Another installation from our on campus correspondent SJU Junior Matt Melsen, our very own Pure Bred Johnnie. Read along with Matt’s musings and his wish for peace on earth and thanks for another incredibly entertaining Johnnie Football season!
Overcast skies moved into Collegeville on Sunday matching the disapointment and dispair of Johnnie players and fans
We have all seen the Bud Light commercials where they replay the same scene of a customer trying to get the waiter’s attention. The first time by the waiter completely ignores the customer. The second time by the customer speaks a little louder but still gets ignored. “Too Light” pops up onto the screen. The third time by the customer sticks out her foot and trips the waiter sending him through a window. “Too Heavy” pops up onto the screen. The main point of the ad is to say Bud Light is not too heavy, not too light, it is just right.
Before going further, let me be clear in saying I went into Saturday’s game thinking the Johnnies were easily the better team. I think there are three different ways the Johnnie loss could have played out last Saturday. I’ll call them too light, too heavy, and just right.
1) The Johnnies lose to Coe in an evenly matched, close game. I walk away from the game trying to figure out the one thing we could have done to put us in the next round. “Too Light”
2) The Johnnies lose to Coe despite being the better team. Say for example, ohhhh off the top of my head, the Johnnies turn the ball over um…six times, two of which are returned for a touchdown. I’ll go out on a limb and predict that one Coe player gets both touchdowns and I’m guessing he is about 5 foot-11 inches, 238 pounds, and slowwww. Looking at Coe’s roster it appears lucky number 33 will be the Tommie (a.k.a. bad guy) in Collegeville on this day. I walk away knowing the Johnnies were the better team and wondering how this could happen to the Johnnies at home. Answers cannot be found so the 2009 season is filed as a Cold Case (pun intended…hint: Bud Light topic). “Too Heavy”
3) The Johnnies lose to Coe in a game that shows Coe is truly the better team. I would walk away from this game knowing we exist in the Wild Wild West where all 8 teams appear in the D3football.com’s final top 25 poll. Losing to what clearly was a better team leaves me knowing the better team won today. “Just Right”
In case you did not pick up on the sarcastic hints, Saturday’s loss would constitute as “Too Heavy” on Bud Light’s meter. Let’s be honest, I would have bet on Jessie Ventura becoming the next Minnesota governor before betting against the Johnnies in this one. Good thing I didn’t place that bet!
Campus did not feel the same on Sunday as Johnnie football had closed for the decade. Riding the Link past the farm fields confirmed this sad reality. No longer were the garbage cans out on the farm waiting for trash from the Saturday game parking. No longer was the sun shining over Clemens Stadium as we pulled into Sexton. No longer will there be e-mails instructing students where to park and which lots will be closed on Saturday. And, most sadly, no longer will there be a perfect season in 2009.
Today the campus is back to normal. Talk of Saturday’s loss has been replaced with the hustle and bustle of a two-day school week packed with homework and exams. My fellow Johnnie fans, I invite you to make this shift back to normal as well. The weather seems to be going back to normal too as winter is fast approaching the 56321 (rainy and cooler today). In light of Thanksgiving, I think we should put this loss aside and look back on this season and be thankful for all of the great Saturday’s we had in the fall of 2009.
There was the first Saturday when we welcomed back Wisconsin-Eau Claire by starting where we left the series in 2006 by winning. We reunited for a last second Homecoming victory over Bethel, a foe that had already defeated us four times in the 2000s (thank God for Russ). Two weeks later, in front of the 2nd largest crowd ever at Clemens Stadium, we dove our way to our thirteenth straight Tommie victory. Only one week later we Boyle’d over with an injury but held on for a close 10-3 victory over the Oles. Two weeks later we played a former Johnnie player turned Carleton coach and we witnessed, for the third time in this decade, the closing of a perfect regular season. Despite losing to Coe on Saturday, we must be thankful for this extra game that we were granted. I am thankful for these Saturdays and for the perfect season the Johnnies had. I am also thankful that we ended this decade with a perfect record against the Tommies in the 2000s.
In conclusion, we can look back and be sad about the very tough loss to Coe on Saturday. We cannot, however, let this loss overshadow our thankfulness for the perfect season, the great tailgating gatherings, the last second victories, the community, the fresh coffee at the new Johnnie Java (had to put a plug in), and everything else Johnnie gameday has become for all of you Johnnies fans.
In the end: too light, too heavy, or just right? I am thankful that this season was just filled with all of the great moments described in this article. I am also thankful that the season did not end in a loss to St. Thomas. Only one thing is missing from 2009 and that is a National Championship. “Just Right”
Regardless- light, heavy, just right- I’m thirsty!
We'll have to wait until September 5th for "Another Johnnie Firstdown"!
Be safe and enjoy time with loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
