Chopping Wood

As I've aged and matured, there's seems to be this resounding truth that always come and knocks down my youthful ambition. On occasion, I think that I can solve a problem with myself, or with someone else, overnight. That all I need is to come upon some transient idea that elevates my level of thinking to some super level, like I wake up one day with the keys to everyone. Or, if I can provide one insightful comment to someone about themselves, their life will be forever changed, and every destructive pattern in their life will be washed away. Of course, I've learned that this is not the case. You can forgive a person, you can make it through some tragedy, but the real, lasting life change is a process that's going to take time. Just like you can take the Israelites out of Egypt in one night, and take 40 years to take the Egypt out of the Israelites.

And now let me come to my main point. Like most people, I grew up in my childhood. During those childhood years, my dad would always take me to rutgers games. The earliest I can remember was a syracuse game when I was about 8 or 9, then on and on for the next fifteen years. There were a few local games we went to, but I think my dad liked going to the away games more, just another chance to drive. My favorite trip was the one down to annapolis to see them play navy, it was a nice sunny day and I think rutgers only lost by a few. Cause the thing is, they always lost. I mean man, year in and year out, here I am, a fragile little kid trying to find my place in the world, and always supporting the team that's getting blown out. I remember my dad's paper sent him on an assignment when rutgers first went division one, to be at every single game, home and away. They lost every game that year. In more recent history, I believe they went 0-11 in 98 and something like 2-9 in 99. Then enter Greg Schiano. My dad's was always talking how he was going to change the team, make them competitive, fill their brand new, empty stadium. He went 1-10 his first season. I believe that was the year that sports illustrated declared rutgers the worst team in college football. Now, just imagine what this is doing to my perception of my father, why's he going through this. Every year, it was always, this is going to be the year rutgers turns it around, this will be the key game. And we always nodded, went to the games. Sometimes they gave out free hot dogs and t-shirts to fill the seats. My favorite deal they ran was 4 sodas, 4 subs, and 4 tickets for 40 dollars. If you got ten people together, the group rate was $7 per ticket. And so my dad would try and get together a group of people from church, trying to fill the seats. He was hoping that one day they would sell out the 40,000 seat stadium. They did, when Notre Dame came, and subsequently beat them.

But all this time, Schiano had a plan. He had a dream for this program, to build it into a team that could take shots at national titles. Everyone thought he was nuts, how do you take the worst team in college football to a team you mention in the same breath as USC? You do it bit by bit. Schiano has an expression he uses with his team. How do you clear a forest, build a house, start a fire, you do it tree by tree, you keep chopping wood. You play hard in every game, get players from wherever you can, have the kids buy into what this team can be. Rutgers first win since joining the Big East against another Big East team was in 2003. They upset Michigan State in 2004. 2005 they qualified for a bowl game in arizona. This is what my dad always wanted for this team, just to think about a bowl game here and there, nothing major. Then enter this season. Their season opener at UNC, their home opener at Illnois, on the road at Navy. All of sudden they start showing up in top 25. Their win over Pitt, hanging on against UConn. Bit by bit, they come up to 15 in the polls. The excitement builds. Louisville beats west virginia, setting up the biggest game rutgers has ever played. The hype is something rutgers never had to deal with, reporters on campus, students waiting for 10 hours to buy tickets, heck, the empire state building lit up rutgers red. The stage is set.
And rutgers goes out and bombs it. They're behind 22-7, after a few bad plays. Louisville is threatening to score once again. My dad starts writing an article how, just for a little while, it was fun to be excited about rutgers football. But rutgers keeps on chopping. They manage to hold Louisville to a field goal, which may not seem like much, but oh man, was it ever. Rutgers goes out and scores again. Leaving them at 25-14 going into the half. Then the third quarter. Rutgers defense holds louisville to six straight three and outs, three of those they actually lost yardage on. Meaning, Louisville would probably have been in better shape punting on first down. And the offense chops away. One touchdown, the two point, and the miraculous 46 yard kick from the right hash, and all of a sudden rutgers has tied it up. Then the drive for all rutgers drive. They have the ball on their own 11 yard line, with 3 minutes to go, in a 3rd and 6 situation. A short dump pass to Leonard and boom, fifty yard run. A draw to rice and boom, they're on the 25. With 15 seconds to go, Ito chips in the game winning field goal. And upset, the upset of the season. And now rutgers is basking in number 6 in the bcs. We're already planning our new's years vacation, leaving it up to the bcs to tell us where we're going. New Orleans, or Florida who knows. It's just unreal to believe, from the time they lost to temple in front of 10,000, to being the best story in college football. All done, bit by bit, by chopping wood.

And here's the alma mater, on the banks of the old raritan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Jv2uGOweQ