Published Dec 2, 2006
So my Trojans just lost to our cross-town rival UCLA Bruins. And, you know what, I’m okay with that. Sure, call me a bad homer1, but sometimes there’s such a thing as a good loss.
See, here’s the thing. I like to see my teams win.2 And the Trojans are in a rebuilding year this year. We lost our quarterback and our running back to graduation3, and when you’re short two Heisman Trophy winners it’s hard to be as good as you were the year before4. And the #1-ranked Ohio State University5 is awfully good this year. Our defense is good, as shown by the first-half safety we scored, but are we up to stopping the Buckeyes? The Trojans’ uneven offense can’t consistently put points on the board, and that would make any trip to the national champioinship a likely futile one.
Better is to go to the Rose Bowl — we won the Pac-10 — and play a great match-up against probably either Michigan or LSU, either of which games is eminently winnable. Then we’ll have a nice notch in our belt, look good for recruiting, and come into next year on a high note.
And next year will be great. John David Booty6 will only get better, the freshman backfield of Emanuel Moody and C.J. Gable will get better, we’re not losing major defensive players, and we’ll have a real shot at the BCS title.
Trojans coach Pete Carroll came to talk to one of my classes last semester. There he spoke about the difference between challenging yourself and trying for something that’s just too much. Carroll is well-known for getting fired by the New England Patriots and the New York Jets; in the first situation, he just couldn’t handle following the legacy of famous coach Bill Parcells, who took them to the Super Bowl, and in the latter, he just didn’t win as many victories as the ownership thought he ought to7. Coach Carroll told us that just because a challenge is the greatest challenge in the world — like coaching an NFL team was for him — isn’t a good reason to take it; you need to take the challenge that is right for you; taking the right challenges, and always reaching higher, prepares you to get to the biggest challenge you can face.
Coaching a college team is obviously the right challenge for Pete Carroll, and the Rose Bowl is the right challenge for the Trojans this year8. It’s a good stop back on the way to the BCS top.
1 See definition 5.
2 Damn you, Broncos!
3 Best class required for graduation: ballroom dancing.
4 When you lose only one, then you win the national championship. But two is right out.
5 That’s THE Ohio State University to you!
6 Not Mark David Chapman
7 Since the next coaches went 3-13 and 1-15, instead of Carroll’s 8-8, it’s likely that he actually won more games than he ought have.
8 And my current business idea is the right challenge for me, a double, as they call it in the biz, not a swing-for-the-fences, multimillion-dollar, venture-financed home run.
I’ve occasionally been tempted to sign up for Jesse et Laurent, a local meal-delivery service that markets itself more on the gourmet cooking than nutrition/allergy/etc issues, but does offer to take such things into consideration…