Christensen: The Few, The Proud

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By Todd Christensen, The Mtn. Insider
October 26, 2011

This past weekend I was involved in the most lopsided victory in my tenure as a player or broadcaster.  The 69-0 TCU shellacking of New Mexico was the most points the Horned Frogs had scored in their long history, a football story that is more than a century old.  This debacle was over before anyone broke a sweat as the Lobos turned the ball over on their first two possessions and it was 20-0 before the first quarter was barely half over. 

One can look to the excellence of the Fort Worth gridders and attribute that to the rout, but a team that can only garner 83 yards of total offense in a day and age of Nintendo numbers clearly is revealing a level of ineptitude that is painful to watch.

But one thing that was disconcerting to me as a broadcaster was to see that in many cases, there were players and even coaches from the cherry and silver that appeared to quit.  That’s a four letter word in any sporting circle as it’s axiomatic that regardless of the score, you never simply concede defeat.  It’s been a trying year for those in Albuquerque as Mike Locksley, the former head coach, was fired and some key transfers and injuries have gutted a football team that was already thin talent-wise.

Yet I couldn’t help but notice that there were a few players that continued to strive with all their might despite the adverse conditions.  I watched Demarcus Rogers continue to throw his body into the line despite his offensive linemen being outmanned by TCU's powerful front seven, getting a first down when he somersaulted over a defender after a particularly tough hit.  I saw Ty Kirk make a number of outstanding catches and take some vicious hits despite the score.  I witnessed the delight of Jaymar Latchison in getting a sack when this has not been his best year--people do not appreciate how difficult it is to rush the passer the entire game.   Lucas Reed was supposed to have a big year catching the ball, but despite his lack of production, he has made himself into a good blocker. 

And then there was Destry Berry, a defensive back who had come up in run support only to fall down while Ed Wesley took off on a long run.  But instead of lying on the ground he got up, followed the play all over the field where he weaved in-and-out-of traffic until he finally helped bring Wesley down some fifty yards from where he started.

The lingering image I’ll have of this game, however, will be Carmen Messina.  It was not just that he had 14 tackles and a sack, but the fact that he filled gaps, rushed the passer, covered backs and receivers, made hits from sideline-to-sideline, challenged blockers and essentially did everything within his power to win. 

F. Scott Fitzgerald once said:  "The test of a first-rate intelligence is to retain two opposed ideas in the mind and still retain the ability to function.  One should be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise."  On this day at Amon G. Carter Stadium, Messina had the highest of IQs.  It was a testament to the Churchillian maxim that regardless of circumstance: “Never, never, never give up.”