Seniors provide victories, memories E-mail
Written by Matt   
Tuesday, 14 July 2009 14:54

Mizzou’s Senior Day game against Kansas State was far from a perfect performance. The offense sputtered early and the defense struggled late. Chase Daniel was erratic throughout.

But ultimately that’s not what Saturday night was about and it’s not what this column is going to be about. I’ve devoted plenty of column space to calling for the head of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. I’ve written a lot of words questioning Daniel’s ability to perform against college football’s big boys.

But this column is about saluting the 22 seniors who gave everything they had to resurrecting the University of Missouri’s football program. It’s safe to say that’s been a successful endeavor. The Fab 22 will graduate having won more games than any other class in the program’s history. And without knowing it they played an instrumental role in making the last four years the single greatest four years of my life.

Faurot Field has become a home away from home for me since I moved to MU. So many defining memories of my college experience have been made inside Memorial Stadium on football Saturdays. Whenever you leave home and move in with a group of complete strangers there’s always going to be a certain degree of awkwardness involved while you’re still getting to know everyone. But throughout that transition Tiger football was one thing we could always talk comfortably about. Inside Memorial Stadium those same strangers became my family.

And in many ways the players were a part of that family as well. That’s what makes college sports so great. You don’t just see the players on Saturday when they take the field. You live in the dorms with them, eat the same dining hall food and take the same classes. They’re MU students just like you are.

There’s not enough paper to talk about every one of the seniors. But I’d be remiss if I didn’t specifically mention Chase Daniel—the guy who more than anyone has come to symbolize this football resurgence.

Chase wasn’t the best quarterback in college football. He’ll end his career without winning a Heisman Trophy. In fact, the final pass he ever threw on Faurot Field wan an interception. But while he may have not even been the best quarterback in his own conference he was most certainly our best and Mizzou fans will go to the grave defending him.

I was fortunate enough to watch Brad Smith quarterback the Tigers during my freshman year. Smith was a special player in his own right and was considered to be the best quarterback to ever play for the Tigers before Daniel came along. But if you slight Brad in front of a Mizzou fan you’ll be in for a shouting match. Slight Chase and you’re in for a fistfight.

And that goes for the rest of the 22 seniors as well. This group didn’t give Tiger fans the National Championship we all dreamed about. But at least they made us believe that it was an attainable goal.

I guess everything I want to say to the unforgettable class of ’09 can summed up in one sentence. From Heisman Trophy finalist Chase Daniel to little-used safety Mack Breed: Thanks for the memories.


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