Sidelines
Hawaii glad to be on
other end of losingTHE world sees it on your face, when you're losing. There's a certain look to it that's unmistakable. There's a feeling to it. Songs are just a little sadder. Everything is.
The horn section to the winning school's alma mater tugs at the heart strings like little else in the world.
People hug you a little longer when you're losing. You look like you need it. You look haggard. They can almost feel your ache.
Tulsa's tight end, Caleb Blankenship, kneeled on the turf last night as the band played and his teammates trudged to the locker room. Blankenship was there for a long time, head down. Perhaps he was deep in prayer. Maybe he just couldn't take it anymore. When he finally rose, his eyes were red and moist.
"It's one of the hardest things in the world to go through," said UH quarterback Shawn Withy-Allen, who witnessed Hawaii's slide firsthand. "It seems like winning is the hardest thing to do."
It is when you're losing. When you're Tulsa. When it's 37-14, Hawaii, and the band is playing and there are zeros on the clock. It's 0-7 now this season. It's 17 consecutive losses overall.
"It's hard every week," said Tulsa running back Eric Richardson, who had ripped off several fourth-quarter runs. "But with the coaches and the team we have, it eases the pain. We look at it like we've got a chance to win every game.
"But I admit it's getting harder and harder for me to cope."
When you're losing, you drop sure interceptions.
You turn the ball over the play after you get a turnover.
You get a gift -- a 15-yard penalty. The next play your quarterback drops the ball for no particular reason, can't pick it up, and finally somebody dives on it. For a loss of 17 yards.
You run a play-action pass, and bump into each other.
Kicks hit the goal post.
This is the kind of thing that happens, when you're losing.
You pull a fake punt. It's good. It works. Nobody in the stadium notices. And you're punting again three plays later.
This is losing.
On the other side, another team is winning now. Hawaii is putting together a streak. Everything works. They get the breaks.
This is the opposite effect.
"You feel a lot better about yourself, about the team, everything," Withy-Allen said.
After the game, June Jones smiles, and the TV cameras bathe him in a warm glow.
You deliver the hits on the sidelines, if you're Withy-Allen.
You run through tackles that never come, if you're Nate Ilaoa on the way to a 41-yard touchdown.
"It's definitely a lot more fun," Withy-Allen said, "when you win the game."
"I love winning. It's like, better than losing!" Nuke LaLoosh.
And so they celebrate, but they are generous with their hugs. At midfield, there is extra encouragement, and the coaches pat their counterparts on the back with empathy.
Winning teams look fearless. But they're not. They're afraid of one thing. They see it all the time, and they take note.
"It feels great," guard Shayne Kajioka said after emerging from a winner's locker room. "But we've just got to take everything day by day. Every game is a different game. We could lose it. We could lose at any time."
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com