Guts vs Glory

by Jason B. Osoff

  The guy who took my spot was able to stand his ground against the defense for the rest of the drive. Although we didn’t score the game winning touchdown on that drive, we would get another chance after our defense finally shut them down. As expected, my replacement went back in to finish the game. Even though we lost that game, I was selfishly more upset that I lost my spot.

  When I got home from the game that night, I watched with my parents in the living room as the University of Southern Michigan played their first game of the season. As Northeastern fans, we wouldn’t have been caught dead rooting for USM. But that night, we weren’t rooting for the Dragons; we were rooting for their backup running back, Michael Upton. In the 1st half of the game, Mike was able to score his first college touchdown. Once USM was up by four touchdowns, he was able to play out the rest of the game. He tallied 2 more touchdowns and 100 yards of rushing. I knew it wouldn’t be long until he became a legend there, too.

  Chapter 43

  We gave each other a day to take in our first college football experience. For Mike, he needed time to celebrate. For me, I needed time to get over it. The next day, enough time had passed and we were ready to talk about our experiences. Although they were nearly opposite, we definitely had stories worth telling.

  Mike loved every minute of his big day. The locker rooms were gorgeous, and the stadium was enormous. The attendance was nearly 70,000, and they were all wearing Dragon red and black. Rather than being nervous, he was excited for the game. He knew what he was doing, and he was one of the best at it. Mike was very comfortable with his position, and knew it wouldn’t matter how much stronger the opponent was as long as they couldn’t catch him. When he scored his first touchdown, it wasn’t as challenging as he thought; all he had to do was run the ball in 10 yards. When he got a chance to play more, he took advantage of how tired the other team was. He even liked the fact that he wasn’t returning punts or kickoffs because it allowed him more energy as a running back. Finally, he accepted that he wouldn’t be a starter that season, but he was no longer anxious about playing college ball.

  After I shared my depressing story, he told me he was already aware of my disappointment. Even though our games weren’t televised, they were still broadcasted over the radio. He was upset when he heard what happened, but he knew that I would use the experience as more fuel for the fire. Mike knew I couldn’t let it get me down, and I would instead use it as motivation to keep it from happening again. After we talked, I felt better about my game and was ready for the next week.

  That next day, the dread came rushing back. After getting through my first game of college ball, I was faced with my first day of college courses. My grades had gotten better over the years, but I knew college would be a bigger challenge for me. I was expecting rooms of 300 students trying to keep up with the professor, as they quickly went through their lecture. As soon as I walked into the room, my anxiety disappeared.

  The math room looked just like a high school classroom. There were 15 tables that comfortably sat two students each. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I grew up, so my plan at junior college was to take basic classes. I would then pick a major once I got to the University. That meant I had a semester full of introductory courses. After skimming through the syllabus, I had a feeling that the homework load would be a lot less than it was in high school. I developed good study habits in high school, so it seemed like college could possibly be less challenging.

  I was more relieved as the professor introduced himself. As it turned out, the guy was teaching the class as a hobby. He was an accountant, so teaching math was more of a way to keep his brain challenged. He encouraged the 25 of us to take good notes because we would be allowed to use our notes during the three course exams. Then, after meeting with us for an hour, the class was dismissed. My next two classes were also scheduled to last an hour, but we were dismissed even earlier than that. After less than three hours of lecture, my first day as a college student was over. Why couldn’t my first game have gone that well?

  Chapter 44

  As expected, my screw up during the game didn’t get swept under the rug; nor did it get a private meeting with the coach. Instead, I was used as an example of how easily our roles could be taken away from us. After one bad play, I was replaced by another player. I wasn’t given a second opportunity, rather I gave someone else a first chance. That person ended up making the most of his opportunity because our starting tackle wouldn’t be playing that week due to his injury. I did get my role reinstated as lead backup, but I would’ve been starting that week if it weren’t for my fatal error during the game.

  As Mike predicted, I used that embarrassment to improve myself as a player. I got a taste of what it felt like to be taken out of a game. I also got a taste of what it felt like to play college football. Even though it had the feel of a scrimmage, I liked playing much better. Once I got that taste, I would do whatever it took to get more of it. I made sure I wouldn’t lose my spot again, and I worked even harder against our defenders. Just like the previous week, I was not able to stop them every time. I did, however, hold them back more times than they got past me.

  My work didn’t just improve on the practice field, either; it also improved in the weight room. I knew I would have to be stronger if I wanted to stay on the offensive line, but I knew I would also have to be faster. The guy that got by me during the game took advantage of our difference in speed. I knew I would have to improve my speed if I didn’t want that to happen again. I actually extended my weight room time to spend more time on the treadmill, even though I was already doing the speed drills during practice. I was willing to put my body through torture if it meant more playing time on Saturdays.

