I happened to start taking an interest in the game of football right around the time Bill Snyder was hired at Kansas State before the 1989 season.
I am old enough to barely remember the lean, early years of his tenure, but still young enough that the most meaningful seasons for me were chock-full of wins, bowl games and trophies.
But one thing that always struck me about Snyder was how he credited his first four teams — teams that went a combined 18-26 — for laying the foundation for a program that eventually became one of college football’s finest.
For all the hard work and endless hours of effort those teams put into getting the K-State football program out of the doldrums of college football, those Wildcat squads never had much to show for it except the knowledge that they had made the K-State football program just a little bit stronger each year.
In much the same way, this year’s Emporia High football team — particularly the seniors — laid a foundation for the Spartan football program that will be built upon in years to come, much like Snyder’s first few teams.
I would not dare compare the Spartan teams before this season with those Wildcat teams of the pre-Snyder years. That would be insulting to Emporia High. Before Snyder arrived, you couldn’t really call what the Wildcats were playing “football.”
It was more like a pillow fight with shoulder pads.
But I digress.
Much like those early Snyder teams, the 2006 Spartans have turned an attitude of defeat into an attitude of winning, and yet, after Friday’s game against Junction City, win or lose, Emporia High’s season will be finished.
And what is the reward for the 18 seniors — or any of the players for that matter — on this year’s squad?
There will be no trip to the playoffs. There will be no league title.
No, their reward simply will be the knowledge that they helped put the Emporia High football program on a path to future success.
That alone has some of the Spartan seniors pretty happy with what they’ve been able to accomplish this year, as EHS has the chance to win six games for the first time since 1999 after coming off of two straight 1-8 seasons.
“We like to think that we were the ones who got things turned around,” senior running back Clint Drake said. “We’ve got faith that the sophomores and juniors can go out and finish the job we started. We’ve already got a bunch of them out there playing, and they’re all good players. They can help continue to turn this around.”
I guess one reward for this year’s seniors would be a win over Junction City on Friday. Picking up a district victory would be yet another positive step for this program.
“Our seniors, it’s all about them,” EHS coach Bill Lowe said. “I’d like for this senior class to be known as the class that turned it back around and helped us get going in the right direction. They’re a great group of young men, and I want nothing more than to see them go out as winners.”
K-State finally broke through in 1993 with a nine-win season and a trip to the school’s second-ever bowl game — the Copper Bowl in Tuscon, Ariz. — and Snyder has often credited that success to the work his first few teams put in to make the K-State program better.
K-State went on to string together 11 straight bowl berths, was ranked No. 1 in the nation in 1998 and yes, the Wildcats won a league championship in 2003 when they defeated No. 1 Oklahoma, 35-7, in the Big 12 title game.
Did those seniors in 1992 ever reap any of the tangible rewards? Not really.
But they have the knowledge that they helped create one beast of a college football program.
That’s what this year’s Spartan senior class should take away from this season.
Yes, a trip to the playoffs would have been great. And Emporia was so close to making that a reality.
But the fact remains that when that first Spartan team under Lowe’s guidance actually makes it to the playoffs or wins a league title, this year’s senior class, along with last year’s class, can rightfully say they were the ones who started it all.
“The younger guys have now seen what it takes to win,” senior safety Robert Keisler said, “and hopefully we are that foundation.”
F For more sports commentary from Michael and Gazette sports reporter Jesse Newell, listen to the Emporia Sports Buzz online at www.emporiagazette.com.