More Than Just A Football Game

We’ve been pretty busy this week, so please forgive us for a lack of content.  This is a post that Rachel Long wrote after last week’s Husky upset over the Beavers.  Enjoy and go Dawgs!

Things fall apart… but sometimes not.

I have always admired people who are optimists. Though sometimes I
wish they would stop talking mostly I am amazed by the way they can
find the best in every situation. However, I am not an optimist, never
have been and probably never will be.

There is a Wilco song that talks about days when “all you touch turns
to lead, and you think you might just crawl back in bed.” My life has
felt like that for a while. It feels like everything good is right on
the edge of crumbling.  Now I am finding myself expecting things to
fall apart, feeling like everything that is going right will soon turn
bad. This mindset makes the world seem pretty grey sometimes.
So after the Huskies abysmal performance against Arizona, I was not
expecting much on Saturday, to say the least. Though I knew in my head
that the Huskies play better at home and that OSU was a better match
up for us, I still assumed that being blown out was probably going to
happen.

But then, I got to the game and things felt a little different. I have
always loved rain games. It just feels so Seattle and so right to me-
sitting in the pouring rain watching my favorite game with my favorite
people in the world.

It may sound cliché but my favorite moment of every Husky game is
right before they run out of the tunnel. That Eminem song starts, the
team is swaying in the tunnel, the fog starts up and the possibilities
hang in the air. I feel like I am a part of something so big, so many
people hoping and believing in the same thing.

And, then the game started. And, we played good. But as the game went
on, I found myself waiting for everything to go wrong. It seemed like
the next play could be the one where Price would throw an interception
or where our defense would give up the big play for a touchdown. But
it didn’t happen.

Then the third quarter hit and things did start to fall apart. The
little voice in my head was saying “I told you it couldn’t last.” Our
lead got tied up and it seemed like all momentum had swung Oregon
State’s way.

But the Huskies hung in there and every time it threatened to crumble,
somehow it held together. Through bad calls and all, everything was
working. It was standing up non stop, I am so excited, fun football.
As we tied it up my only thought was that we left them too much time.
I figured the beavers would drive down the field and score a touchdown
to win at the last second.  It seemed like the logical ending based on
the way my life had been going lately. Again, I was waiting for
everything to fall apart.

But I guess sometimes life goes right. The game was perfect and the
night was perfect. The huskies played through every obstacle that
came. They came back from one of the worst games I ever remember them
playing and played one of the best. And, they reminded me something
about life.

Things don’t always fall apart. Good things happen. Life can be
beautiful. And, it would be good for me to remember that once in a
while. Hoping should be a habit. So, when I find myself expecting the
worst I’ll remember this game. The Huskies can play good football.
They will beat Cal tonight.  They can win out.  And, life can go
right.