All members of the Commodore Nation will remember Saturday fondly over the next few decades. The weather was great, the excitement was palpable, and the country had its attention on Nashville and little old Vanderbilt University. From 9 a.m. and the start of ESPN's "College GameDay" coverage to the waning hours of the night as Vanderbilt students celebrated amidst the legions of Auburn fans driving off in disappointment and disbelief, the way in which our campus and our community came together for a little gridiron action reflects an uncommon spirit and belief.
The turnout at the "GameDay" set both Friday afternoon and Saturday morning would be an indicator of what was to come from the Vanderbilt fans. Lee Corso said that the Friday crowd was the "best ever," according to an interview with Jarred Amato on the blog Conquer and Prevail.
Saturday's set saw a number of fans waiting early and eagerly for a chance to show their support for the Commodores on national television. The signs were hilarious - "The nerds shall inherit the turf" among the standouts - and all of the "GameDay" anchors seemed caught up in the excitement. Corso's boneheaded Auburn pick notwithstanding (it fired up both fans and players), the energy and enthusiasm were on Vanderbilt's side.
Of course, the football team itself, led by the gritty and determined Bobby Johnson, deserves the credit for a fantastic weekend. Their performance thus far had warranted the national attention, and when the clock ran out in fourth quarter with the score 14-13, the Commodores had delivered on their implied promise to be the most surprising and exciting team in the Southeastern Conference. The victory was dirty, but for a team for which a losing season is perennially predetermined by the sports media, it was sweet and it was satisfying.
The Commodores, however, are not in the game to prove themselves to any monolithic college athletics establishment. Coach Johnson and his boys keep their eyes on the prize of success, and proving themselves as a legitimate SEC force has been a nice little side effect. Sure, every college football coach may say they are entirely focused on winning the game, but Coach Johnson says it with sincerity and with the knowledge that, after all the hard work of his players and coaches and the patience and support of a loyal fan base, victory is the only option.
Perhaps the most uplifting aspect of the recent football success is the acknowledgement of how much that success is connected to the university as a whole. The analysts and pundits have hammered home the message that Vanderbilt has done the impressive and impossible as a top-20 university with a top-25 football team. News items leading up to the Auburn game included stories about players spending the off week in the library. The talking heads may look at our academic and athletic success with a detached fascination, but for the Vanderbilt community, it is now business as usual. Senior receiver George Smith summed up the attitude to ESPN's Chris Low.
"We do both here," Smith said. "We can go to class and we can also win football games on Saturday."
By recognizing that success is both important on the playing field and in the classroom, Vanderbilt is on to something that no other school in the NCAA has approached. Success in competition is now joined with success in academics, and our university is the better for it.
