I'm strangely serene

[Schadenfreude]

I just got to where I'm sleeping for tonight. I'm too tired to read all the posts, but I did want to offer a few thoughts while the game is fresh in my mind.

First, I LOVED the brown shirts, obviously. That was such a thrill for me to see the team come out in those, I really hope we see the brown shirts again. If I were coach, they'd play every home game the way they were dressed tonight.

Also: I'm glad I got to see such a great football game in person. It really was a classic, a game that will be talked about for as long as people talk about Bowling Green-Toledo.

And the Falcons played their hearts out. They really did. They were flying all over the field, and just *sticking* people. I mean *sticking* people. I hated the result, but I was proud of the team tonight. I really was.

I guess finally, I'd say this:

I don't think any of us should apologize for backing into the MAC title game if that's what should happen Wednesday or Thursday.

If the Falcons still manage to win the division -- twenty years from now, few people will remember how they backed in. But they will remember the Falcons won the division.

And if you don't believe me, look up the team's record in 1982. It wasn't pretty -- but they won the MAC, and nearly won a classic California Bowl. That's what people remember -- not how sorry the MAC was that year.

So, Wednesday I'm going to plop in front of the TV, watch Western Michigan (hopefully) thrash Northern Illinois, and not feel a trace of shame about it. I want a division title, and I'm not going to apologize for the manner in which it (hopefully) happens.

I'm really disappointed about the way the game turned out tonight. I do expect to win games like this. I'm sad we didn't.

But I'm proud of the team. They really did fight tonight. I'm proud of 'em.

[Tommy Glantz Is A Sniper]

I was going to say many of the same things.

I'm not happy about the way the game turned out, but I'm proud of our guys. Proud of the way they fought back, not just tonight, but in terms of the season.

It would have been so easy to pack it in after Omar got hurt and the rest of the WMU debacle. It would have been easy to go through the motions after the Boise State game, or after giving up 56 to Wisconsin, or after the Akron loss.

But they didn't. They worked their butts off, played their hearts out, and despite the loss tonight, they've finished the regular season with a legitimate shot to win BG's first conference title in 13 years.

Now it's time to sit back, cheer for Western Michigan and Kent State, and beat those clowns from UT next week when it matters.