It’s amazing what a little time and perspective can do

Written by Sean Garland
10/12/2010



Chad Potier (LSUChadP) tweeted a request to me blog about being at the WVU game. Fortunately for me I procrastinated. I thought about a title for that experience and I was going to call it “the best of times and the worst of times”. It’s amazing what a little time and perspective can do isn’t it? Tiger Stadium, that night personified the season thus far. The stadium that night had energy, but it seemed the crowd was waiting for something “bad” to happen. When Jefferson took that sack it was like all the energy was sucked out by a vacuum. As frustrating as the play of the offense was that game, it was still a win “against a quality opponent” yet exiting the stadium you would have thought LSU lost. I can only imagine what it felt like to leave after the UT game. LSU was 5-0 and ranked in the Top 10, yet it felt like LSU was 0-5. The theme continued “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. Now we are in the afterglow of one of the most memorable and fun games that we have had in a long time as LSU fans. LSU is 6-0 and is in position to win the West and a whole lot more. People are transitioning away from being negative; to the outsider it looks like we are fair weather fans who can only be placated by wins. When in reality we just needed to see LSU win a game it was not favored to win, and do so with an offense that had been MIA to that point…there is reason now to take stock in the record and believe that this can still be a year that exceeds most fans’ expectations. This brings me to my final point.



What makes football great is the narrative of life that it brings. Every story, every movie, every book out there is typically based on the redemption of the protagonist. What was great about the UF game and where LSU stands now is because that game was a redemptive chapter in the stories of both Les Miles and Jarrett Lee. For Miles to have to work the clock and show that he had made the staff changes and addressed the necessary breakdowns, and come out victorious was encouraging to see, and I was rooting for him. For Jarrett Lee to come in and have success at the place that is known for being one of his greatest failures was great as well. It was redemption pure and simple. I read a lot of stuff on leadership and one of my favorite quotes comes from John Wooden “Be more concerned with your character, than your reputation”. I think that sums up Miles and Lee perfectly, two men of strong character, who’s reputation will be reshaped by the way they have overcome adversity. Who knows how the rest of the season will play out, but we can hope the worst of times are behind, and only the best of times lay ahead for this team. Saturday Night was a huge, and fun first step into that direction.

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