That's Right, We're Not from Texas

The Vanderbilt University Commodores need to win two of their last three games to become bowl-eligible for the first time in 23 years. With Florida, Kentucky and Tennessee remaining on the schedule, that will be no easy task, but it's not outside the realm of possibility.

After over 20 years of losing seasons, there should be a fundamental difference between the Vanderbilt football fan and the fan of those teams that, you know, win year after year. While they spend the entire season praying their team doesn't let them down by losing the big game or slipping-up against a heavy underdog, we have the luxury of being optimists: Our team can and might have a storybook season.

Unfortunately, the "same-old-Vanderbilt" refrain is heard all too often in Middle Tennessee. Yes, we squandered the season's 4-0 start by losing the last four games to stand at 4-4 on the season, but we can still win the last three games. Seriously, we can. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people that have followed Vanderbilt football over the years do not share the same optimism displayed by the Vanderbilt student section in the above picture. In fact, these "fans" routinely file out of games when the opposition leads by more than a touchdown in the fourth quarter, presumably to beat the heavy post-game traffic that everyone associates with Vanderbilt football.

As for me and mine, we choose to believe that our team can win, which is far better than hoping they don't lose.

"The spirit, the will to win, and the will to excel are the things that endure. These qualities are so much more important than the events that occur." Vince Lombardi