Eight Years / An Otherwise Quiet Morning

Has it really been eight years? I just can't believe it. I actually wrote the following poem three years ago on September 11, 2006, five years after losing him. I literally woke up and these words were written for me, following a period where I hadn't written anything in a long, long time. It's like I was finally able to say what I needed to say, to write what I needed to write, in order to pay my proper respects. It never gets any easier, though, and even today, it's still hard to think that I am now 30, and yet he will forever remain 23. 

And that is one of 2,993 reasons why I will never forget..........

An Otherwise Quiet Morning

Wiping tears from my eyes

after five years of flashbacks

from an otherwise quiet morning

I wonder if he got to work on time

If he thought of stepping away from his desk

To grab a muffin or a Mochachino

Or fuck, even a donut and coffee

I think about the elevators on any other day

Well-oiled machines seen as afterthoughts

in the ages of technology and convenience

only acknowledged when something goes wrong

such as a system outage or a fire,

the red button pushed and prodded to no avail

hopes fading as bodies instinctively shoot over to stairwells

or, in the most dire situations,

towards windows,

the lungs longing for a few more breaths

the oft-broken spirit searching for one – just one “I’ve worked too hard and too long for it to end like this” or “What will happen to my pregnant wife if I don’t get out of here?” or “I hope the last memory is not an argument that carried over from last night’s dinner” or “Fuck this shit I would rather jump and take a chance than stay here and let them beat me on their terms” – miracle.

I ponder the flickering feelings that may have crossed his mind:

Did he think of the ring he bought his girlfriend that remained in that special hiding place he carved out on the left-hand corner of his closet?

Did he picture his future as a loving great-grandfather showering three generations at Christmastime with love and laughs?

Did he look back on his past with fond memories of barbecues, baseball games, and graduations?

Or did he only have time for one fleeting thought:


Why?


Why?


Why?

Wiping tears from my eyes

after five years of flashbacks

from an otherwise quiet morning

Yes, there was an attack.

Yes, I want my friend back.

We Met Some Cougars

The most common question asked around the water cooler at www.originalsportsmusings.blogspot.com, outside of "is there going to be any nudity in 'Jennifer's Body'?" is "what are the chances of a College Football Playoff? The answer is always the same. Zero. Why? Because we've already had the unthinkable scenarios that would have brought about a playoff without producing a playoff. LSU beat Oklahoma and USC beat Michigan to produce the same split national championship that we would have had without the BCS. USC, Oklahoma and Auburn all finished the regular season undefeated, and USC and Auburn both won their bowl games. As #2 team after #2 team lost, a 2 loss LSU moved in to embarrass OSU for another title. Each of these was supposed to be "the BCS Nightmare" that would force a change to the system. None did.

But this year is just a little bit different. Most sportswriters, columnists, experts and schmucks with a blog (including the Hat) have already pencilled in Texas and Florida for a January date. But something happened this weekend that could change all of that. 25 years after they became the last non-BCS team to win a title, the BYU Cougars shocked Oklahoma. In the process, they became the first non-BCS team in the BCS era to open up a clear road to the National Title game.

BYU's got 2 more tough games on the schedule. But they've got a signature win over the #3 team in the country. Sure, Sam Bradford got hurt and left the game. But is OU's offense so dependent on him that we should blame the injury instead of crediting the Cougar D for holding Oklahoma to 13 points? Absolutely not. BYU played a hell of a game and deserves credit. And they may get it in spades.

Imagine for a moment that Florida or Texas (or both) stumble somewhere along the season. It's not unthinkable. UF was nipped at home last year by Ole Miss while Michael Crabtree and Graham Harrell sank Texas at buzzer. USC is due for its customary loss against a team its got outmatched (Oregon State this year), it's unlikely that anyone will run the Big 10 or the ACC and the Big East doesn't have a single team that deserves a BCS invite. Imagine for a moment that the Coaches and the Harris voters have an undefeated BYU, with 3 wins over ranked teams, at the top of the polls in early December. The Cougars wouldn't need a ton of love from the computers to get an invite to the title game.

And that my friends, that is the secret, final chance of a College Football Playoff. The lid stays on the playoff because the major conferences can't figure out how to make money off it. But if suddenly half the take from the title game is going to the piddly Mountain West Conference? You can be sure the powers that be will move to scrap the current system, or at least modify it to a plus 1 to prevent something "terrible" like this from ever happening again. Cincy running the table and playing an undefeated Miami team would be fine, because the money stays in the money conferences. But sharing with the red-headed stepchild of the Mountain West? You might as well ask the "Big 6" to contribute money to keeping the WNBA afloat. So if you're a fan of a playoff, or just don't like the current BCS structure, keep your eyes in the state of Utah. The Cougars are looking for some good young men.