FanPost

We Are Baylor (And The Road Ahead)

We lost to the Liberty University Flames, an FCS football team, on our home turf by 3 points today.

We lost our coaching staff, our university president, a slew of great players and recruits, and our athletic director to a horrific scandal, one that we are still recovering from, a year.

We have, for the moment, lost our ability to go out and play on a truly competitive level for the Big XII and national championships.

We are more than this. We Are Baylor.

We haven't lost each other.

We haven't lost our heart.

We haven't lost our way.

We haven't lost our facilities, or our amazing school, or our well-funded athletic department.

We believe because we know we can. We Are Baylor.

What do you think the fans of

Alabama Crimson Tide (L vs. UL Monroe 14-21)

Washington State Cougars (Losses vs. Portland State and Eastern Washington in 2015-16)

Florida Gators (L vs. Georgia Southern 26-20)

Oklahoma State Cowboys (L vs. Central Michigan 27-30)

Ohio State Buckeyes (Ranked #8, L to 7-6 Virginia Tech 35-21)

Said about their programs after these games happened to them? Did they quit and run? Did they call for their coaches' heads after one poor performance? Did they split among "party" lines? Why should we? More bad has happened on our behalf and has happened to us than any of them, sure, but one thing remains clear:

One bad loss does not make a lost season.

Is our roster depleted by defection, injury, and youth on every side of the ball? Evidently yes, in fact, more so than most previously thought. But is our team being coached by some of the best young coaches in the game, coaches that could have had jobs easily elsewhere? Yes.

Schematically, we have tasked our players with learning not just a playbook, but an entirely new way of learning and playing football. Tactically, we have asked them to find alignments and make plays in completely unfamiliar ways. While it wouldn't be expected that these adjustments would result in what we saw on the field tonight, it (obviously) is not out of the realm of possibility. There is talent, there is coaching. It will take time to put it together.

We stand together. We Are Baylor.

It has been shocking to me to see all of the people on ODB wishing or talking about getting rid of tickets, or not coming to games, or being "done" with our football program. Some seem to have forgotten the meaning of being part of the Baylor family. The reason I came to Baylor, and the reason why BU alumni always share close bonds, is because we, as Baylor Bears, stick with one another as a community. There are not many universities that I know of that can say that about their students and alumni. I hope that none of us takes it for granted. From personal experience, I know that my ability to be at Baylor and to be with the people that I know from Baylor have been the greatest blessings I've had the privilege to have in my life. It is also, many times, all I have to turn to. This thing that we have built on 1000 acres in Waco, Texas is the result of years of people banding together in good times and bad to create the best place possible to advance the work of the church, create educated people, and to foster a thriving community of scholars from all walks of life. Our football team is the most visible and popular ambassador for the community that we have. While they may not be competitive at the moment, they are still our most visible representatives in the media and in the popular consciousness.

If you can, if you have the heart and the means to, please support them. They are in the unenviable position of being extremely young, learning a new coaching staff's ways, and being constantly criticized and ridiculed in the media because of the foolish, selfish, and terrible actions of people that came before them and have nothing to do with them. They deserve everything that we as fans can give them.

This is the beginning of something great. Though the road ahead may be rough and difficult, if we, as Baylor Nation, choose to stand together and walk forward, we will one day reach the heights of our former glory, on and off the field as a beacon of light in the college football world.

Who are we? We Are Baylor.

Fanposts on ODB are user-submitted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions/views of OurDailyBears.com, SB Nation.com, or any of the writers, editors, or contributors here.