The Penn State volleyball team lost this weekend.
Rarely does a volleyball loss attract national attention. Then again, rarely has a team won 109 consecutive matches. In fact, only once before has any NCAA squad compiled a longer streak - the Miami men's tennis team won 137 straight matches from 1957-64. When your team is the best at any sport since Eisenhower was in office, you know you've done something special.
For nearly three years, Penn State volleyball was impenetrable. Until No. 2 Stanford upset the Nittany Lions Saturday, they were the country's No. 1 team for 1,055 consecutive days.
Ultimately though, they fell victim to the law of gravity: What goes up must come down. In sports, as in life, no dynasty can last forever.
Roger Federer can attest to that rule. Federer was the world's best tennis player for 237 weeks until a younger, faster Rafael Nadal stole his crown in 2008. After losing in the U.S. Open semifinals last weekend, Federer fell to No. 3, his lowest spot since 2003. Tennis players age in dog years, so it was inevitable that Federer would begin to slip. A Federer loss in a major may not even be an upset anymore. Every loss still catches me by surprise, though, like an eerie reminder that nothing lasts forever.
Tiger Woods was officially eliminated from the FedEx Cup this weekend, as well. Admittedly, the PGA's attempt at a playoff system is, at best, barely legitimate. Tiger's early exit, however, reflects his eroding grip on golf. I believe Tiger will bounce back, both personally and professionally, but each week his No. 1 world ranking falls further in jeopardy. If Phil Mickelson could ever shoot lower than a 78 on Sunday, the Tiger Woods dynasty would, at least temporarily, officially end.
To the delight of U.Va. fans everywhere, Virginia Tech's winning streak against FCS opponents ended this weekend. Yes, I partly just wanted to work that story into a column. JMU's victory, however, is also representative of a larger shift in football power. The BCS is still king, and traditional powerhouses like Alabama, Ohio State and Texas dominate the college ranks. Mid-majors like Boise State and TCU are clamoring for respect, however, while historically dominant programs like Michigan and Notre Dame have faded from the forefront. College football is not immune to changing times, and times always change.
It sounds cynical, but this weekend reinforced an inescapable axiom: All good things must come to an end.
For the first 15 years of my life, I did not think that clich
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