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| Great photo and sentiment by Temple's "very own" Scotty Hartkorn. Thanks, Scott. |
By Mike Gibson
The lyrics of Carly Simon song come to mind when thinking about Temple football recently:
These are the good old days.
When you think about a story told by the numbers, these really are the good, old days and something to think about when I'm at the old folks' home in the rocking chair, comparing one Temple football era to another.
I hope this is just the beginning of a long string of good old days, but that remains to be seen.
With a 28-10 win at Kent State on Saturday, the 8-2 Owls have tied the winningest two-year span in the program's history and are well on their way to posting consecutive bowl seasons for the first time ever.
The coaches and the kids who play football for the university have held up their end of the bargain.
On Tuesday, Nov. 16, though, it's time for the rest of the university community to do the same
On Tuesday, Nov. 16, though, it's time for the rest of the university community to do the same
They will go for a school-record 11-straight home wins in the final regular season home game.
Temple is now 17-3 in its last 20 regular-season games.
Head coach Al Golden (I prefer calling him Owl Golden) lost 16 of his first 20 games at Temple. He has now won 17 of his last 21.
The coaches and the kids who play football for the university have held up their end of the bargain.
On Tuesday, Nov. 16, though, it's time for the rest of the university community to do the same.
That's the time of the next (and last) home game of the season against Ohio University in a game between the co-leaders of the Mid-American Conference's Eastern Division.
If the Owls win out, this will be the first game that I can remember with a championship on the line being played at college football's highest level (now Football Bowl Series) in the city of Philadelphia.
The entire nation will be watching (ESPN2) and a home crowd of 20,000 or so in a stadium that seats 70,000 won't cut it anymore. It will be the only football game on national TV that night and probably be on as background noise in every taproom and restaurant in the country.
The Owls have averaged a little more than 20,000 over their first five home games.
In my mind, they need to hit at least 30,000 and fill the lower bowl with a loud, enthusiastic crowd if they hope to impress.
Forty thousand would be even nicer.
Nothing would present a more positive image for the Temple "brand" than a packed house. Not a Poet Laureat. Not a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Not even a famous comedian.
The possibility of winning a championship in a packed stadium before a nation of eyeballs puts Temple on the map like nothing else. No amount of money can buy that kind of advertising. It's the only game not only in this town, but every other town in America.
With 260,000 living alumni within driving distance of Lincoln Financial Field, it can be done. With 33,000 full-time students just a 10-minute hop on the subway away, it should be done.
Then Tuesday could possibly be the best of a long string of good old days.
