Avoiding Quicksand

Quicksand is defined as a shifting mass of very deep, soft, wet sand that yields easily to pressure and will not hold up a heavy object but slowly engulfs it.

Have you ever been stuck in the mud or in the snow. No matter what you did and the harder you tried, the deeper or more stuck you got. Basically in the end, you had to have help to get out but unless there was a good samaritian there, it cost you something to get out.

Over the past few games, not including the Ball State, the football team has found themselves one win away from being "bowl eligible". They just couldn't seem to get over the hump until last Saturday afternoon. The next day, I had a conversation with a couple of players and we talked about quicksand. You might wonder how on earth you could talk about this subject and football, but let me tell you, this is the demon that has chased this football, especially on the road, in Big Ten games for years.

Quicksand in football terms isn't anyting different than the real stuff that you can get yourself into. In football, you are playing, and everything is good. You could be tied or even way ahead and have all the "momentum" all the "mojo" on your side, but then something happens. Mentally you begin to worry, to press harder to block out the bad play, but the harder you try the more that goes wrong and before you know it, you are in over your head, like quicksand.

Now obviously announcers don't say that a team has fallen into quicksand. What you will usually hear is someone say that there has been a big swing in momentum. Well what has happened is mentally, the other team that was ahead and had things going for them has fallen into that mental quicksand, and though it seems that you have to work twice as hard to get back out, the real answer is just to relax and concentrate on the things you can control.

I've said all week that IU can win this game Saturday if we don't beat ourselves. Too often this season this team has went into a bad stretch or fallen into the beginning stages of quicksand. Before you know, someone starts to press or try and do more than they are capable and there's a fumble or an interception or an off sides or defensive hold. Instead of just concentrating on what they can control, they have given the other team more momentum, more positive energy to use against you. Other than the Wisconsin loss, all the losses that this team has suffered through this season has not been because they were "outmanned" or didn't have the talent to win. Every loss has been pretty close and has come at the hands of mental mistakes of some trying to do too much. It's hard as a 19, 20, or 21 year old kid to have the mental maturity to work through that stuff. Heck, it's hard for NFL players to do it. It took Peyton Manning until last season before I felt comfortable in him not trying to force things all the time and just let it all come to him.

This week in Evanston, we are going to see a relaxed team. They want to win, and they are going to put forth the effort to win. They will try as hard as they can. Russ Richardson posted on the free board a few weeks ago about preparing yourself to win each week. It's really a mental process and it starts with understanding that on the road, there will be pitfalls and quicksand to work through. Together, you can overcome the crowd, the noise, the students, maybe even the weather conditions. However, when you as an individual begin to try to hard to make things happen, the wheels usually begin to fall apart and before you know it, you are in quicksand.

Did you know that if you merely relax and be still you won't sink in quicksand. That's a proven fact. The goal this week for this team is to relax and have fun and do what they do as a team. Let the other team beat you, not beat yourself. Tony Dungy preaches this philosphy all the time. Before the Super Bowl he said we will do what we usually do. If we do what we do, then everything will be ok. Tomorrow, if the Hoosiers can work together as a whole team and do what they do and not try to do too much on their own, victory #7 will be a reality for this team!