Savor Success: Losses in College Football Are Inevitable No Matter Who You Are

There are 120 teams in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly known as Division 1-A.

That means there will be 1,440 regular season games played in 2010.

Out of those 120 teams only one, two or three will probably go unbeaten. Okay, this year, maybe more, but you get the point. Odds are, no matter who you are your team is going to lose at least once this year.

Contrary to our knee-jerk, over-reactive, "what have you done for me lately" world, a loss does not signal the end of the world or the total decline and devastation of a football program and the winning exploits of said program's past.

No, losses happen. Sometimes multiple losses. Look at Florida. Do you not think Gator fans are questioning their very existence?

Living in the heart of Buckeye country I got to witness first hand the devastating melt down effect a loss has on a program coming just one week from experiencing apocalyptic emotions caused by Alabama's first defeat in 20 games.

I know the anguish.

How can this happen, you wonder? How can a team that looks so amazingly dominant one week come out and have its lunch handed to them the next?

I sat back, listened, watched and read as fans and various press outlets across the country dissect and over digest what is going wrong with various programs after they lose. Yes, the desperation that spread from Tuscaloosa to Lincoln to Columbus must be amplified to an infinite range is Gainesville.

Who must be fired? Why don't they run this play or use THIS formation? Do they really think (insert player here) is the best they have at that position? They need to recruit better!

Look, it was only in 2007 that I watched Alabama lose six games. I remember my final semester at The Capstone when the Tide were a preseason No. 3 and finished 3-8, so guess what? A loss or even a FEW losses is not that big of a deal.

As fans we become too spoiled too fast and we forget to NOT take success for granted.

College football is a game played by 18-22-year-old kids. Do you remember what you were like from age 18 to 22? Do you think you would be able to focus week-in and week-out at the highest level against great competition in front of thousands of fans as millions of people watched, posted, tweeted and analyzed every single block, pass, tackle and run with 24-hour news coverage and multiple-hour blocks of cable sports dedicated to breaking you down with a room full of "experts"?

I seriously doubt it.

So cheer your team on and savour that big win. Enjoy that championship season and make sure you order that title memorabilia. Store those exploits in your mind and keep them at the ready the next time you think your team "failed' you.

You never know. It could be your team that decides to bit the dust this Saturday as losses are going to happen and guess what? That's okay.

Unless of course, it's to a rival.

Then throw this article out the window.