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SPORTS
Chuck Landon: A pledge of allegiance to a winning Herd team
A football team learns to win much like we learned the Pledge of Allegiance as children.
Remember that?
We recited it, recited it, recited it until even now as adults we know it by heart.
So it is with winning.
I was reminded of that Saturday night while sitting in Mountaineer Field pondering Marshall’s unexpectedly lopsided 27-3 loss to West Virginia University.
And it occurred to me that the loss to the Mountaineers wasn’t as debilitating as fans might first think, just as Marshall’s important win over Southern Miss wasn’t quite as program-altering as we first thought.
Instead, both games were steps in a process.
That process is entitled, “Learning to Win.”
And, yes, it requires repetition, repetition, repetition just like learning the Pledge of Allegiance.
If there were any doubt, the WVU loss proved it.
As impressive as Marshall’s win at Southern Miss was, it still didn’t turn the Herd into a winning program.
A transformation that dramatic does not occur overnight.
After three straight losing seasons, Marshall’s football program has to learn how to win again on a consistent basis.
“All the players that have been here the last three or four years with Coach (Mark) Snyder,” said senior free safety C.J. Spillman, “We started out on a losing note.
“And, right now, we’re getting this thing going. So, it’s a new feeling to everybody. We’ve just got to get everybody on the same page.
“It takes the coaching staff as well as the players, buying into the system. I feel that’s something that has occurred this year.
“You’re going to see it coming out later this season, as well.”
Want it reduced to simplest terms? Here it is. One impressive road victory does not a winning program make.
The Herd proved that here Saturday.
With the outstanding road focus MU displayed at Southern Miss nowhere in sight, the Herd made every mistake a winning program doesn’t commit on the road.
That’s because learning to win isn’t like flipping a light switch.
It is a progression. Consequently, Marshall is a work-in-progress.
And, unfortunately, part of that progress involves learning the hard way.
At Southern Miss, Marshall learned the criteria for beating an established program in its own backyard. At WVU, the Herd learned what mistakes it can’t make against an established program in its own front yard.
Both were valuable lessons on the way to becoming a winning program again.
And both games — the good as well as the bad — will serve Marshall well when the Herd (3-2) hosts the University of Cincinnati (3-1) at 8 p.m. Friday in a game nationally televised by ESPN from Edwards Stadium.
“We’re going back to work this week,“ said MU quarterback Mark Cann. “Learning how to win isn’t an overnight process. Not at all. It’s a learned process. And we’re still learning that.”
That’s because Marshall is an evolving program.
“I think we are still learning to win,” said star tight end Cody Slate. “We’re maturing, we’re still young. That doesn’t happen over-night. It takes time.”
Indeed, it does.
But it appears the 2008 Herd is a quick study. That’s why I believe the loss to WVU will be just a detour, not a derailment.
Marshall is on the right track.
Once the Herd learns how to win consistently, it won’t forget.
After all, I still know the Pledge of Allegiance.
Chuck Landon is a sports columnist for The Herald-Dispatch. Call him at 526-2827. E-mail him at clandon@herald-dispatch.com.
