So cruel it shouild be illegal

This past Saturday, the Cal Bears football team lost to Arizona in Tuscon and with it, their week long residency as the #25 team in the nation. Now under heavy analysis this past weekend, I have narrowed down the reasons for them losing to some or all of the things in this list:

• I wasn't wearing this year's Cal football shirt, I was wearing last years shirt
• We had touchdown starburst's, which seems ok until you notice that the previous times we did TD brownies and cream puffs, losses resulted
• We were watching the game at my place, which we never do
• We didn't watch the halftime analysis and instead played mario kart
• I didn't study enough before the game, and this was my punishment
  
• I wasn't worried about winning the game, because I thought we would show up and win

We got creamed (2nd half). We were completely dominated (2nd half). We were lost (2nd half). Shane Vareen touched the ball twice in the first 3 quarters, and we abandoned the run before we were even behind by a lot. Our running backs, not our wide outs or QB's, are our offense. They are our leading receivers, and obviously our backs. Jahvid Best even returns our kickoffs. And we abandoned them. That's like the 90's Bulls going into a playoff game (because that's what these games basically are) and passing the ball to Pippen TWICE in the first 3 quarters, and not letting MJ go to work often enough against whoever was guarding him.

Our defense missed tackles left and right, and we let their running back, an unheralded freshman, look like a top 3 Pac-10 runningback.

Our quarterbacks, (becasue we used both at one point), underthrew, overthrew, threw behind, threw ahead, but rarely hit our receivers perfectly in stride. And when they did, there were many times our receivers dropped the ball. For a recruiting class of receivers that ranked #7 in the nation, that can't happen.

Basically, top down, we were shaky. We were up 10 in the first half, but just gave it away.

What is so cruel that it should be illegal? The hope that a team gives to a fan. When they are on a winning streak, a fan is at an ultimate high. The school week becomes bear-able (sorry, couldn't resist), and I look forward to the next game. I love reading the cal football blogs, becasue they have positive analysis about our play, and even when there are negatives, it's more of a "this can be changed by next week". It's hope. It's going forward believing you can have success and garner national attention.

But when you lose, oh man. Because college football is a 'what have you done for me lately' sport, any loss the later you get into the season not only shoots you in the foot for the standings, but kills you for the next year when the initial rankings come out. You'll have to win out to just crack the rankings. And if you lose just once, you're thrown back into oblivion. Teetering at #25, we needed to win out to get some respect, and potentially challenge USC for the rose bowl (assuming no one else matters). Even though with this loss, we are still tied for first in the Pac-10, it feels like we have already lost.

I know we'll win 6 games by the end of the year, become bowl elligible, and have a decent season. But like an Asian mom who demands perfection of their kid, I'm not satisfied with a B average (grades slipped from B+ with this loss). I want straight A's, and there is no reason they can't get it!!

But what just hit me was that maybe I have to step back from asian-mom status and look at it objectively. They are a young team, they have made mistakes, and they can't win a big one when it really matters right now. Maybe they are a B average team, and I have to be happy when we play games at a B+/A- level.

Or maybe I should continue to demand perfection from this team, because if they don't push themselves for that top spot, then they don't deserve to play football. You play to win, and nothing else. Take the loss in stride, get better. Fix the mistakes, prepare the team as best as you can, practice hard. Each saturday is a new day, a new chance to win. And if they focus on that, the success will come by itself.

I like the latter choice better. It hurts to lose, but when they win, it's an awesome feeling. I'm pumped for the rest of the week.

The Play

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S.O.T.D.

The World Is (Below the Heavens) - Blu