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November 01, 2006
R.I.P. The Streak, 2003-2006
R.I.P. The Streak, 2003-2006
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It had to end. All streaks have to end. I knew. He knew it. We all knew it had to end.
It was supposed to end dramatically, maybe a MAC Championship game, perhaps a bowl game against a highly ranked opponent. The script called for a nailbiter, the Falcons playing with fury and intensity, falling just short. That's how it was supposed to end. Because it did have to end.
But not like this, not this way. Not to this team, not to a team that had lost 20 games over three seasons. Not in a meaningless non-conference game on a blustery afternoon in a barely filled stadium. Not by being outdone in terms of intensity, not by failing to make the plays that needed to be made.
But reality didn't follow the script.
No need to rehash the game. Midway through the fourth quarter, Temple and BG fans alike were saying "that's it, this game is over." As that sunk in, Noah's eyes welled up and he buried his face in my shoulder. "We're going to lose, Dad. We're going to lose to Temple."
We stayed to the bitter end, walking to the tunnel where the team exited the field, as the Owls celebrated like, well, like a team that hadn't won in 20 games. The Falcons walked off with slumped shoulders, heads hanging. Coach Brandon was the last off the field, jaw set hard, brows deeply furrowed. I wondered what he was thinking at that moment. In particular, I wondered what he was going to say to his players in the lockerroom. I wondered what he was going to say to his coaches on the ride home. I turned to see Noah and our buddy Phil, a Temple senior, going at it in a friendly way, though Noah was still obviously upset. Then I wondered what I was going to say to Noah.
It took a while to get to that. We walked in silence to the car and didn't say much until we reached the expressway.
I asked Noah what he thought.
"It's over," he said flatly. "I can't believe it."
Was he done being a BG fan?
"Da-aaa-d," he said. "Come on."
Does this mean BG wasn't a good team?
"Every team has to lose, Dad," he said. "What's important is what they do next."
What did that mean?
"They have to practice harder and try harder in their next game."
I hoped he was right, that it would be that simple.
Looking back, I am more thankful than ever to everyone who helped make Project Falcon a reality. As bad as it was to see The Streak end in Philly against Temple, it would have been much more excruciating if it were the only BG game we saw this year. For that loss to have been our only memory of BG footall for 2006 might have been more than either one of us could bear.
Noah bounced back pretty quickly. He wanted to play NCAA Football on the Playstation after our post-game dinner, completing another game in his Race for the Heisman as BG's freshman running back. He pulled out a BG shirt for school Monday and when we started plotting our jack-o-lantern designs, he said he wanted a Falcon head carved into one of the pumpkins. As we were scooping out seeds for toasting, I suggested that he could start a new winning streak next Fall. "Yeah, Dad," he said. "And maybe this one will be even longer."
During trick-or-treating, he saw someone with a Temple shirt and started giving him a hard time. I told him we didn't have a lot of room to talk, after all, we had lost Saturday.
"That doesn't matter," he said. "Even though we lost, we're still a better team than Temple and that will always be true."
So Temple ended The Streak. But it failed to shake the dedication of one Falcon fan. Make that two.Adobe Reader 6 DOWLOADS
Posted by 1987alum at November 1, 2006 08:25 AMAdobe Reader 6 DOWLOADS