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It was an almost-perfect weekend.
This Saturday, we all gathered around the 60" HDTV to toast what was supposed to be an easy win and another notch on the mighty Trojan soldier belt.
Instead, we found ourselves muting the television and looking away because we couldn't take seeing just how clear it was that we were gonna lose. Losing is no fun but it's torture when you're watching it on high def with surround sound.
At the end of the game, Coach Pete Carroll said that the Trojans lost because the other team waited and waited, sticking it out until the end. Stanford stood victorious not because they had the talent but because they had the persistence.
Before the college football season began, every poll ranked USC to come out #1. No surprise there. We've dominated for quite a few years but that was then and this is now. Matt's gone. Reggie's gone. I was even wishing for Carson Palmer last night and he's been gone for ages now and we sure could have used Moody. But that was then and this is now. Now? USC's got talent yes we do, USC's got talent how about you attitude has been shut down. Stanford showed that ANYONE, REGARDLESS of TALENT can win. Stanford started out with a crappy season but their players believed that this game against USC was a fresh start and so it didn't matter what they'd done before. That was then and this is now.
I was sad USC lost but happy I could find a good message in it to apply to my writing. We can all use this reminder, whether on a football field or a writing table. Octavia E. Butler said it first: "You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence."
This Saturday, we all gathered around the 60" HDTV to toast what was supposed to be an easy win and another notch on the mighty Trojan soldier belt.
Instead, we found ourselves muting the television and looking away because we couldn't take seeing just how clear it was that we were gonna lose. Losing is no fun but it's torture when you're watching it on high def with surround sound.
At the end of the game, Coach Pete Carroll said that the Trojans lost because the other team waited and waited, sticking it out until the end. Stanford stood victorious not because they had the talent but because they had the persistence.
Before the college football season began, every poll ranked USC to come out #1. No surprise there. We've dominated for quite a few years but that was then and this is now. Matt's gone. Reggie's gone. I was even wishing for Carson Palmer last night and he's been gone for ages now and we sure could have used Moody. But that was then and this is now. Now? USC's got talent yes we do, USC's got talent how about you attitude has been shut down. Stanford showed that ANYONE, REGARDLESS of TALENT can win. Stanford started out with a crappy season but their players believed that this game against USC was a fresh start and so it didn't matter what they'd done before. That was then and this is now.
I was sad USC lost but happy I could find a good message in it to apply to my writing. We can all use this reminder, whether on a football field or a writing table. Octavia E. Butler said it first: "You don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it's good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That's why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence."
