What do you say?
The Wildcats’ 33-27 win over Ohio State on Saturday was the biggest victory any student at Northwestern has seen at Ryan Field.
I was excited to write a colorful story about a game filled with highlights, hope and heroes.
Then I found out McCormick junior Frederick Lieb died shortly after the game.
Students, alumni and players came together on the field to sing the fight song while Lieb collapsed on the turf and died later that night.
Now how do you write about a football game?
I can’t justify raving about the Cats’ incredible defensive stands, explosive runs after short passes or game-winning touchdown drive.
I’ve covered NU football the past two seasons; I’ve never met Lieb.
But Lieb’s death is the only thing on my mind.
It really hurts. The Cats won a football game. NU lost a member of its community.
Saturday night’s game was the most thrilling and exhilarating sporting event I have ever attended. I couldn’t believe how NU continued to respond to the Buckeyes and was dreading the moment the Cats would let the game slip through their hands.
Disney couldn’t have scripted a better fairy tale: a 1-3 team beating the No. 7 team in the country in a well-played game that was won on the final play.
Two Columbus natives played the best games of their careers, and led NU over the team they grew up admiring.
For one night, everything went right for NU and its players.
The Cats were double-digit underdogs and hadn’t beaten Ohio State in 33 years. But it didn’t matter.
On any given night, any player can live out his dreams and any team can play like a champion.
Saturday’s game was the ultimate gratification for the NU players, fans and coaches, and makes it easy to forget about all of the losses during the past two years.
Senior defensive tackle Luis Castillo said after the game that the win “was the greatest feeling ever.”
Frederick Lieb’s death, less than an hour after the jubilant Castillo sat in front of me, must be the worst feeling ever for Lieb’s friends and family.
They will carry this burden with them for more than the 33 years the Cats waited to defeat the Buckeyes.
It doesn’t appear anyone was at fault,because the student had heart problems, but even if there is, it won’t change what happened.
There is nothing that can be done, there is no instant replay and there is no next week.
It’s not sports.
Sports provide an escape. They make dreams come true. They are where for one night everything can go right.
But off the field everything can go wrong in one night. Dreams can be shattered. And there is no escape.
The Cats played their best game in four years, and no one will be able to take away that feeling of triumph after the game.
Fans, coaches and players were on the top of the world, and “Go U Northwestern” never sounded so good.
But the grief and sorrow the NU community will feel with this death will not and should not go away quickly.
What else can you say?
