Yes, Virginia there is hope. There is hope the Pittsburg State University Gorillas will not take us down as they have in years past. They have reveled in the fact they can come out and stomp us every year. I say not this year. Not this team.

I see hope because as I checked the MIAA’s Web site on Oct. 10 and saw the University of Missouri-Rolla snapped a 58-game conference losing streak by defeating nationally-ranked Central Missouri State University. I was in disbelief. I had to check out UMR’s athletics’ Web site and read the story they had about the game. Shock and awe are the only words that can describe how I felt when I read that story.

What does this have to do with Missouri Southern?

Everything. If UMR, which is playing its final football season in the MIAA conference, can snap a 58-game conference losing streak, then the Lions can snap a 10-year losing streak against PSU. The Gorillas have won all but one Miner’s Bowl, 17 out of 18 games.

Losing the Miner’s Bowl is mental. Deep down in the back of our subconscious is a thought the Gorillas are going to defeat us. Again, I say not this year. Not this team. Even if they do defeat us, we can at least hold our own. We will not let this be a stomping as it has been in years past. Not this year, this will be a close game. It will go down to the wire. This is MIAA football and as many have said, “Anything can happen in this conference.”

I think UMR has proven that. As for this weekend, wait and see – the saying will become reality.

If it does not happen this year, maybe next year or the year after that. We are sporting a true freshman quarterback who is tearing up the record books. We have three more years of this young man at our helm. Many of the players are either true freshmen or sophomores; there are a couple of seniors. To look at what is coming down the pipe after these seniors is amazing. It may not happen this year, but do not give up hope. It will happen. Mark my words it will happen.

I still have not given up hope this year. I will be sitting in my dorm room here in Louisville, Ky. and will be listening to the game over the Internet as I do every weekend. Although several miles separate me from the team I love, my heart will be in Pittsburg as I cheer on, rather loudly, my beloved Missouri Southern Lions.

I know of what I speak, because I brought my ‘A’ game.

Philip Martin is a former sports editor for The Chart. His opinions are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of The Chart staff.