  I also used that week to get adjusted to the new challenge of balancing school and practice. Even though the days were shorter, and the work was easier, I would have to work harder on my grades than I did in high school if I wanted to transfer to a University. I would need at least a 2.0 grade point average, on a scale of 1-4, to be able to transfer, but I wanted to better my chances by maintaining at least a 3.0 average. I would have to spend even more time studying, in addition to the extra time on the treadmill. Slowly, college was becoming overwhelming again.

  Chapter 45

  The following game was our second non-conference game, but our first away game. I hoped that at least our away games would be a little more luxurious than high school (after all, we were representing an entire college). I realized how wrong I was when the bus arrived. Only one bus was used to take our team of 55 to the game. I would not have been surprised to learn that my parents had used the same bus when they went to college many years ago. The once-white bus was no longer white, and the step leading into the bus had been rusted through. I feared that we would start the season on a losing streak because we wouldn’t be able to make it to the game. To my relief, we arrived in one piece.

  As the game went on, the new offensive tackle continued to secure his role. I knew eventually he would have to mess up, though. As the 2nd quarter began, he proved me right. The play he ran called for him to stand and quickly run to the other side of the line to block for the running back. It was one of those tricky plays, but it was a play that we had worked on numerous times during practice. When the ball was snapped, the guy quickly stood up, ran to the other side of the line, then stood there and looked for someone to block. He ran the play flawlessly, but unfortunately, he ran the wrong play. Once he left his spot, their defender met our running back and took him down hard. Our running back didn’t expect the lineman to leave, so he was surprised when he met the defender early. In fact, he was so surprised that he fumbled the ball.

  The next time our offense went out there, our team would be using a different offensive tackle. I knew I would only have one chance to prove my worth. I guess my extra time on the treadmill paid off because no one got past me during that drive. I was expecting some praise from our line coach after the drive was over, but I guess that kind of pe
rformance was more of an expectation in college. At least it was good enough for me to finish the game on the field.

  After the game was over, I was again more concerned with my performance than the result of the game. We won the game, but more importantly, I didn’t let anyone past me. I tried using the bus ride back home to enjoy the feeling I had after my redeeming performance, but I couldn’t even hear myself think. On that trip, I learned the impact a bad muffler had on a moving vehicle.

  I was so excited about my performance that I couldn’t wait to tell my buddy Mike about it. After getting his answering machine, I decided not to leave a message and instead, planned on just calling him again later. As it turned out, he had produced another great game. Even though he was a backup, he was quickly gaining popularity after only playing in two games. He was known to all the students, and even the professors would talk about his game performance during class. He was invited to the best parties, and became popular there, too. As much fun as he was having during his first season, he knew he would only get better and the parties would only get bigger.

  Chapter 46

  After another good day of school began the week, I was really looking forward to practice. With our tackle still injured, and a great personal performance during the game, there was no way I wouldn’t be a starter in our third game. After the daily huddle, we went to work with our small groups. As more time went by, the more nervous I became. I knew the news would come, I just didn’t know when. A few minutes into group practice, I got some news, but it wasn’t the news I was looking for.

  The coach announced that I would remain the number one backup for the offensive line. He also announced that our injured tackle simply sprained his ankle and he would be good to go at the end of the week. I was crushed. I finally earned a spot on the starting line, just to have it taken away again. At least I had a good spot amongst the backups. It would still be up to me to earn more playing time during the upcoming games.

  As the season went on, I retained that number one backup spot. I didn’t see much playing time, but when I did get in to play, I made the most of it. In the next six games that followed, I didn’t let a single defender by me. Unfortunately, the starting offense remained flawless as well, so I remained the top backup. A big help in retaining that spot came from my improved speed and strength. I continued my intense workout routines throughout the season, and spent more and more time on the treadmill.

  Mike continued to improve his season as well. He was still considered a backup running back, but he played almost as much as the starting running back. The coach was really impressed with his speed and his knack for finding the end zone. He didn’t want his new running back to waste his talent sitting on the bench, so he decided to alternate running backs in an effort to throw off the opponent’s defense. And even though they pretty much split playing time, he still led his team in both rushing yards and touchdowns.

  Another surprise during my first season of playing college football was the possibility of not making it to the playoffs. In high school, your team simply had to have more wins than loses to make the cut. In junior college, we would have to be one of the top four in our conference just to advance to the conference playoffs. We had more wins than losses, but we were only tied for 4th place going into the last game of the regular season. We would need a victory in order for Whitaker Junior College to avoid being kept out of the playoffs for the first time in five seasons.

  Chapter 47

  As with the rest of the games that season, I hardly got a chance to play in the last regular season game. Even though I was only a part of a few plays during that game, I was still a part of a team that was going to fight their way into the playoffs. Finally, with the game over, we walked off the field as victors.

