You Little Heartbreaker

As has been tradition, the Stanford athletic tradition of bailing at the last second has been carried out this weekend. After a dismal last two seasons, the football team showed signs of life with a 3-game winning streak heading into this last weekend. Anticipation was high for them to compete heavily with the lauded return of the UCLA Bruins football team (currently ranked no. 8 as of this writing). Compete they did, racking up a solid 24-7 lead before the seventh minute of the fourth quarter. That, is when destiny was fulfilled.

Being a former student, and more of a basketball fan than a football fan, I'm used to disappointment from most of the mainstream big division I teams our school has put out there. Maybe it's the awesome freshman year experience of the Final Four having spoiled me indefinitely or maybe it's the junior year Rose Bowl experience, but getting so far and not achieving ultimate satisfaction is depressing. Since then, the football team has been aimless after Tyrone Willingham left for the storied halls of Notre Dame and the basketball team has dropped out of the tournament several times in the second round. Mike Montgomery moving on from the college level to coach the Golden State Warriors hasn't helped matters either. Such is my lot and such is the sadness many fans of these sports and alumni have felt.

Needless to say, since the winning had started and hopes were high, it was all the more crushing when the Bruins willed themselves to 21 points to force overtime. The defense of the Cardinal collapsed, their emotions lead to penalties, and they had no answer for what is ultimately a more talented team. Overtime was an awful pain with only a field goal to help them, there was no sign of the suffocating Cardinal defense to be found when a 23-yard Drew Olson dagger ended the game.

Dejected, I don't think I've ever been as upset at the end of a Stanford football game. I have this next weekend to look forward to versus the incomprehensible USC Trojan steamroller but I think I can be happy if we finish the season by putting Kal out of its misery. I can be proud that the program will no longer be a joke, but it still hurts.