Dear Baylor Fans: Enjoy Every Moment of the Journey

Late Wednesday night, instead of getting the sleep I need to do my job at the highest level, I found myself jumping into a Reddit thread about College Football Playoff expansion. I had read one too many comments about how expansion beyond four teams would kill the regular season or make too many games stop mattering. 

I typically lurk without replying, but I felt compelled to write out a defense of playoff expansion centered around the idea that keeping hope alive for more fans is what is best for the sport. 

As I wrote, I was reminded of something that I think I lost last year when the playoff discussions heated up: each game matters because the team I support, love and care about is out there fighting. 

Yes, each game matters for the Bears this season as the favorites to repeat as Big 12 champs while reaching the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history is better than a mere possibility. Yes, each game matters when you’re contending for something. But each game really matters because it’s being played and my team is playing it. 

Students at the University from which I hold a bachelor’s degree—people who I can say I share some experience with—have put immense time and energy into representing that University in competition. Competition surrounded by hype and pageantry and tradition, things that make that shared experience resonate across generations.

Each game should matter to me because coaches, staff, trainers and players have all poured so much of themselves into a spectacle that I get to enjoy, one that keeps me connected to a great part of my life. 

Not every fan needs to have attended the university to appreciate what is given to us for at least 12 Saturdays each fall. In fact, some of the biggest fans and supporters of the Bears fit that description. 

I simply want to take this last opportunity before the Bears’ 2022 campaign kicks off on Saturday to remind myself — and anyone else who reads this article — of the gift that we get each and every year. We get to watch our beloved Bears compete on the gridiron. We get to be reconnected with Baylor University and the larger Baylor family in a special way. 

Whether the Bears go on to contend for a playoff spot or fall to 3-9 after some unpredictable, devastating circumstances, I want to remind myself and any who will listen to appreciate the journey that this team — the players, coaches, and all others involved — is about to go on. Enjoy the little victories in each play, the little improvements from game to game, and most of all enjoy each step along the way.

As a senior on the field celebrating McLane Stadium during the 2021 basketball national championship game, my best friend was behind me worrying that we would blow the lead just like we gave up a 28-3 lead to Oklahoma in football in 2019. All I could tell her was that I had no idea if or when we would get to see the Bears winning on a stage of this magnitude again, so I was going to enjoy those moments as much as I could.

I want to have that same energy through this football season. I want to enjoy where we are at during that particular moment. Enjoy the possibilities and the small victories. Enjoy the plays that make the Baylor Line go crazy and enjoy the conversations at tailgates. I’m hoping that I’ll look up and see that the team has weathered every storm, has pounded that rock continuously and has earned a spot in the College Football Playoff at the end of the year.

Either way, success or failure, I’ll have tried my best to enjoy it despite expectations. Why? Because I love Baylor and I love college football.