Column: Say goodbye to the 2006 Huskies

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By Hank Brockett As much as stringing together a few expletives might sound like a good dis, few putdowns carry the same weight as Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." Yes, that curly-haired songwriter from the mean streets of Minnesota knew how to use lyrics as weapons of lasting destruction: "I ain't sayin' you treated me unkind You could have done better, but I don't mind You just kinda wasted my precious time But don't think twice, it's all right." Passionate NIU football fans would be lying if a similar thought didn't cross their minds, with the football team as its target. The team has stumbled after high preseason hopes, losing win-able home games against Ohio and now Toledo, and never synching up its young defense and injured offense. A fitting encapsulation of the season occurred on the second-to-last play against Toledo. With a third-and-goal at the 2, the remaining fans chanted "Wolfe! Wolfe! Wolfe!" The NIU playcalling obliged, but the interior line didn't and the run was stuffed. The unsuccessful fourth down play just meant the third-down play wouldn't be forgotten. There is a tendency to think, be it from massive doses of the game on Saturdays and Sundays or all-week playing of video games like Madden 2007, that problems happen on the football season in isolation. If Temple and Toledo stack the line, then keep gashing them with passes down the middle. But then consider the loss of talented wide receiver Sam Hurd, who kept safeties honest with his speed. Or the injury to tight end Jake Nordin, who could effectively block those extra men on the line. Or an offensive line still seeking a stabilizing young force at center. Then factor in coaching decisions (plenty of us always do), the weather, solid opposing coaches and the randomness of when pigskin meets hands, and a 10-2 conference title contender turns into a 5-5 team with a new goal: a winning season. NIU still deals with high expectations the way one walks on a trampoline for the first time. Examples throughout the country encourage fans and players to bound for great heights. But this new foundation of success carries with it the perpetual fear of falling. The 2006 season, no doubt, will most likely be looked at as a disappointment. And this bad taste shouldn't be forgotten. But at the last home game (7:05 p.m. Friday against Central Michigan), don't feel like you've gone soft if you come to celebrate the seniors for all their years of service. As fans, we're unlikely to see such a player as Garrett Wolfe, an amazing talent who somehow conditioned the crowd to expect a 10-yard run. Celebrating the seniors isn't just for homers; it's for fans who appreciate that good times require so much and can be so fleeting.