As a USC fan and alum, hearing the news of serious turbulence was the last thing I expected this morning. I imagine most sports fans would feel the same way, hearing such news about their favorite team. Much like our personal transportation we essentially take all team travel for granted, even in inclement weather. If nothing else, it certainly contributes something unexpected to an already bizarre season. While I imagine the severity of the situation may have been and will continue to be slightly blown out of proportion (Booty said something to the effect of “not the worst turbulence I’ve experienced”), something like this HAS to affect a team in some way. Right?
I’m convinced that when watching a DVD about the 2007 USC Football season, the plane incident on the way to South bend will figure largely in the narrative chosen to tell the Trojans’ story. It could be the rallying point of a young team searching for an identity that propels them to a dominant run and a BCS Title Game. It also could just as easily be the most interesting thing to happen to an over-rated, boring team that strips them of all remaining confidence. And more seriously, it may serve as the final nail in the coffin of the already comatose Trojan mystique recently rebuilt by Pete Carroll.
If Pete Carroll is as good of a coach and motivator as I think he is, he’ll use this event to motivate his team to a level of performance not yet achieved this season. Then again, I’m a homer that promoted the Ting brothers for the Heisman trophy (with the slogan: Half Chinese, Half Japanese, All-American!). Of course, he may have already lost this team in the turbulence of the season, well before getting on that flight to South Bend. Regardless of the outcome, this will at least give the announcers something else to talk about besides those putrid, kelly green jerseys and the Irish growing the grass waist-high.
Fight on ‘SC! Beat the Irish!
Update: All seriousness aside, I sent out an email to the biggest Trojan honks I know to solicit their response about the story. I received this gem back from my favorite college football blogger, SEC enthusiast and USC-alum Kuhndog:
Pros:
-If their lives flashed before their eyes, the older ones remembered the good seasons and will want to recreate that. The newer ones remembered playing like crap, and will want to change that.
-On a similar note, they’ll realize that if they had died, everyone would remember their last game as being a mediocre performance against Arizona.
-It will likely lead to a hate of the weather in South Bend, which should easily extend to a hate of the Irish.
-Now that they’ve known real fear, nothing can stand in their way.
Cons:
-After being forced to analyze the impact of their lives in a manner of seconds, they may realize that football is unimportant in the grand scheme of things.
-I hear that Notre Dame is currently landscaping their field to simulate the inside of a crashing airplane.
-Lawrence Jackson hurt himself with a popsicle stick.
I heard that Pete Carroll stated afterwards that the teams’ goal from the start was just to land safely. Whether or not it was a good landing was something that was out of their control and would have to be left up to the voters.