From Where I Sit: When Disappointment Is A Sign Of Improvement
11/30/2010 9:51:42 AM | Football
FAN BLOG ARCHIVES
Nov. 23: UConn Highs And Lows
Nov. 16: Bowl Bound
Nov. 9: Tradition
Oct. 26: Revenge Tour
Oct. 19: Moving On
Oct. 12: Searching For Greatness
Oct. 5: Get Your SU Fix
Sept. 28: The Only Way to Pre-Game
Sept. 21: How Fans Are Made
Sept. 14: Emerald City Blues
Sept. 7: The End of Summer
As disappointing as our home game malaise and November collapse was, people tend to forget how long it has been since we've had high expectations this late in the season. High expectations, like win-the-league, BCS-game type expectations.
My final post of last season spoke of a foundation being laid. In Doug Marrone's first season, the improvement and vision were easy to see, but we were still so far away from where we wanted to be. There was no reason to believe achieving our goals would take anything less than four seasons, which is why this year has been so special and yet so disappointing.
In all honesty, this program is still rebuilding. There's no shame in that. And there are signs that we have begun to construct a framework on the foundation that has been laid. A framework of blue-collar hard work, excellent conditioning, an understanding of tradition, a competitive fire, and a hard-hitting, smash-mouth brand of football. And there were clues that helped one imagine what this structure could eventually become.
- Five road wins.
- Wins over two programs that we haven't beaten since they joined the Big East.
- A defeat of a traditional rival that basically had a permanent place on its mantle for the Schwartzwalder trophy.
- Enough league wins to put us in the conference championship discussion.
- Bowl eligibility.
