Sunday, October 21, 2007

We're Not Good, But We Win Football Games



Brethren:
Maybe it's because I'm not there anymore. Maybe it's because they have no idea what they're doing. Maybe I still don't think this is a good football team.

But the University has quietly assembled a 7-1 football team, 4-0 in ACC play.

This calls for a classic, dowhatnow?

Brethren (cont'd): Everyone's talking about how crazy this college football season has been, where everyone is getting knocked off, every team in the SEC East but Vandy is tied for first place, and Boston College is #2 in the BCS poll (and only because friggin South Florida lost).

However, no one's really talking about the craziness that is UVa. And honestly, they shouldn't be because like the title mentions, this is not a good football team.

But dammit, they win football games. Five of their seven wins have been by five points or less. I couldn't really tell you any of their strengths because they change every week (except for Chris Long, he's a beast). And like a good Virginia football Pavlovian dog, I don't want to raise my hopes just to have a November collapse destory my faith in humanity.

But as I stood in the crowded bar that the Virginia Club of New York had designated as the place to watch the game, and swayed singing the Good Ole Song to celebrate another UVa win, I realized, "Yea, this team might not be good, but in a season of story-toppers, they're quietly putting together a fun season." (It's cool, like J.D., I often think to myself in long-winded, grammatically shaky sentences.)

Virginia football: struggling to be relevant. And yet awesome.

Other tidbits from the game:

- Mikell Simpson, what up? I only knew this guy before the season started because in my third year of college, my rommate J Price and I ran a NCAA team on PS2. We'd play the games whenever one of us had the chance, then do the recruiting season together. Well, about four season deep into the game, coming off back to back national titles for the men of Charlottesville, we had a certain running back who wore the #5 who ran for over 3000 yards in one season. 3000. Mikell Simspson was untsoppable, just like last night.

- Yes, J Price and I were texting about that last night, and were each telling anyone who would listen that story.

- Our QB on that team was a sick 5-star recruit named Eddie Cannon. How awesome is that name for a QB?

- Yes, our win prominently involved a safety. Chris Long will eat your babies as Howie watches and approves.

- Just remember: this is not a good football team. But they win footbal games.

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