So what if we didn’t get the Olympics? We have everything else!

Lets be honest, as American sports fans we get a little cocky sometimes and begin to just expect things to go our way. Last Friday, we got put in our place. The greatest country on Earth, didn’t get the greatest sporting event on Earth, and that’s ok.

Every fall, America’s past time turns it up a notch and shows us things that we swore we would never see. The Rockies World Series run of 2007 was the most improbable stretch of baseball the sports world has ever seen. To make it to the post season, the Rockies won 13 out of their last 14 games just to force a playoff with the San Diego Padres. After winning the one game playoff with the Padres in dramatic fashion, Colorado went on to sweep the Philies and the favored Diamondbacks to make it to the first World Series appearance in club history. Though the Rockies were then swept by the Red Sox, and outscored 29-10 in those four games, the means would forever overshadow the ends.

Every winter, America’s favorite sport brings us a level of anxiety normally reserved for action thriller movies and witnessing a car crash. The NFL never fails to supply us with enough action in one day, to keep us talking for the next six. NFL playoffs have been good, but the most recent Super Bowl’s have been even better. Undefeated teams have lost, underdogs have made unbelievable runs, former no-namers are now household names, and quarterbacks with more miles on then than a 1985 Honda Civic have proven that they still got game.

Every spring, America holds it’s collectively breath for an entire month thanks to March Madness. Office pools are never bigger and never more intense than they are in the days leading up to the play-in game in Dayton, Ohio. Cinderella’s are rare, but when the George Masons of the world come around, who doesn’t root for them? When the teams we love to hate lose in the first round to a 14 seed, who isn’t cheering? When the first round is over, and your bracket is in the trash rather than in a frame, who isn’t yanking their hair out?

Every summer, amazing happens. Unfortunately, the NBA playoffs may be the most predictable of all the major playoffs, but there are flashes of greatness no one can deny.  Last season, Kobe Bryant finally shut up (most of) his haters by winning a ring (sort of) on his own. And best of all, two years ago Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, who were childhood friends came together for one of the most inspirational seasons of all time to help each other win their first ring. It may not always be probable, but like KG said, “Anything is possible!”

Don’t get me wrong, as a track and field enthusiast, the Olympics are my theoretical Super Bowl, but almost no one reading this has ever attended a Super Bowl and we’re all still living. The Olympics are great, but also fleeting, and the feelings we get from March Madness, the Super Bowl and the World Series are unrivaled and have no end in sight. So we won’t see Michael Phelps break world records in Illinois, nor will we witness Dwyane Wade help USA basketball win another gold medal in his hometown, but that’s ok. I’m pretty sure that sports in America are more than sufficient enough to hold our interest come 2016.

Baptized in the (Red) River

Sports will never be the same after last weekend.

As a sports writer, I often think highly of my sports knowledge and experiences. I have made game-winning shots, met big names, and even attended several California State Championship football games that my high school was fortunate enough to play in. I thought I knew every feeling there was to feel both as an athlete and a fan.

That all changed last weekend when I took a trip to Texas. Of course I wanted to visit my old roommate Tyler Aljoe who transferred to the University of Oklahoma this year. But I also wanted to attend the football game of the year to cheer my Longhorns to victory in the Red River Rivalry. I figured I would fly in Thursday night, try to adjust to the time change, chill Friday, go to the game and Texas State Fair Saturday, and return home Sunday.

No.

Friday morning I was woken up at 7:30 a.m., which was 5:30 to me, to attend the homecoming pep rally at Tyler’s alma mater, Grapevine High School. I agreed to go because pep rallies are always fun. And I kind of had to.

I was blown away by the level of school spirit and passion these teenagers had for their team. A team that had won zero games the year before were now unbeaten in district play. Basically, they were a big deal.

The night started off with Tyler and I attending the volleyball game which included his talented sister, Tanna. After she and her team won easily, it was off to the football game. I highly underestimated Texas high school football. I thought the saying, “Texas is football,” was just some cliché that an over enthusiastic fan started. Not so much. These high school stadiums rival some college stadiums and are often packed with fans. Grapevine won, remained undefeated, and everyone could rest easy until next Friday night.

Saturday I woke again at 7:30 a.m. (my 5:30 a.m.), took my shower, threw on my Colt McCoy jersey and nearly gave Tyler’s mother a heart attack. Apparently Tyler forgot to tell her I was a Texas fan. His dad thought it was funny. Both of Tyler’s parents are Oklahoma alums, but more importantly, she was a cheerleader and he was on the football team. Thankfully they’re both far too nice of people to hold my choice against me.

Once we got into the Cotton Bowl, I found myself so far out of my element that I had trouble believing I was actually there. I was 16 rows away from the field, which is closer than I get at most VU soccer games. As amazing as our seats were, it didn’t make up for the fact that I was still a speck of Burnt Orange in a sea of Crimson and Cream. Yes, I was throughly heckled and mocked, but I stood strong, faithful, and hopeful.

I was watching last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Sam Bradford, take practice snaps and Texas golden boy Colt McCoy lob practice throws. I was seeing my dreams come to fruition. Though I joked on my twitter that I had nearly wet myself four times, I was a little serious too.

Though I was obviously thrilled with the Texas win, I was disappointed with the anti-climatic ending, but it’s over now and onto the next game for both teams. For me it was time to head home, but with more than just an awesome T-shirt. I would returned to school with a new sense of fan-hood, and a hope to spread that on this campus.

Though Vanguard fans will probably never match the amount of intensity like those of a NCAA Division I school, we can match them in quality. Whether it’s starting a supportive chant, or trying to get into an opponent’s head with some well-timed heckling, the players notice. And all though Vanguard’s fine Athletics Administration will quickly ask you to cease the verbal taunts, the damage will be done, there’s no denying that. Just because we only bring 175 people to a game, doesn’t mean those 175 people can’t have as much of an effect on the game as the players out there competing.