I remember watching the USC/Ohio State game a few weeks back in a state of deep disappointment. It felt like I was having my intelligence insulted, as the hype was built to exorbitant amounts in the days prior, only to deliver a limpdick letdown of a game. So when I started watching last night's second half between USC and Oregon State, I just waited for the wheels to fall off, bracing myself for the eventual Trojan drubbing we've all become accustomed to...
It never came.
Being in college myself, there's nothing quite as fulfilling as watching thousands of possibly-drunken college kids stampede a football field or basketball court. Forgive me if I sound like I'm waxing poetic here, but I know I wasn't the only kid in the country last night saying in my head or aloud "damn, I really wish I went to school there right now." For all the memories your currently-attending typical Oregon State undergrad will have in their four year tenure, no story will ever surpass last night in awesomeness. What happened was not just an upset, it was THE upset, the personification of real life David and Goliath. As proven last night, College sports yields a free form energy that no professional sports experience can match. While the Giants overcoming the Patriots was cool last February, it doesn't fill you with the glee or the awe that a team like Oregon St does or like Stephen Curry's Davidson Wildcats did during their jaw-dropping NCAA run last March. Professional athletes are in their position for a reason, because they were good enough to make playing sports their full time job. Don't get me wrong, I have far more attachment to the Redskins than I do the Terps. But the naive innocence of the sports fan who still thinks to his or herself "wow, they're just kids man" is a truly truly truly beautiful thing. In pro sports, when a lesser team beats a good one, it can only be labeled a surprise. But when it comes to providing a pure example of the word "Upset", that duty can only deservedly be bestowed upon college athletics.
In the final moments of the broadcast, I caught some pretty rad fan posters from the swooping overhead ESPN camera. One kid was holding up a sign that said "Remember the date: 9/25/08" and I caught another guy holding a sign that said "Where were you when this happened?" I'll remember the date for sure, and I'll definitely know where I was when this happened; in college, just like the remarkable young athletes who prompted that joyous celebration.
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