But that was just a fantasy thought that would never manifest itself into reality. But along comes Coach Paul Winters and after 20 years of futility and ineffectiveness, the Wayne State Warriors have crossed over to being relevant in the football community.
This past weekend in Florence, Alabama, the Warriors (12-4) saw their dreams of football glory dissipate in a 35-21 loss to the Pittsburg State Gorillas (13-1 overall) in the 2011 NCAA Division II National Championship game.
Not only was it the Warriors’ first appearance in a playoff, the sixth-seeded Detroiters went beyond all expectations and dreams getting to the nationally televised national title game.
As I perused the Detroit sports community. all were giddy and excited that Wayne State, always known as a stellar academic institution and a Detroit foundation, found itself on the national stage in college football.
I know too many Detroit and even national leaders who earned their academia at the university on Woodward and this PR gift from its football program only highlighted the good that has been going on for decades at the school. The Warriors finished with a school record 12 wins (the 2010 squad had the previous mark at 9-2), but a rash of four turnovers halted their dream season.
Winters told me in an interview last year after the team posted the best season in school history that he is getting better talent each season and he expects more for his players.
“I felt like last year (2009) we arrived,” he said. “I really thought this year (2010) we were the best team in the league, but we lost three games by a total of 12 points. It was a matter of us, not the opponents. I think we are at a point in the program where we can sustain excellence.”
Coach Winters’ words were right on point as the 2011 Warriors came out and sustained excellence all the way to the national title game. Over the past month, his team had taken the Motor City on a enthralling and thrilling football journey, from Minnesota to Nebraska to North Carolina and finally to northern Alabama to play for the Division II national championship.
Wayne State, the third largest higher education institution in Michigan, has seen its noteworthy and large alumni galvanized behind their team. As I went into grocery stories I saw the green-and-gold proudly sported by happy fans and alumni. Busloads of Warriors took the trip to Alabama and those that did not go filled bars throughout Detroit.
No matter that the ending for Wayne State did not have a fairy tale conclusion, we are thankful for the effort and the journey.
“Yeah, it didn’t end the way we wanted,” WSU back Josh Renel told reporters, “but we couldn’t have asked for a better journey.”
I concur. It was unexpected, and, that made the journey that much more fun.I cannot give enough praise to the effort Winters has extended to the struggling program he inherited in 2004. When he took over the program it had gone 23-74 in the previous nine years.
Then in the midst of the rebuilding effort he lost one of his most popular players, Cortez Smith, to gun violence, following the team’s exclusion from the 2010 playoffs after losing their last regular-season game.
No matter. Winters rallied his men and created a family that bonded and worked hard to honor their teammate, Smith, and erase the memory of being left off the 2010 playoff list.
“This is the best group of kids I’ve ever had,” Winters told reporters after the heartbreaking loss. “It always hurts to get this close and lose, but money can’t buy this experience. It’s just unbelievable and an honor to be a part of it.”
Leland Stein can be reached at lelstein3@aol.com or Twitter @LelandSteinIII.