Still Cheering for Boise State

I have a confession to make.

I didn’t watch the Boise State Virginia game. I was on vacation with my family up in Yellowstone, and had just checked into our hotel in Island Park, when I decided to buck the tradition of waiting until I could watch the game in its entirety on my DVR and sneak a peek on the hotel television. I turned the channel to ESPN 2 and saw the score was 41-14 and the refs were currently reviewing the Cavaliers’ last touchdown. I was in disbelief, but I wasn’t about to let a bad game ruin my trip, so I turned off the TV and took the kids down to the pool for a late-night swim. The rest of the trip was worry-free!

I feel for those of you who endured the loss. I have no intention of going back and watching it, even if it might help with analyzing what happened.

I’m just going to wing it with the things I’ve read on message boards and hope that it does some good for our fanbase.

I love football!

This is the one sport where a right-brained, creative mind like mine can watch all day and still see something new and exciting every game! The variety of plays, personnel, and sometimes luck gives an endless variety to the things one might see. Pretty awesome for a guy who gets sleepy watching just the highlights of a baseball game. ("Oh, a guy hit a ball and ran on the path outlined for him; where’s my other sock?")

That being said, it’s just entertainment to me. My life would go on without it, and I would still be happy. (Especially if I could find out what happens to all my socks. One theory: Wormholes.) I would venture to guess it’s the same for you, unless you happen to be a player or coach.

Which brings me to the point I guess I’m trying to make. People make mistakes. There are an endless variety of things that can go wrong that can determine the outcome of a game. We’ve all heard the phrase, "That’s just the way the ball bounces," well, try bouncing a football with any amount of accuracy! Now try it while wearing the equivalent of medieval armor.

To place the blame on any one individual is ludicrous, especially when you know that the game is more than just entertainment to them, it is their livelihoods (or potential livelihoods). Put yourself in the position of a young offensive lineman, trying to grasp the new level of competition without the help of Reese Odhiambo or Mario "The Monument" Yakoo. It would be kinda tough, I imagine, even with the extra weight I put on last night after eating my age in sushi rolls. To paraphrase the Bible, "Let him who is (sittingeth on his coucheth and not sweating in the trencheth with limited experienceth) cast the first stone." …Or something like that.

As for our coaches, consider this: This isn’t really like chess. Sure, there are strategies you can employ playing chess, and counters to what your opponent is doing, but the main difference is that chess pieces don’t move at different speeds, bench-press different weights, experience growing curves, or heck…think like individuals. People do. Coaching can only do so much, and if you think that our coaching staff isn’t giving everything they can to succeed, you must be employed in a respirator-free glue factory. Remember, your entertainment is how they feed their kids.

Take a step back and enjoy the ride. Losses make us tougher, whether in football or in life. The season is still young, and we are far from being left out of a bowl game. Let’s look at this as a learning moment for everyone, and maybe it will be enough of a motivator for our young team to really shine in conference play. I’m excited to watch the remaining games, and still believe the team will find its identity!

And heck, even if we have a losing season at the end, I will still Bleed Blue, and I will still stand by a coach loyal enough to the State of Idaho to leave a successful program and return home. Thank you, Coach Harsin! Bronco Nation is behind you!

Come to think of it, maybe if I had been watching, that would have been the last "Who in Whoville" whose voice was needed to spur our team to a win. If you need someone to blame, it should be me!

…I’ll either be playing with the kids or looking for a pile of socks at the end of a wormhole.

Go Broncos!