There are three games every season that you remember for a long time regardless of the outcome: senior days, rivalry games and the final game of the year, hopefully at a bowl game.
These are emotional games for the team because it marks the final time seniors will get to play a home game, face their rival or play a college football game. Some years, like 2018, all three of these events come together at the same time: losing on your home field to a rival with no bowl game to follow.
I cannot put into words how difficult it is to be in a locker room for those games. In the blink of an eye, the careers and, quite frankly, the lives of a dozen or more young men change forever. That’s a sudden and stark realty for which one cannot prepare themselves.
Football players are continually in a routine. Classes, treatments, meetings, practice, meals, study hall, sleep. It’s rinse and repeat four or five days a week, then gear up for a game on Saturday. Rest and recover Sunday. Do it all again the following week.
That’s the in-season life for a college football player for four or five years. And then it suddenly comes to an end. There won’t be practice or meetings the next week. There won’t be a game next Saturday. There won’t even be a next season.
Some may have a pro day to prepare for, they may participate in a senior bowl game or may even get a chance to play professionally. But, none of that will be the same as what they have been used to during their collegiate career. For many, they will never play an actual football game ever again.
These scenes are always easier in wins, whether its at a bowl site or an exhilarating victory over ASU in the Territorial Cup, as was the case in 2016. A happy locker room is a wonderful place to be in those moments.
However, even the best season-ending moments don’t overshadow the true weight of the moment. These young men have concluded a transformative period in their lives, and soon they will be going their own separate ways. That specific team will never be together in a locker room again.
This Saturday is not the final game for this year’s Arizona football team, but it is the last time they will suit up and play at Arizona Stadium. Next week, it will be the last time they prepare for the all-important Territorial Cup. A loss this week will ensure next week’s game is their last.
But the finality of the situation is not the point. The real importance is the journey each of these young men have taken together, whether it be for a couple seasons or all five. To a man, they have accomplished so much regardless of what the win-loss records may show for each of their seasons, including this one – their last one.
This particular group of seniors has endured a lot over the years. The fifth-year seniors came on board in 2015 following a 10-win Fiesta Bowl season. Their worlds were rocked another year later when teammate Zach Hemmila tragically passed away. They suffered through a three-win season. They learned the head coach that recruited them was being fired after a season-win bowl season. They laid the foundation for a new era of Arizona football under the leadership of a new head coach.
Through it all, they have given their heart and soul to the program, and they have done it together.
They should be proud of what they have accomplished, and we as fans should be proud of them. We should recognize their contributions to the program, to the university and to the community. We should encourage and support them to go on to bigger and better things in life, whether that includes football or not, but always welcome them back to the family when they return.
As the saying goes, once a Wildcat, always a Wildcat.
I worry that attendance is going to be disappointingly low this Saturday night. Expectations and enthusiasm have waned during the five-game losing streak. Utah is a highly-ranked team and heavily favored. The weather is finally cooling off, and an 8 p.m. game time may be both too late and too chilly for some.
Nevertheless, for those attending Saturday night, be sure to get to the stadium a few minutes early so you can be on hand for the pregame Senior Night ceremony. These young men – and their families – have both sacrificed and gained so much from their collegiate experience. They deserve your cheers and applause.
And who knows, maybe something magical and unexpected happens at Arizona Stadium. It wouldn’t be the first time these seniors were a part of an upset.
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