never was. OR played their second and third stringers the entire second half. It was embarrassing. CU’s starting secondary consisted of 3 freshman, 1 red-shirt freshman and 1 sophomore. Those guys weren’t even that good as seniors. All the fans were either gone, leaving, or didn’t even bother to show. My brother – who was an All-American football player at Navy – left at half. He can’t stand to watch poorly played football. On one play alone, the Buffs had two personal penalties. They had no clue. It was a waste of time for all there. In spite of it all, it was a significant moment. A singular moment in time to acknowledge where we were, where we are now, and where we want to go. I turned to my dad and told him we should stay. We should stay until the very end of the game, because some day, when we are awesome once again, we can say we were there… when it sucked. It took a lot longer than I thought it would (1,799 days to be exact). Today is that day. The program has turned.
But the win last night is not good enough. 1,799 days is too long to wait for an awesome win. Now that we have that win, we want more. We want to be great. Being great means winning often, over a long period of time.
Watching last week’s Michigan game on recording, I LOVED how the Michigan players came out of the tunnel, jumping to touch their “Go Blue” banner stretched across the field. I loved how 110,000 fans packed the stadium to see a victory. I love how Michigan is always a great team. That’s what we want in Boulder. We want teams to dread coming to play at altitude. We want teams to dread coming to Boulder, because they know they are going to lose. I want teams to dread coming to Boulder, because they know the stadium is going to be packed with fans who are passionate about the Buffs, but respectful of the tradition of great college football. We’ve waited so long for that signature program win, but now that we have it, we want more.
CU is good. They are really good. This season could be something special. Going into the game against OR, we had several questions that remained unanswered. This morning there is only one: How good can this team really be? I’m excited for the answer.
In football it’s about winning, and winning over an extended period of time. Starting this Saturday at Folsom Field at 12:30 PM, CU will begin to (re)establish that tradition of greatness for CU fans, and dread for their opponents. There will be a critical mass of those on this thread who will be at the game, doing our part. CU football will show and do theirs. Folsom field better be sold out. If not, there is still work for us to do to raise the awareness of “The Rise.” Come sundown Saturday, CU will be 4-1, and sitting two games away from becoming bowl eligible. It is a wonderful life.
The link below if for us. It is for next week’s game. It’s for this season. It’s for next season. It’s for the game 1,799 days from now. Welcome to the fight!
Go Buffs!
Doug