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Thanks, Sefo
—
He was right there, not more than 20 feet away.
The scene: the San Antonio airport … Friday night, the day after the Alamo Bowl, around 6:15 p.m.
Two Delta flights were preparing for boarding. My flight was heading out of gate B-4, heading for Salt Lake City, the first leg on my trip back to Bozeman.
The flight heading out of gate B-3 was heading to Seattle.
In the waiting area, there were more than a few Colorado coats and sweatshirts to be seen. There were perhaps some “Shirts of Shame” being worn the day after CU had lost to No. 13 Oklahoma State, 38-8, in the Alamo Bowl, but there was still plenty of Buff Nation pride on display as well (as for me, I was wearing my “Pac-12 South Champions” sweatshirt, thank you very much!).
And he was right there, not more than 20 feet away.
The main reason the black-and-gold faithful were there in the San Antonio airport that night.
The main reason the Buffs had snapped a ten-year drought of losing campaigns. The main reason why #TheRise was more than just a slogan in the 2016 season.
He was right there, waiting for his ticket group to be called. Just another traveler, sitting around, anxious to board and get on their way home.
Sefo Liufau.
Now, I did have an “in” to go and say hello. I had met Sefo in February, when I was on a tour of the new Champions Center. Hell, I had even met his father, on a chance meeting on the shuttle train at the Denver International Airport after the Arizona State game. Both men were polite, quiet, and humble – like father; like son.
I wanted to go over to Sefo, shake his hand, and just say, “thank you”.
Thank you for all you have done for the program over the past four years.
Yes, there were many, many, records set (over 90 in all), but that will not be Sefo’s legacy. What Liufau brought to the CU program was a grit, a heart, a determination to overcome which seeped into the entire program.
The first three-time team captain since the 19th century.
Was there really any chance anyone else would receive this year’s Buffalo Heart Award?
Don’t get me wrong. Liufau had plenty of help in this endeavor. There were coaches who made the players better, and there was an accumulation of talent on the roster who pushed the team to a ten-victory season.
Players make plays. Players win games.
But Liufau was the front man.
“That man right there, he’s going to go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks in Colorado,” running back Phillip Lindsay said after the game. “Everybody knows that and you guys should know that.”
Coach Mike MacIntyre said this off-season that the rest of the team had finally caught up with Sefo, that the Buffs were now talented enough to take advantage of the talent Liufau brought to the table.
“Sefo helped us get to a 10-win season, this year,” MacIntyre said. “He battled. He was our warrior all the way. Helped turn the program around. This year, we were a good team. If he had that team around him for four years, think about how good he would have been. He would have broken every record. Proud of his leadership, what he’s done. He set a great example, the way he leads, how he handles and carries himself. He’s an amazing young man.”
He was right there, not more than 20 feet away.
And yet, I hesitated.
Liufau was walking with a limp. He had been injured during the second quarter of the Alamo Bowl, suffering an injury to the same ankle which he hurt during the Michigan game.
“I don’t know how much the guy weighed, but when he landed on it, it’s not comfortable,” Liufau said. “Even if you don’t injure your ankle in the first place, I think it’s still going to hurt if a larger fellow lands on it”.
Liufau was replaced by Steven Montez, but, when Montez was ineffective, Liufau returned to play in his final collegiate game. The results were not the Hollywood script Liufau and the Buff Nation would have preferred, with the Buffs struggling on offense throughout the game, ending the season on a two game losing streak.
Now, here was Sefo, sitting in the waiting area of the San Antonio airport.
Just another passenger waiting to get on a plane.
Just another college student, looking to get home (in his case, to Tacoma) to spend some time with friends and family before returning to school for classes in January.
I decided to leave him be. His college career was over. He deserved some peace.
I texted Brad, who had taken off on the long drive back to Denver a few hours earlier, telling him I had seen Sefo at the airport, but that I had left him alone.
Brad texted back that he might not have been as restrained, texting that he and Mike, who was driving with him back to Colorado, “might have gone fan boy” on Liufau.
Looking back now, a few days later, I have a little regret in not going up and saying “thank you” to Sefo.
He deserved it.
“I’m pretty composed now,” said Liufau as he walked off the field in a Buff uniform for the last time. “Which is kind of surprising because I didn’t think I would, but I think I left it all out on the field.
“I just want everyone to know I gave everything. I may not have been the most talented, but I gave everything I had.”
We know, Sefo. We know.
And thank you.
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...
