Some Perspective On Pain & Heartbreak
by Nestor on Sep 14, 2008 6:22 PM PDT
in Football
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PrintIn the papers today both Brian Dohn and Chris Foster didn't waste any time comparing yesterday's loss with the Utah drubbing from last season. Of course neither Dohn nor Foster mentioned the facts how this team didn't have 20 returing starters and was missing its top two quarterbacks, its top running back, and flanker.
The stat everyone is throwing around right now is how yesterday's loss was worst UCLA loss (in terms of numbers) since 1929.
Yet was yesterday's loss the most painful moment in the history of UCLA football? Not even close.
As horrific as yesterday's loss was, it was nothing compared to how we felt in the night of December 5, 1998 following Brad Melsby's phantom fumble.
As bad as yesterday was, it is nothing compared to how we felt when we saw Brian Poli Dixon quit on a sure reception to see it being turned into a Trojan pick-6 in 2001, in that 0-27 nightmare at the Mosoleum.
In terms of pain ... that loss was nothing compared to how we felt when the number 1 UCLA team choked against Rosebach's Washington State in 1998, even with Aikman at quarterback.
You want me to go on?
How about losing to Stanford, seeing an undefeated record going up in smokes during the Halloween weekend of 2001.
I don't need to go over the recent blowouts in the last regular season game in this past decade. Neither should I have to mention the feelings after Notre Dame games last two seasons.
Why am I bringing this up? I am bringing it up because there are folks out there who need to get a grip and not get caught up in everything that is coming out of the traditional media. That doesn't mean we have to get too emotional and offer up a projection without any analysis. It just means we have to put everything in context.
I have already mentioned Howland's first year at UCLA. For tonight, I will just leave you with this clip from 2003 ALCS:
If you are a baseball fan, I don't think I have to spell out what that moment was about.
I watched that game at the Red Sox bar in New England with 60 other Red Sox fans. I was there with a group of friends most of whom were rooting for their beloved Sox. I remember watching tears streaming down among grown ups (both men and women). Once again they all though it was the end of the world ... but we know what happened afterwords.
Yes, when we started this blog "Bruins Nation" - the "Nation" part was inspired directly from the mindset of those baseball fans from New England. When it comes to our sports team, we are going to stick with that same mindset.
It's not the first time we have experience this kind of adversity. We have gone through moments that are much more painful. Yet, we are still here. We are not going away anywhere. We are going to come back stronger, hungrier, making sure that passion bucket is overflowing when the team comes out of the tunnel next week at the Rose Bowl.
GO BRUINS.
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Not the worst by far
I totally agree – for me the Miami game you mentioned is by FAR the worst loss in my lifetime. To be that close to a National Championship (that I believe we could have won) and lose to a team like that was sickening. That one brought me to tears so no, yesterday was nowhere close. Losing last year at Utah was also much worse. We were supposed to be a very good team and we had many experienced seniors and nowhere near the injuries we have now. It’s not even a comparison. I understand people being disheartened by this loss, but any realistic Bruin fan knew this would take time. People need to be patient and our time will come.
GO BRUINS!!!
Well said, Nestor
I remember as I was walking out of Lavelle Edwards Stadium in Provo yesterday, I was thinking to myself: “Wow, I really thought you would be taking this a lot worse than you are.” I just remembered everything that’s happened during KD’s run here at UCLA, and while I’ve never gotten use to losing, I’ve become quite good at coming to terms with it. As much as I’d like to say something fresh and groundbreakingly profound right now, the only thing that can be said is the truest: we’re destined for success, respectability, and a long run of it.
Really, we’ll be fine. And I’m sure that when we have THAT game that pushes us over the hump, this’ll be an afterthought.
Amazing
That was an awesome moment as a yankee’s fan! I will never forget that, I remember I was so bummed watching with my girlfriend and we both yelled so loud after that Homer that the police were called! It has been a rough couple of years lately and if were in 1st place or 10 1/2 games out of the wild card race, I still try and watch every game. That is what we do as die hard fans. I agree with Nestor and all of the above statements, this is not the worse loss at all in my mind, not even close considering what we knew coming into the season. Let’s just keep cheering our hearts out and hope for the best! That’s all we can do, so let’s do it well!
DBalter
Please, guys
It’s tough enough dealing with the BYU thing. Don’t talk about the Red Sox or the Yankees when us hard core Rays fans are hanging on by our fingernails. The Rays’ offense is about as potent as the Bruins’ offense last Saturday. Truly, the only thing I want to hear about the Evil Empire or the Saaaaaaaax Nation is that they are on a losing streak.
All three of us Rays fans are fired up.
Go Rays!
Well knowing that there is a slim to no chance the Yankees will even make the wild card, I will be rooting for your Rays, so that makes four of “us” :0)
DBalter
make that five!
As the A’s are nowhere near contention, the Rays have my full support. Judging from this Athletics Nation poll, there are many other A’s fans standing with you.
Painful in a different way
than Miami in 1998. Losing a chance at a National title is disheartening. Losing 0-59 is demoralizing. Adding insult to injury, watching the SUCsters trounce an overrated OSU team was too much to take on one day.
We are not as good as the Tennessee score, and we are not as bad as the BYU score. We are somewhere in between. How we come out the next few weeks will tell us a lot about the heart of this team.
It will be a long, arduous road to the top. But once we’re there, it will be all the sweeter. And we will have a better perspective of things: being 11-1 and going to the Rose bowl will make 0-59 a distant nightmare.
this may be controversial
but this loss doesn’t bother me at all. We are just not that good.
I would feel much worse being ASU and losing at home to UNLV, or OSU Getting spanked by SUC, or many other teams that had something to lose.
We had nothing to lose in that game, it was our second ranked opponent in a row, and going 1 and 1 the first two games is a pleasant surprise.
Nobody remembers margin of victory, just your W-L record at the end of the season.
"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"
by silverlakebruin on Sep 15, 2008 11:32 AM PDT reply actions
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