Wahoo Wire

Courtesy of happehtheory.com

“Groh’s Out, Tuberville’s In.” That was the text I sent to my dad on Wednesday.

For those that don’t know (why would you?), my parents left for Hawaii that day. The American Dental Association was holding seminars all week where only Dentistry and Related Topics were discussed. Here was the itinerary they planned:

10am: Wake up

10:15am: Go to seminars

10:22am: Drink on the beach, eat nachos

2am: Sleep

So when my parents landed in Oahu my dad texted me to let me know they were safe and sound. I was on my way to a meeting when I received his text, and after I texted him the joke, I turned my phone to silent.

After the meeting, I checked my phone to see my dad had attempted to call four times in that span and left two messages. Message one:

“This is INCREDIBLE! Almost half of our flight was UVa alum, and we’re all celebrating! Thanks for the GREAT news!”

Message two (from mom): “Chris, that was so nice of you to think to text dad about this, I’m sure this will make his trip a lot better. The plane was ecstatic when dad told everyone!”

Now, I will say, my father is no plebe when it comes to UVa sports. He’s been a long time season ticket holder, and I figured that of all people I know he would understand I was joking. Apparently not.

The fact that my dad fell for the joke is telling. Like a kid taking candy from a stranger, the fan base is desperate for any good news. Fortunately, UVa won in dramatic Al Groh fashion last weekend: tough defense and an offense that eventually wears down the defense with a heavy ground attack.

It seems no one really has a clue about how many games we will win this season. In fact, the spread on the Indiana game (I am not making this up) an actual question mark. If the defense can play as well as they did last weekend then I don’t see Indiana putting many points on the board.

Then again, if the offense falls back into its ways of giving the ball to the other team, it could be a long day in Charlottesville.

As an armchair genius, I know that there are a few critical things that the team must do in order to achieve success.
Here are the keys of the game:

1) Defensive penetration

2) Limited turnovers

3) The Cavalier NOT falling off the horse

4) People in attendance, watching

If all of these can be fulfilled, I see a Virginia victory on the horizon. Actually, I’ll just be happy if the horse doesn’t buck our mascot off his back.

Although the team this year is probably not one of the more athletic in Groh’s nine year tenure, they have improved as the season has gone on. For example, whereas in the first game we had a conservative portfolio of offensive plays, we attempted two or three downfield passes at the end of the TCU game. Then we come out of nowhere in the Southern Miss game and score double digit points in the first half alone. Then, we play at a previously ranked UNC and humbled their offense, while our offense wore down their defense.

The parallels one can draw between this season and last season are remarkable. Get crushed by a nationally ranked opponent early, play pitifully against a I-AA (FCS, whatever) team, and then go on the road and beat a ranked team. My only hope is that this season doesn’t end in the same fashion as it did a year ago.

Now I know that we all have that part of us that says “If we keep losing, then Al Groh will be fired. Let’s go Indiana!” The question is which sentiment affects us more: our frustration with Al Groh, or our devotion to our football team. There have been many times where a part of me said it was okay to root against the football team.

I know that although it would feel great to have some resolution, it does no good to go through life continuously rooting against things. That is, unless you are an Eagles fan or Pat Robertson. Respectively, they both make good lives out of whining about their team or telling you how wrong it is to have fun.

Therefore, although the team is in limbo in terms of their identity (is this too much Catholicism for a sports column?), hopefully soon they will have a consistent product on the field every Saturday. A win this weekend would be huge.

The best part about this game?

Even if we lose, we are still undefeated in conference play.