Take This Tune

Posted: Monday, November 29, 2010 by Travis Cody in
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My pal Jamie from Duward Discussion has reintroduced her wonderful meme.  Take This Tune provides a musical prompt each week, usually a video with the song lyrics.  The task is to write something inspired by the song or something in the lyrics.

This week's prompt is the song Seasons of Love, from the Broadway musical and film Rent.

The show is at times joyful, angry, fierce, and devastating.  Sometimes it's all of that at the same time.  The characters are three dimensional.  The show deals with struggle, but it also rewards perseverance and determination.

It's life.

Life sure happened to Boise State this past Friday night.  They went down to Reno and got clipped by a Nevada team on Senior Night that was ready to end a 10 game losing streak to the Broncos.  And that's just what the Wolfpack did.

Boise State almost got its miracle moment.  After Nevada tied the game with only :11 seconds to play, BSU QB Kellen Moore completed a deep pass to WR Titus Young for 54 yards down to the Wolfpack 9 yard line.  With :02 to play, all BSU needed was to kick the field goal to preserve its undefeated season and likely move to #3 in the BCS poll, setting up a potential Rose Bowl bid and possibly a spot in the title game should either Auburn or Oregon stumble in the last game of the season.


Just a field goal from the 9 yard line.


But sometimes life doesn't grant the fairy tale ending.  And sometimes a kid misses.


This time, the kid missed.  And then he missed again in OT.  I'm not going to put his name here.  The kid is dealing with the disappointment.  He's dealing with the proof that life just isn't fair sometimes.


Instead, the miracle went to Nevada.


But it's not really a miracle, is it?  I don't think so.  It wouldn't have been a miracle if Boise State makes the field goal to win.  And it's not a miracle that BSU missed the kick at the end of regulation or the kick in OT.  It's not a miracle that Nevada won the game.


It's life.  


Sometimes, no matter how hard you work, you just come up a couple of plays short against the other team.  


Congratulations to Nevada, particularly to the seniors, who had their hard work rewarded.  The kids at Nevada get the joy, while the kids at Boise State get the disappointment.


But you know what else life does?  Life reminds you that even that kind of victory may not get you everything you want.  Because if Boise State, Nevada, and Hawaii all win the last game of the season against Utah State, Louisiana Tech, and New Mexico State, respectively, Hawaii will win the WAC title because they beat Nevada and Nevada beat BSU.


So Hawaii could finish at 10-3 overall, but 8-1 in the WAC and celebrate a conference title and a bowl game.  Nevada could finish 12-1 and be left with the satisfaction of having spoiled BSU's perfect season, and a bowl game.  And Boise State could finish with an 11-1 season that still feels a little bit sour.  The bowl game they wanted is not the bowl game they'll get.

The WAC does get four teams that are eligible for bowl game invitations for the 2010 season.  But then Boise State, Nevada, Hawaii, and Fresno State will all bolt for the Mountain West conference over the course of the 2011 and 2012 seasons.


That's life.

3 comments:

  1. Durward Discussion says:
    29 November, 2010 06:52

    I love the way you take an idea and do something totally unexpected with it. I will now just sit here until Frank stops singing "That's Life"

    I've been a puppet, a pauper, a poet, a pirate, a pawn and a king .... da da da

  1. Charles Gramlich says:
    29 November, 2010 08:38

    Well said. Shit happens.

  1. Travis Cody says:
    29 November, 2010 20:56

    Jamie: It was going to be my topic for today's post regardless. Your prompt was a perfect way to get my thoughts moving.

    Charles: Indeed it does.

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