I was asked to write a blog about my feelings about the loss to Iowa State and the upcoming Bedlam game by my friend Beauty's husband. He's a writer too. A much better writer than I, and he gets paid for it. I hate him. Kidding. Kind of. Anyway, you can check his blog out here and read his thoughts on this exact same matter.
Initial thoughts on the Iowa State loss? I didn't like it. Not one bit. I make a point not to overly criticize the players. They are kids, after all...except for Weeden. He and I are almost the same age. Not the point. Point is, I was really disappointed and upset. I chose to deal with the loss, the best way I know how: denial. I turned the TV off, didn't read any blogs/message boards/write ups, didn't read Saturday's paper, and didn't watch Game Day. I always watch Game Day. I watched it in Arizona earlier this year, when came on at 7am, and rumor has it we were up very late the night before. When the Cowboys lose big games, I like to pretend they never happened. This is the same approach I've been using my whole life, and it works perfectly.
In all seriousness, that was such a hard day in general. I don't know a Cowboy fan who didn't have a heavy heart. I won't make excuses for the team, although I have about 3 viable ones. Iowa State was well coached, we were flat, and I discovered refs don't call holding on Fridays. So we lost, and all of Cowboy Nation was left deflated.
My analysis is as follows: I thought we played with very little fire and didn't make the plays to win. Pretty simple. I think the turning point was the onside kick. Having an undefeated season was something I've never experienced before as a fan. It felt weird. I was uncomfortable. And then we came back down to Earth. What is there to say? National Championship chances are now over, and the national media broke up with Brandon Weeden, by leaving him a voicemail. Rude.
And then Saturday happened, and my frown turned upside down. Thanks to Clemson, Oregon and OU, we're still in this race. A tip of the hat to you. I'd like to buy you all a drink.
So here we sit: waiting, watching. Will things fall in our favor? Probably not. But for one day of my life, I guess I'm an Auburn fan? I already own lots of orange, so I'm all set in that respect. I don't know any of their cheers, except for "War Eagle!" I don't know what that means, but I guess I'll just sit in my living room and yell, "War Damn Eagle!" when things get going. I have two friends who are Alabama fans, so this all makes me feel a little guilty. I don't think they read this blog, so I'm probably in the clear.
We'll get to the post-season talk after Bedlam...oh Lord, Bedlam. People keep asking me what my thoughts are. Well, I think about throwing up when it's mentioned. Do we have the ability to win? Yes. Do they have the ability to play their best game to date? Yes. Is there a possibility that a kid who no one has heard of will have 300 + all purpose yards for OU? Yes. It's a toss up. I will admit, I will be completely devastated if we lose. Husband announced the other day, "I fully expect you to cry, one way or another." Excellent observation, big guy.
I just don't want to even speculate. All bets are off when it comes to playing OU. They always play well against us. Stoops always looks like a freaking genius. They have our number. AND...the very most important piece of the pie....wait for it.... Kathy has bad luck. Dark storm clouds hang over her head on a pretty regular basis and rain crimson and cream on her orange life every fall.
Before this season began, I decided I was going to be a different kind of fan. A fan who didn't accept defeat, a fan who demanded excellence. So, I say: This is our game to lose. We have the talent. We have the coaching. And we've put ourselves in this position...to win. We can choose to win, or choose to get beat. I choose to win. That's right, the girl who sits in 104 who yells too loud and screams, "Holding!" after every OSU defensive play, wants to win. She demands to win. She NEEDS to win. No pressure.
Go Pokes! And War Damn Eagle!
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