An ode to the Mustangs

As I sat in the UTEP press box watching the final seconds tick off the clock, I realized something. My time watching Mustang football as a student and covering the games for The Daily Campus was over. I knew it would happen sooner or later, and I felt it coming for weeks. But it didn’t really hit me until I saw only four seconds left on the clock.

I covered the team for the better part of two years, and for all the losses I’ve seen, I really believe the football program is headed in the right direction.

While covering the team, I’ve been accused of not being “on board” with the program, and from the other side I’ve been questioned as to whether I’m a fan or a journalist. To straighten those criticisms out, I am on board, and I am a fan and a journalist. I’ve invested too much time in the team not to be both.

Obviously, in my heart, I’ve been rooting for the Mustangs as long as I’ve been writing, it’s just not something I’ve been allowed to convey through my articles. Now that my tenure of covering games is over, I finally have a chance to talk SMU football from my heart, so I’m going to do just that.

Before covering football, I’ll admit that there were many other places I would have rather been on Saturday than in Gerald J. Ford Stadium — mainly in my bed asleep/hungover.

In fact, my first year, I’m not sure I went to any games. I made an effort to go my sophomore year and made it to four home games.

Last year’s UTEP game was the first game I covered and at first I was more excited about doing it for the paper than for the football team. But something happened. Despite the fact that the team kept losing, I found myself being drawn in deeper and deeper.

I’ve been to every home game since 2003 and two away games (TCU and UTEP). And with the exception of this year’s Louisiana Tech game, I’ve stayed through the entirety of them.

I’ve seen 44-point blowouts, two-point losses and thankfully, wins. But the most important things I’ve seen have been off the field.

I’ve seen the determination of the players, coaches, staff, administration and athletic department to turn SMU football back into a successful program.

Say what you will about Head Coach Phil Bennett, but he’s got a plan. It may take a while for that plan to come to fruition, but it’s going to happen.

Successful football programs can’t be built overnight or over a few years for that matter, but they can be destroyed, as the SMU community witnessed.

I’m not going to go into the youth of the team, I’ve heard all of that talk and at times I feel like it’s been used as an excuse. Now I realize it’s the truth.

Clark Castle is sports editor for The Daily Campus. He can be reached at [email protected].