The possibility of glory

I realized last night what makes sports, or sport as Mitt Romney would say, special to me -- it's not highlight reel plays, spectacular statistical lines, or even big wins. It's the feeling that something great could happen for and by your team. After the Oakland A's improbable postseason run came to an end last night, I was reminded of the stinging feeling I also had in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, all losses in that bugaboo of a game 5 hurdle that the A's can't seem to get past. But I think I was most upset that the excitement of the last four months was over. The guarded optimism of July turned into a hope of maybe taking the second wild card, then to the excitement of catching the Rangers, then of getting past the Tigers and Verlander, taking on the Yankees in the Bronx and getting to the World Series. Just to think of the possibilities was amazing -- even if they were largely kept to myself in an effort not to jinx anything.

I think what Cal football fans loved about the early Tedford years was something along these lines. Playing meaningful games late in the season is what made 2004, 2006 and 2007 so special. Late into those years, there was this feeling of possibility of what could be. The longer the "what could be" feeling is maintained into a season, the more buzz and excitement and overall good vibes there will be around a program. Imagining a Rose Bowl that had a real possibility of happening (2006, beat 'SC and go to the Rose Bowl) is about as good of a feeling as I can remember as a Cal fan, just as the last few weeks of picturing a potential ALCS or World Series appearance for my $59 mil payroll A's was about as great of a ride as I ever had as a baseball fan.

There isn't a much better feeling than game day when
the stakes are high like they were at the Coliseum in 2006.

I hope Cal football can get back to the point where we are playing meaningful games even into mid-October (for starters). Statistically, for a non-frontrunning fan, the odds can be pretty pathetic for achieving actual glory, so the best case scenario is to be in the mix. I was 7 the last time my Washington Redskins won the Super Bowl, 4 the last time the A's won the World Series, and not born when Cal football/basketball achieved their pinnacles back in the pre-Don Draper era.

So Cal football, turn into what the A's did this year. I'll take that any day.