I really thought the stars had aligned.
My brother was the first one to point it out. Last spring, his Duke Blue Devils won the national championship. Last October, my dad’s San Francisco Giants won the World Series. My Ducks made the national championship game, and my brother thought maybe it was our family’s year. It would have been that much sweeter for me, as Duke and the Giants are my teams as well.
But the Ducks couldn’t pull it out tonight. Auburn dominated Oregon’s offense, but even with that, the Ducks found a way to tie the game with two and a half minutes to go. Then a fluke running play, a clutch field goal, and no national championship.
I fully know that sports is not in the upper echelon of important things in life. But I also recognize that in all of my life, I want to have integrity. So even updating my Facebook status to “Well played. Heart breaking, but well played. Congrats Auburn” is an important, though minor, way to show that I will try to take the high road.