Tuesday, October 30, 2007

The World Keeps Spinning

One of the toughest parts of being an SID is the need to try and make everything seem positive with every bit of news released out of the department. No matter how bad the news may be, the good SID will always, always be able to put a good spin on it. That's the nature of the business and the nature of PR in general.

Losses-- those are the toughest things to write about. There is usually no good spin to a loss, because it's so cut and dried. You can say whatever you want about the game, but the most important part of a sports story, usually and unfortunately, is the final score.

With the exception of our rebuilding women's soccer program this season, every other ETBU fall athletic team went into last weekend with their playoff destiny in their own hands. But coming out of the weekend, only one -- the Lady Tiger volleyball team -- ended up advancing to the postseason.

Disappointing? Very. When you follow a team and a group of athletes as closely as I do all these years, it really hurts to see them get so close to their goal only to come up short. Last Friday's men's soccer game down at Cornish Field was a prime case in point: needing just one win in their final two games against the top two teams in the conference, the Tigers were unable to pull one out. Consequently ETBU won' be making the men's soccer tournament this year, something the Tigers last qualified for back in 1999 when ETBU was still just a provisional member of the ASC and NCAA D-III.

But Friday's 2-1 loss to UTD was particularly excruciating, and it goes to show you just how little a difference there is between a playoff team and one getting ready to go into the offseason already. Tied 1-1 early in the second half, then down 2-1, the Tigers came out like the desperate team they were and attacked the UTD defense most of the second half. But four -- count 'em, four -- shots hit the post. On another shot, the Comets' goalie made an outstanding effort to save a nice header that would also have tied the game.

That's how close things are in this business sometimes -- the difference between writing about a team heading to the postseason and a team disappointed about not getting the opportunity. If you want to get really deep, that's life sometimes -- every shot we take somehow seems to hit the post.

But lost in the disappointment of this past weekend for our men's soccer team is the fact that this was a very young team, still. Only three seniors will leave off this year's team, with everyone else ready to roll again next season. That includes the last two recruiting classes, which have been very, very solid for Coach Jose Alonzo. It's disappointing, yes, the way this season ended -- but our men's soccer program appears to be on the rise again. And there is the positive side of that story.

Disappointment was there also for the Lady Tiger volleyball team, which could have clinched the outright ASC East championship with two wins at home over the weekend. ETBU would have clinched the right to host the conference tournament with a win over UT Dallas on Friday night, but the Comets won all the big points in the first two games and ended up sweeping the Lady Tigers, 3-0.

Again, it was a game of inches, literally -- the first two games were won by two points apiece at 30-28, 30-28. Think of how close that is in volleyball terms. One more ETBU kill stays inside the line, or even grazes it, and it's 29-all. Nothing is guaranteed after that, of course, but 29-all is much closer than being down 29-28. It's an entirely different mindset, and the mindset usually changes much more positively for the home teams in those kinds of tied, critical situations.

That's how close our volleyball team came to hosting this year's conference tournament, which usually means a tremendous advantage for the home team. Now, because of that "game of inches" last Friday, the Lady Tigers have to pack up and go to Dallas this weekend at UTD's place. A big change in plans, obviously. But the goal never changes -- all you want is a chance, and the odds of ETBU winning the conference tournament have now improved from the start of the season, when it was 1 in 13. Now it's down to 1 in 6, and the ladies will certainly be ready to play Friday afternoon against McMurry.

A big positive there, too.

It was also a disappointing day Saturday in Ornelas Stadium. The loss to Mississippi College, technically and mathematically, doesn't eliminate the Tigers from the conference title. But for all intents and purposes, the postseason now is out of reach -- specifically, our ability to control our own destiny is gone. A lot of crazy things would have to happen now, starting with an upset win at Mary Hardin-Baylor this week.

But don't forget -- the Tigers were picked seventh in a nine-team league in the preseason poll. They started the year with a brand new coaching staff and only 10 returning seniors who played their final games in Ornelas Stadium last week. It's a young team that took its lumps against two talented non-conference teams at the beginning of the year but rebounded with a four-game winning streak to open conference play. If nothing changes in the standings the rest of the way, the Tigers will finish no worse than third place in the conference. And now, there will be no mysteries going into the offseason -- Coach Sartain and his staff have their program in place and it's going to be a big offseason for ETBU in recruiting and in getting the returners ready for next season.

Positive, yes.

So while we all jump on the Lady Tiger bandwagon for this weekend's conference tournament, let's not forget the collective growth and progress of all of our programs this fall. There really is something to look forward to once you get past the disappointment. All our programs are going forward, and that's the direction you want to be heading at all times.

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