Sunday, October 13, 2019

Sweet Victory: Thank you to our players



Sweet Victory.

Sweet, sweet, sweet victory.

So sweet.

Yesterday will go down in my personal sports history as one of my top moments as a fan, especially in person.  It was an incredible thing to experience.

I believe the players will as well.  Coach Loeffler talked in his presser about the players getting together later--successful in life, strong families, kids, grandkids--and reminiscing about what happened yesterday.

Nico Lautenan said it felt better than winning the MAC Championship in 2015.

I'm so proud of our players.  I can't say it enough.  They have been through what Scott Loeffler called "hell."  David Briggs pointed out that it has been more than 1,000 days since BG beat an FBS opponent on our home field.  Let that sink in for a minute. 

In our FBS games coming into this game, they had been outscored 202-27.  They were four touchdown underdogs, give or take.

These guys have been tossed around by negligent and unqualified coaching, pounded on the field, adapted to a new system...and yet they persevered.  They did not quit.

And they didn't just win a game.  Beating anyone at home would have been significant.  They beat the arch-rivals who have dominated this series over the last 9 years...the game that sticks in your craw every year when you look at the schedule.  They went from the valley to the mountain in one jump. 

So, they were rewarded yesterday.  I'm so proud of them...and I thank them for being Falcons and for making yesterday possible for us as fans, as well.  Thank you for getting up early in the morning, for the workouts and the film and the practices.  Thank you for being Falcons.

Last QB to beat UT...was Tyler Sheehan.  That's right...Grant Loy has done something that Matt Johnson never did...or James Knapke, Matt Schilz, Jarrett Doege, James Morgan...I think that's all of them.

Here are the names of the players who are seniors who were playing their last game against UT and spent their entire career at BG.  Incredibly, this is the whole list.  Kono had a big game...Lautenan was a beast...Bozeman had a breakup or two, Sotolongo is a special teams stud...

So here's the list...thank you, gentlemen.

Konowalski
Bozeman
Sotolongo
Jackson
Lamar
Lautanen
Kramer


4 comments :

Anonymous said...

The record book has officially been thrown out! Go Falcons! I think those classic logo helmets brought us some much needed good luck! Let's petition Loeffler to keep wearing them the rest of the season.

joel said...

I watched nearly the entire game, although I hadn't planned on it after being in South Bend the week before. It should be noted that I stood in front of my TV watching the game...with a s*** eating grin that got bigger with each series. So happy and impressed! It didn't compute in my brain, but it didn't have to. And I LOVED the classic logo of my late 80's BG days on the helmet. I do hope they go back to it for good, keep it for this season or wear it for every TSUN game in the future.
The overview of the game you provided here is spot on, I'll only add that it was great to see a decent size crowd(given our record) that appeared to stay well in to the second half and sounded pretty good over the television. What a great day, week and month to be a Falcon!

Orange said...

That's an excellent point, the crowd was great and the students stayed until the end. Hopefully they will be back again Saturday!

Anonymous said...

Well said. Definitely in my top 5 with Toledo 2001. A moment you don't forget the rest of your life.