Let the games begin

The thing about high expectations is that they are very rarely actually met. In fact, studies show that higher expectations mean more pressure. More pressure means higher self-awareness, and higher self-awareness means more probability for mistakes. And on and on.

Here I sit, writing my very first column for The Vista and there rests an enormous probability for mistakes. I put in my time last year as a staff writer and during that time I became much like an assistant coach. Think Bill Grier at Gonzaga or Ron Caragher at Kentucky. Assistants. Students of a system. They put in their time until they were ultimately rewarded with their own respective chances to shine in the spotlight.

They entered USD facing expectations higher than anyone in their position had ever faced before. Grier was hyped as the golden boy from rival Gonzaga who would finally make a name for Toreros' basketball. Caragher had to pick up where now-Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh left off and continue the tradition of success as a top tier Pioneer League football program.

As for me? I have my own expectations to live up to. Ryan Sidhoo and Morgan Payne set the bar high for the incoming sports editor, but they have moved on to greater things and, just like Grier and Caragher, I now have my own chance to prove my merit.

So here we are, three men under very different circumstances.

The good thing for me is that should I crash and burn, it will not be very hard for the higher-ups to tell me to "take a hike" and find somebody else who is ready to take over my position.

For Grier and Caragher, the stakes are much higher than that.

Grier's case is most interesting because it was he who far exceeded the expectations in his first year at USD. Yet here he stands, more than two years removed from the stunning first round upset of UConn in the NCAA Tournament. After that win, it seemed all but certain that Grier would be here to stay. But as the expectations have grown, so too has the questioning of the head coach for his inability to return his team to that impeccable form that stunned those UConn Huskies on that magical March afternoon.

Brandon Johnson is gone. De'Jon Jackson is gone. The team is now entirely comprised of Bill Grier's recruits and should they fail to show some signs of hope for a bright future (as they have failed to do the past two seasons), the questioning of Bill Grier may cease altogether and the search for a new head coach may follow.

The same can be said for Coach Ron Caragher. By no means was he expected to live up to Jim Harbaugh's impossibly high standards, but ultimately he has still failed to continue the tradition of success set by his predecessor. More troubling is the fact that, especially in the latter half of last season, his players have seemed genuinely disinterested in playing for him. True character is revealed in the most difficult of times, and the team's lack of character at the end of a disappointing season certainly has to be considered somewhat of a reflection of their head coach.

I, on the other hand, am untested; just a lowly rookie looking to make an impact in any way possible.

But here we sit. Three men, three very different sets of circumstances. We all want the same thing: to bring some form of excitement to the USD student body. Be it through a basketball team looking to once again threaten other WCC opponents, be it through a football team looking to again finish a season well above .500 or be it through a lowly columnist looking to provide some form of insight to the world of sports, we all strive to please.

Should we meet expectations, we will all be back for next year (well, at least they will. Who knows about me?). Yet, just as possible is the potential for one, two or all three of us to crash and burn.

Let the games begin.