When it changed…
Anyone that has reached a high level of success can talk with pride about the journey that got them there. They can do so because the route is typically filled with bumps and bruises. Both literal and figurative; the passage is speckled with obstacles, consistently reminding us “Nothing is free” and “Is it worth it?”
Of course, it’s usually worth it in the end. And needless to say nothing of value, no object of passion, no victory, comes easy. Indeed, every level of success comes with increasing levels of challenges, risks and threats. But without them the experience and understanding of character becomes lost.
There is no better definition of character than the Boise State Football program. Their path to success follows the same pattern. So I write this in hopes to provide a brief slice of where this program came from, how it changed, and with confidence, why it continues.
I can do this because I was there. I was there when we found a way to lose a game rather than win one, when we played to “not lose” rather than to win, and I was there the last time we lost to Idaho. I know this because more than just my blood, sweat and tears have fallen on that blue field. I know this because I recognize the game of football goes well beyond what is seen on that beautiful blue field.
This past decade has roots that began well beyond 13 years ago. The Father of Bronco Football Lyle Smith and his championship teams and Jim Criner’s stellar cast of the ‘80 National Championship run are large parts of the storied history. I also don’t forget Pokey Allen’s magic with the ‘94 team. But my story starts a few years after that magical year: same coach, higher division and my first year at Boise State.
I am very honored to be recruited by Pokey Allen’s staff. I strongly believe the rest of the ‘96 recruits can say the same. His staff recruited a special group that year. Not the most athletic and certainly not the most talented as our first season resulted in one of the worst in Boise State history, 2-10.
In ’96 we were just looking for any win. Then shortly after, a different kind of loss, Pokey Allen’s passing and a new head man in Houston Nutt. In his one season at the helm we were just trying to improve the win column, 4-7. Another coach and another year later Dirk Koetter led our improved team to it’s first winning season, 6-5, only to end it on a major downswing with an emotional loss to Idaho via the unforgettable 2-point conversion.
As much as that game hurt, it served a bigger purpose that would become apparent to me after my days at Boise State. I remember walking off that field as the team collectively, both in their hearts and minds, whispered, “never again.”
Then it all changed. In three seasons we had seen 3 coaching changes, multiple heart wrenching losses, and soon, complete emotional devastation with the death of teammate Paul Reyna. This all led up to the ‘99 season, the season that jump-started it all.
It didn’t happen overnight and it wasn’t because of one player, one coach, one season. It was an un-quantifiable mixture of components made up of coaches and players, games and experiences both positive and negative, heart and determination, fused by the fuel of passion that created our path to success.
The strength of Allen, the passion of Nutt, and the preparation of Koetter guided a ’99 team that was not the talented team on the field just the best team. It was a bond, a brotherhood few know of that committed to the nuances, grinds, and rigors done during, between, before and after every college football game every year for five years, all year. It is character. It is that same chip that rests so nicely on each shoulder pad of each player that dons the Boise State war bonnet today.
13 years ago this program was struggling find a win. Today it battles to win 13. And it is no coincidence that Boise State continues to be successful today. They represent the qualities of Bronco football at its highest pinnacle, tough, passionate, prepared, confident; cut from the same cloth that created something special in ‘99.
Some refer to the ‘99 Championship team as the foundation, others as the beginning of this Decade of Dominance. I am just proud to be a part of one massive building block that rests between the successes started in the BJC days of Lyle Smith to the current BCS days of Chris Petersen.
