All week long, as friend after friend gave their ticket away, saying, “Kristen, we aren’t going to win—what’s the point of going?” I continued to have faith in my Baylor Bears. A lifelong fan of good ol’ Baylor U, I saw my fair share of heartbreak in the 1990s, most of the 2000s. My parents were here in the “golden age,” when Coach Grant Teaff ruled Floyd Casey and our Bears couldn’t be stopped. In fact, in the Ritch home, Grant Teaff is a celebrity. (He gave the most inspiring speech during Freshman Mass Meeting that I think I have ever heard in my life).
So, I never really gave up hope that we would win a game. I believed in us for the WVU, ISU, UT, TCU, and OU games (and, of course, the ones we won), and I wouldn’t stop believing against BCS No. 1 Kansas State. With the magical “Year of the Bear” last year, I knew anything was possible for the Baylor Bears.
My parents come down for the games each week as season ticket holders, so, for this game, I hung out in the heart of the K-State fans with my little sister and her best friend, and, boy, was it good. As we took an early lead, and I cheered, a few fans around me said, “You’re 5-4, don’t get too happy.” But, as the game continued, and we never relinquished our lead over No. 1 K-State, my joy didn’t fade. Aside from the one play that allowed the Wildcats to get the ball on their own one-yard line, we were unstoppable.
After a season of seeing Tweets and statuses that said things like “Looks like the defense didn’t get off the bus today,” “Do we even have a defense?” or “My dad is trying to pay the defense to actually block TCU,” I can proudly say that: we have a defense. As ESPN put it, they expected us to put up points against Kansas but no one expected that defense. It was reminiscent of “Angels in the Outfield,” and it was beautiful.
And, as we held that lead for the entire fourth quarter (when K-State usually bounces back), and “Jump Around” played for the seventeenth time, you could feel the joy rippling through the stadium. Our good ol’ announcer said, “Please, restrain yourselves from coming onto the field,” but this was history in the making. The first time Baylor would have ever beaten a No. 1 team, and only the fifth time that a No. 1 team was beaten by an unranked team (not to mention tying for the biggest No. 1 upset by an unranked team at a 28-point lead), and they expected us to not storm the field? Not a chance.
Although the goalposts remained guarded, it was still insane and everyone was throwing their green and gold afar as the No. 1 Wildcats were sent home.In the times like that, it’s when I know that Baylor is a place where magic happens. It only takes a faith, trust, and a little bit of pixie dust (and a fantastic football team). Collin Klein for Heisman? Nah, Lache Seastrunk, anyone?
And, let’s be honest, it was awesome to see the ESPN.com’s homepage with Baylor University, of all places, on the screen. Beautiful. Just, beautiful. And it’s always nice to see Pat Neff green.
Sic ‘em, Bears! AND SIC ‘EM DEFENSE!