In 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.