For most of my life as an IU Hoosier Football fan, I’ve been plagued with poor results.  Yes, every once in a while, there was a glimmer of hope, an upset, or a surprise ending. By the end of every season, I was more than ready for basketball to finally start, with maybe a season saving win over Purdue in the Bucket Game. Most of the time, that was even a disappointment. Now that basketball has sunk to the very bottom of a dark, murky septic pool, only soccer was my annual savior, something to hang my IU hat on with a sense of pride. However, 2021 was beginning to look like the year that football, soccer, basketball, and baseball were all finally coming together. Soccer, in fact, started the season with the #1 ranking, until unheralded Creighton came to town last night. For the first time since 2015, the Hoosiers lost a game at Armstrong Stadium and the unbeaten streak came to a stunning end at 43 matches. In fact, they allowed only six goals during all of last season that ended in a National Championship loss. Last night, they gave up three! Reduced Expectations. 

Basketball was also on a new high, with a new coach, Hoosier legend Mike Woodson, and promising exhibition wins over a highly touted Serbian team down in the Bahamas. Unprecedented recruiting is bringing some promising new faces to Bloomington and restoring respect for the recently sinking program. Excitement is building for the upcoming season, but no need to rush into it – there’s actually a football team worth watching. Coach Tom Allen took them to a #10 national ranking and a bowl game last season and has them in the Top 20 to start 2021. The home game against formidable Cincinnati is already an unheard of sell-out This could be the year! Or just further reduced expectations?

We’ll find out this afternoon when the up-trending Cream & Crimson travel to Iowa.  A road game against another Top 20 BIG to start the season is beyond bold! The bubble of fan enthusiasm and team confidence could pop quickly or take on new levels. It would be devastating to watch both Football and Soccer fizzle in a matter of two days. All that hype for nothing when we’ve gotten sadly used to mediocrity on the gridiron. Soccer will easily rebound, using the sting of a shut-out loss at home to a non-conference foe as momentum for another drive to the College Cup. However, reduced expectations by the Football team will be a huge setback in a program just starting to show promise. Let’s show them all we’re for real -Go Hoosiers!