The loss to Georgia was brutal, but it doesn’t change what TCU’s journey taught us all | Opinion
Well, TCU’s magical story didn’t end like anyone hoped.
In fact, the National Championship football game Monday night against Georgia was brutal. Of course, we would have loved to have seen the hometown Horned Frogs clobber the Georgia Bulldogs. But it went the other way, a 65-7 Georgia win.
Still, the journey to get here was one for the ages. They came up short of the dream of a National Championship, but once the sting of defeat fades, we can all rest assured that Fort Worth and TCU reaped the benefits anyway. A loss, even a big one, doesn’t diminish what the Horned Frogs accomplished.
The schools TCU competes with are mostly much bigger. In fact, based on size alone, there’s no way the Frogs should have made it this far. This team, spearheaded by the tough, talented and likable Max Duggan, scrapped its way to the top when no one expected it.
Duggan will forever be a Horned Frog legend. And while the huge loss will be painful, the team made history and 40 years from now, these players watch another national championship game with their grandkids and remind them of the night they reached the pinnacle.
The program and the university will only benefit from the incredible 2022 run. TCU climbed to a level many thought it could never reach, and as a result, doors are open for similar future runs, too. That’s a great thing for Fort Worth; a strong TCU is good for the city, and football at the highest level brings a profile that little can match.
But there are lessons, too, about competition, teamwork and reach for new heights. That’s the thing about football, especially at the collegiate level. For a few hours once a week, we realized that our future looks a bit brighter when we put aside heavy concerns to cheer on the next generation.
That’s what we learned watching these Horned Frogs slowly and steadily climb to the playoffs, winning fans and admirers along the way.
More than just success in sports, this run was about supporting one another to overcome adversity and achieve new heights togther. There will always be more touchdowns to score, more chances to win and more opportunities to prove oneself. Just like there’s chances to lose and get better. That’s the game of football — and that’s life, too.
Georgia was clearly the class of college football, but TCU is the story that people will remember.
BEHIND THE STORY
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Editorials are the positions of the Editorial Board, which serves as the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s institutional voice. The members of the board are: Cynthia M. Allen, columnist; Steve Coffman, editor and president; Bud Kennedy, columnist; Ryan J. Rusak, opinion editor; and Nicole Russell, editorial writer and columnist. Most editorials are written by Rusak or Russell. Editorials are unsigned because they represent the board’s consensus positions, not the views of individual writers.
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This story was originally published January 9, 2023 at 10:17 PM.