  Actually, we didn’t walk off the field, we ran off. We had been tied for 4th place. We didn’t just need to win; the team we were tied with had to lose. That team was Faith Community College, a team that beat us on our home field during week five. It was explained to me that for us to make it to the playoffs, we would have to have a better record than Faith at the end of the season. If we had the same record as they did, Faith would make it to the playoffs because they had already beaten us. As luck would have it, FCC played their game right after ours finished. As a team, we ran into the locker room to watch their game in the hopes that they would lose and give us the better record.

  Faith Community College was playing Byron Junior College. Byron was the best team in our conference, and had already secured their spot in the conference playoffs. Even though they would be number one in the playoffs, no matter what the outcome of the game was, they would still be trying their hardest to win so that they would have a better national rank while trying to make it into the National Junior College Title Game. We looked forward to watching the game, knowing that there was no way FCC would take the victory from Byron Junior College.

  The game started out as a blowout. Going into halftime, Byron was up by 21 points, and we were on the verge of securing our place in the conference playoffs. During the 2nd half, Byron decided to play their backup players to save their starters for the following week. That would prove to be a major mistake. Faith Community College was able to fight their way back into the game. Going into the 4th quarter, Byron was only up by one touchdown. But after their punt returner fumbled the ball near the goal line, FCC was able to take advantage and tie the game up.

  Our chances of making it to the conference playoffs came down to the last few minutes of that game. With possession of the ball, a score from Byron would open the way for us to play in the play-offs. If, however, FCC stopped them and came up with a score of their own, Whitaker Junior College would be out of the playoffs, breaking their 5-year streak. The next play was one of the most painful plays to watch as a spectator. Bryon’s running back got the ball with time running out and nothing in front of him but the end zone. We were guaranteed to play the following week - until a line judge declared that the running back had stepped out of bounds as time had expired.

  That day, I learned about college football overtime rules. Junior college used the same rules as major college football. Each team was given the ball at the opponent’s 25-yard line. After each team had a chance to score, the team with the most points in that period won. If both teams scored the same amount of points, they would move on to another period until one team was able to score more than the other at the end of a round. After two periods, Faith Community College came up with the most impressive, and most heartbreaking, comeback I had ever seen, both as an athlete and as a spectator.

  Chapter 48

  The next few weeks were dedicated to school. Thanks to a surprising performance by Faith Community College, I spent my first post-season in three years following the playoffs as a spectator rather than as a player. Since we were out of the playoffs, our coach had no use for us until summer practices started back up the following season. He wanted us to enjoy the break and use the time to let our bodies heal. I took his advice and enjoyed the time, but I did not let my body heal. Instead, I continued with my intense weight lifting, as well as speed drills on the treadmill. I figured that if everyone else took the coach’s advice, then I would be the only one in the weight room during the off-season, which would give me a huge advantage. When I wasn’t working out, I was using my extra time to study and complete homework assignments. The only time I gave myself a break was when the University of Southern Michigan was playing on TV.

  As a fan of the sport, Mike was fun to watch. Any time he had the ball, he could turn the play into magic. As his best friend, it was still hard to believe that he was the same guy I witnessed running from the Becker County deputies a few years back. The guy I grew up with was a star on national television. He wasn’t the best performer on the team, nor was the team built around him, but I had a strong feeling that he had a lot to do with their 10-1 record going into their last game of the regular season.

  Their last game was an important game. Even t
hough they had only lost one game, their record still wasn’t good enough to play in the Major College Football Championship Game. They were, however, trying to play for another prestigious post-season game. In major college football, there were over 30 post-season games. Depending on which game they played in, the winning school of that game would get a specific sum of money, while the players received gifts such as jewelry or shoes. As each game grew in prestige, the value of the gifts, and the sum of money, increased. Additionally, major college football teams were ranked after all of the post-season games were complete. So winning a more prestigious game would increase a team’s overall national ranking. That format was similar to junior college, however, junior colleges didn’t receive money or gifts for winning - just pride.

  Other than the national championship game, the top four prestigious college games were played on New Year’s Day. The only thing keeping USM from playing on January 1st was a battle with their rival, and our hometown team, the University of Northeastern Michigan. It was a game that divided the town of Whitaker. Half of the town would root for UNM, because you could practically see their campus from Whitaker City Hall. The rest of the town would root for their hometown hero on the rival team. Either way, nobody planned on missing that game, and not a seat was available in Becker County Stadium.

  Chapter 49

  A few days before the rivalry game was set to kickoff, Mike gave me a call. He couldn’t stop talking about how excited he was to come back home and play in front of his friends and family. It would also be interesting for him because he grew up rooting for Northeastern, but he was trying to be part of a team that beat them. Once he caught his breath, he gave me even better news. The students were allowed a certain amount of tickets to go to the game and represent the visitors’ cheering section. He was able to grab two of those tickets, and planned on giving them to his parents so that they could watch him play. As he was getting those tickets, his parents were getting tickets of their own. He was left with two extra tickets to the game. He knew I would want one of them, but he didn’t know what to do with the other. My parents never missed one of my games, so it was an honor to take my dad to his first major college football game.