Life on the Edge: PostSeason Edition

Most of you know Edge as the roving correspondent for our OTP Muncie bureau. He brings delight and joy to the masses with his Rock & Roll Report Cards after Ball State games which he decides to rock out at in person. In an effort to ensure your Awesome Quotient, or AQ as we like to call it, increases on a weekly basis, Edge offers insight into the Cards' upcoming opponent as well. This week's edition? The postseason.

Life On The Edge: PostSeason Edition

Well, Alan said it all. Saturday was a national day of mourning for the death of our wildest dreams, our 2008 innocence. Goodbye talks of BCS. Goodbye MAC championship. Goodbye perfect season. Friday night pretty much felt like I had just turned a corner in youth that says, "Remember those summer breaks? Remember those Christmas breaks? Yeah, no more of that. From this point on, you shall have a … JOB!"

Three days later, this is still the best I can describe it – aside from how Patriots fans felt last year, that is. We local fans really did have something to relish this year. And what made it sweeter was the years we've spent in the doldrums. Two-win seasons, one-win seasons… and now this. Twelve in a row! It's indescribable unless you're a fan.

So, now that the dust is starting to settle, and the shock has begun to wear off, how do the fans feel? Well, I for one feel spoiled. And after the initial anger and embarrassment wore off, I kind of feel okay about the whole thing. I mean, let's get real: after all those bad years, do we really need to complain about that one loss? Okay, it was the MAC championship – I'll give you that. That's one game you just can't lose, especially going into it 12-1.

But still, when you take a step back, we got spoiled this year. We were so used to winning, that Friday was like a kick in the sack – whereas five or six years ago a win was like winning $100,000 in the lottery.

As a Red Sox fan, I know how your team can torture you. I had relief at the fingertips back in '86 only to have it roll between my legs (see what I did there?). As a Colts fan, we watched as our team came within sights of the Super Bowl a few times only to be shut down. And the WNBA still exists… I mean, this is just agony. Hellish, unabashed agony.

A strong foundation is in place for another solid year next year, taking into consideration that some of our key players stay. The HokeManBeast may stay, or he may go. It depends on the population density of the homeless food supply in Muncie next year. And we have the GMAC to go still. We may have missed a chance to ring that championship bell, but we do get a shot at a respectable trophy next month.

So, when you're all ready, let's get pumped for the GMAC. Hopefully we can get a better officiating crew than Friday. Yes, they boned a call or two, you detractors have to admit that. It may or may not have changed the outcome; we will never know. But, what's right is right, and what's wrong is wrong. And those calls were wrong. .

Rock on.