I guess we shouldn't be that surprised, when it was all said and done. Yes, we try to get excited about the Buffs every year and it's usually this time of the season we face the cold hard facts. The cold hard facts are this:
For all intents and purposes, nothing seems to have changed.
Are the Buffs still a heavily penalized team? Yes
Are the Buffs unprepared with what looks like no offensive identity? Yes
Do the Buffs still make the same special teams mistakes? Yes
Do teams in BCS conferences continue to make our athletes look inferior? Yes
Do the Buffs lack emotion on the road? Yes
Yesterday was supposed to be one of the best days of the year. It turned into a day of embarrassment. I was embarrassed that I actually believed the Buffs could play with a team like Cal on the road. I was embarrassed to watch Larry Scott, Pac-10 commissioner, talk about the Buffs coming to the conference. I am embarrassed when I think about what the media and the other Pac-10 teams are thinking this morning. I am embarrassed to hear people saying we will be battling Washington State for last place every year. I was embarrassed watching the game with Oklahoma Sooner fans who felt fortunate to be associated with a team like OU and Bob Stoops because "it would be hard to deal with this every Saturday."
My only real question is if the powers that be feel as embarrassed as we do? They have to, right...right? I mean, 7,000+ Colorado fans (potential donors to the University), excited about the move to the Pac-10, travel to Berkeley in the hopes that this year will be different with some experienced depth on the roster. And that's what they get for their travels? 52 - 7.
They have to be embarrassed, right...right?
We already received emails from the University that Hawaii tickets are going 4 for $60. Soon enough, the Rockpile in Coors Field will be a more expensive ticket. Can't imagine what tickets will go for when Iowa State comes to town or Kansas State or Baylor.
I feel hopeless. Mostly because I honestly don't know if losing bothers the powers as much as it does the rest of us.
Fill in the blank. Would the University of ___________ allow this to happen or would they fix it? Alabama, Nebraska, Texas, USC, Michigan, Notre Dame...wouldn't allow it and until you start acting like the big boys, you won't be the big boys.
Hawaii comes to town next week. I sit here wondering if we can even keep up with the Rainbow Warriors. The Buffs might catch a break as Hawaii landed in Newark, N.J., last Wednesday after traveling a school-record 4,955 miles on the first leg of a 13-day trip. After their win last Saturday against Army, the Warriors fly to Las Vegas for a week's stay before playing in Boulder.
Sure, it is possible to turn the ship around but we're still talking about the same issues we had four years ago.
The same things are still broken with no fix in sight.