Thanks, Sefo
—
He was right there, not more than 20 feet away.
The scene: the San Antonio airport … Friday night, the day after the Alamo Bowl, around 6:15 p.m.
Two Delta flights were preparing for boarding. My flight was heading out of gate B-4, heading for Salt Lake City, the first leg on my trip back to Bozeman.
The flight heading out of gate B-3 was heading to Seattle.
In the waiting area, there were more than a few Colorado coats and sweatshirts to be seen. There were perhaps some “Shirts of Shame” being worn the day after CU had lost to No. 13 Oklahoma State, 38-8, in the Alamo Bowl, but there was still plenty of Buff Nation pride on display as well (as for me, I was wearing my “Pac-12 South Champions” sweatshirt, thank you very much!).
And he was right there, not more than 20 feet away.
The main reason the black-and-gold faithful were there in the San Antonio airport that night.
The main reason the Buffs had snapped a ten-year drought of losing campaigns. The main reason why #TheRise was more than just a slogan in the 2016 season.
He was right there, waiting for his ticket group to be called. Just another traveler, sitting around, anxious to board and get on their way home.
Sefo Liufau.
Now, I did have an “in” to go and say hello. I had met Sefo in February, when I was on a tour of the new Champions Center. Hell, I had even met his father, on a chance meeting on the shuttle train at the Denver International Airport after the Arizona State game. Both men were polite, quiet, and humble – like father; like son.
I wanted to go over to Sefo, shake his hand, and just say, “thank you”.
Thank you for all you have done for the program over the past four years.
Yes, there were many, many, records set (over 90 in all), but that will not be Sefo’s legacy. What Liufau brought to the CU program was a grit, a heart, a determination to overcome which seeped into the entire program.
The first three-time team captain since the 19th century.
Was there really any chance anyone else would receive this year’s Buffalo Heart Award?
Don’t get me wrong. Liufau had plenty of help in this endeavor. There were coaches who made the players better, and there was an accumulation of talent on the roster who pushed the team to a ten-victory season.
Players make plays. Players win games.
But Liufau was the front man.
“That man right there, he’s going to go down as one of the greatest quarterbacks in Colorado,” running back Phillip Lindsay said after the game. “Everybody knows that and you guys should know that.”
Coach Mike MacIntyre said this off-season that the rest of the team had finally caught up with Sefo, that the Buffs were now talented enough to take advantage of the talent Liufau brought to the table.
“Sefo helped us get to a 10-win season, this year,” MacIntyre said. “He battled. He was our warrior all the way. Helped turn the program around. This year, we were a good team. If he had that team around him for four years, think about how good he would have been. He would have broken every record. Proud of his leadership, what he’s done. He set a great example, the way he leads, how he handles and carries himself. He’s an amazing young man.”
He was right there, not more than 20 feet away.
And yet, I hesitated.
Liufau was walking with a limp. He had been injured during the second quarter of the Alamo Bowl, suffering an injury to the same ankle which he hurt during the Michigan game.
“I don’t know how much the guy weighed, but when he landed on it, it’s not comfortable,” Liufau said. “Even if you don’t injure your ankle in the first place, I think it’s still going to hurt if a larger fellow lands on it”.
Liufau was replaced by Steven Montez, but, when Montez was ineffective, Liufau returned to play in his final collegiate game. The results were not the Hollywood script Liufau and the Buff Nation would have preferred, with the Buffs struggling on offense throughout the game, ending the season on a two game losing streak.
Now, here was Sefo, sitting in the waiting area of the San Antonio airport.
Just another passenger waiting to get on a plane.
Just another college student, looking to get home (in his case, to Tacoma) to spend some time with friends and family before returning to school for classes in January.
I decided to leave him be. His college career was over. He deserved some peace.
I texted Brad, who had taken off on the long drive back to Denver a few hours earlier, telling him I had seen Sefo at the airport, but that I had left him alone.
Brad texted back that he might not have been as restrained, texting that he and Mike, who was driving with him back to Colorado, “might have gone fan boy” on Liufau.
Looking back now, a few days later, I have a little regret in not going up and saying “thank you” to Sefo.
He deserved it.
“I’m pretty composed now,” said Liufau as he walked off the field in a Buff uniform for the last time. “Which is kind of surprising because I didn’t think I would, but I think I left it all out on the field.
“I just want everyone to know I gave everything. I may not have been the most talented, but I gave everything I had.”
We know, Sefo. We know.
And thank you.
—–
Stuart
Continue reading...