Ewill and I have a fundamental disagreement about Lightfoot's "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". She hates it; I love it.
Nonetheless, here's my attempt to complete what you started and capture Lightfoot's interpretation of the 2017 season. Enjoy.
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The team was the pride of the American side, coming off of a blowout in South Bend. As big college teams go, they were better than most, with a line and a defense well-seasoned. Concluding mid-session ‘terms after midnight oil burns, they left fully-rested for South Beach. And later that night when the panic bell rang, could it be the collapse we’d been fearing?
The announcers and the crowd made a tattle-tale sound; and the offensive line started flailing. And every fan knew, as the country did too, twas the turnover chain reappearing. The reads came late and the run game had to wait while the November opponents came ‘slashing. When the second half came it was time for the fade, in the face of a Hurricane pass rush.
When halftime arrived the DC came on deck, sayin’ fellas it’s too loud to hear ‘ya. At 9PM the 3rd turnover kicked in, he said fellas, it’s been good to know ya. The coach wired in - his plan had water comin’ in - and the team’s playoff chance was in peril. And when later that night TV lights went out of sight, the season sunk like the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Does anyone know where the running game goes when missed fades turn game minutes to hours? The analysts all say they’d have made other teams pay, if they’d run 15 more times a quarter. They might have run it up, or they might have squeaked it out, if they’d just developed more of a swagger. But instead all that remains are the highlights and the pains, of the fans who had to witness this slaughter.
The Tide rolls on, Irish fans still sing, in the rooms of their suburban McMansions. Old Michigan steams when Meyer crushes their dreams, or Dantonio sticks yet another fork in. And farther below on the South Bend of the St. Joe, ND takes recruits Catholic schools send her. And the fans all go as the writers all know, with a November collapse to remember.
In old Sorin Hall in South Bend they prayed, across from what was a Cathedral. The church bells chimed till they rang hundreds of times for each fade prayer that ended unanswered. The legend lives on from CMU Chippewas on down of the the coach that we’ve branded Air Kelly. He’s stubborn, they say, and never gives up his fades when November teams get behind early.