Let me just start out by saying that I know how hypocritical and ironic my letter will seem to the reader, as I am continuing the discussion about a topic that needs to die, but it needs to be said. For the love of God, U.Va., stop whining about the loss to William & Mary. Yes, it was a humiliating loss and yes, it should not have occurred. It certainly sparks a chilling dread of the threat of a less-than-stellar season, but the incessant complaining about the game needs to stop now. I opened The Cavalier Daily on Thursday - Thursday, five days after the game actually occurred - and three of the articles and letters to the editor I happen to glance at first referenced the loss within the first sentence. I am all for a three day grace period, a time to lick our collective wound, vent our frustration and offer the always helpful armchair quarterback advice, but eventually, it's time to stop and move on. These players are your classmates. You see them around Grounds (easily recognizable as the group of giant boys all standing together in matching U.Va. gear.) They live in your dorms and take your classes. Hiding behind the safety of ink on newsprint, it's easy to completely crush the players for their performance in the game, but the fact still stands that they are people too. The team needs fan support now, and to give up so completely on the team after the first game is not what the University is, or should be, about.
This initial loss is not the first time the Cavaliers have failed to capitalize on what should have been an easy win. Take the first game of the 2007 season. Virginia lost 3-23 against the University of Wyoming - a team we should have easily beat. We won the next seven games. Last year's loss to Duke led the Cavs to a four game winning streak. Maybe this is what the team needs: a rocky start to work out all the kinks and motivate them to prove everyone wrong. A loss to W&M is far more embarrassing than one to Wyoming or Duke, so, if we follow the pattern, we should be looking a solid winning streak for the next few games.
It all boils down to a single point: this U.Va. team, like it or not, is your team, and your team needs your support. We cannot condemn our classmates and peers to a hopeless season after one game. Man up and stop whining, or soon we're all going to be as predictable as Groh calling the quarterback sneak.
Lauren Bicknell\nCLAS II
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