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Show Monday, December 8, 2008 The Signpost Sports writer dreams of money, women, fame; wakes up still in parents' basement By Gentry Reinhart sports columnist The Signpost MISSOULA, Mont. It's hard not to feel a little down sitting in my hotel room in Missoula after the football team's loss to the University of Montana. In a way, I feel relieved that my time spent at Weber State University and The Signpost is coming to an end. Graduation has been a long time coming and is something I've looked forward to for the last decade. But there's another, stronger feeling that one of the best years of my life is winding down and with it, another chapter in my life as well as in Weber State University sports. It's easy to compare sports to life, a series of peaks and troughs cycle through seasons and leave in its wake triumph, loss, confusion and clarity. Through this last year I have experienced it all. The most noteworthy of all my experiences this past year would have to be the friends I've made at the paper and through stories I've done for The Signpost. Coworkers, athletes, advisors, professors and students have all had a profound effect on what I've learned and the times that have shaped my last year at school. Coming off a divorce and moving back in with my parents made things difficult for this "non-traditional" student. It wasn't easy to meet people and find a niche, but I did. And I owe most of my thanks to the patience and generosity of the employees of the school paper. I also found interesting and dedicated individuals in the people I approached for stories from the sports desk. Coach Paul Pilkington, his son Seth Pilkington, Coach Jim Blaisdell-and Coach Dan Walker from the track and cross country teams. Coach Ron McBride, Trevyn Smith, Tim Toone and Bryce Scanlon from the football team, D, ifa) (S IE' (51 and Coach Greg Crompton, Haley McCoy, Rebecca Ritchie, and Ashtyn Webster on the women's soccer team to name a few. These athlete's and coaches have given me the attention and insight that helped me determine exactly what it was I wanted to do when I graduated from this fine institution. The raw emotion and feeling that accompanies all of the sporting events I covered mirrors life both in emotion and meaning. The women's soccer team when they came up short in the Big Sky Championships, the indoor track team after falling one point short on both the men's and women's teams in Pocatello and finally the football team winning an emotional victory in California only to come up short in the throes of a Montana stadium that was among the loudest I've heard. All of these teams and individuals have one thing in common: The admirable and mature way they handled these defeats. The paths to each of these tough defeats were paved with triumphant victories in which individual players and entire teams showed exceptional skill and incredible tenacity to help come away with the wins. All of this is synonymous with our lives and the roads each of us take. Hopefully we undertake challenges and construct a path of wins. But no matter who we are, we'll have a big loss now and then. And just as all the athletes, coaches and teams I mentioned before, it's how we react to these losses that make us successful. It easy to be a gracious winner, but being a gracious loser, that's hallmark of a champion. Good luck to all the other seniors graduating--this week and in the spring, and GO WILDCATS! Comment on this story at wsusignpos t.com. () & if IU 1 1 L &i r 1 1 inl I 151 IB) IL G E X C U S 6 com i mu-ii J mm front Wildcats to blame their loss on die inability to not only hear, but to think, in such conditions, but they didn't make any excuses. "This is a fun place to play," said WSU Head Coach Ron McBride. "They have great fans, it's loud, it's ruckus and that's die way football is supposed to be." Wildcat players on offense and defense said they felt die same. "It was kind of hard to hear," said WSU offensive guard Zac Carlson, "but diere's no excuses for this. We still needed to do our thing. Either team could have won today, it just didn't go our way." The fans weren't just loud, diey were smart. They got deafening when die Wildcats had the ball and silent when the Grizzlies had the ball. "It was loud in here, but that doesn't have anything to do with us not wrapping up or executing," said WSU safety Scotty Goodloe. "They got a lot of momentum from the crowd, but that's the way to play." Surprisingly, the crowd only baited the WSU offense into one false start the entire game. Ironically, die Montana offense was flagged for four false start penalties in the game. The crowd never lost steam throughout die game. Even early in the second half, when a lot of fans were still on their way back from their tailgates, the sound in the stadium was still deafening. "It was nice to have them here," said Montana wide receiver Mike Ferriter. "The conditions down (in Ogden) were a bit different last time. They're an incredible crowd here. It's a great place to play. You couldn't ask for anything else." The crowd also did its job in distracting WSU players. They were on Wildcat wide receiver Mike Phillips for most of the game. After the game, as Phillips walked off the field and into the tunnel, he gave the crowd a round of applause, which they reciprocated in a classy moment in the game's culminatio n. The crowd also gave Trevyn Smith, who had a huge game for the Wildcats receiving for more than 100 yards and running for more than 100 yards, a round of applause as he entered the tunnel. Smith, however, had some other thoughts as to how last weekend's playoff game transpired, realizing if Saturday's game was back in Ogden, it could have had a different result. "I don't think its right that we had to play here," Smith said. "I think it's iuuE !? an A Weber State University fans cheer wrong. Montana didn't deserve that home crowd and that advantage over us. I don't care how you look at it, we beat Montana head up. I don't u U' k I i wmm Dmtekpreti Weneziani January 20 Mew York Chamber Soloists "Paris in the 20's" 1 V- 4-fMLl'tl'T'lW 5 -BROWNING CENTER -DEE EVENTS CENTER -SHEPHERD UNION EVENTS O o kk ) v .- , . Til .-if-i.f to. Mil 1 on their team while being hasseled think we could ever get momentum with their crowd going. Next year we better get those crowds and that fan- base, because we need that crowd u January 10 January 27 LA Theater Works "The Great Tennasee Monkey Trial" JESSES o o n Receive up to T MT t- Vs l4L j L. TV and give life to patients in need New Donors-Earn $35 Today and $80 this Week! Friendly Staff Limited Time Commitment Study While You Donate GRIF0LS Biomat USA 375 S State, Clearfield 801-825-1999 3 i PHOTO BY CATHERINE MORTIMER THt SIGNPOST by Montana fans on Saturday. and home-field advantage in die playoffs." Comment on this story at wsusignpost.com. o ( . |