The media has been quick to respond to everything that has been happening in Waco, Texas lately. Sexual assault, investigations, and abrupt changes in leadership are all topics they thrive on. Blame has been thrown around and rumors have run rampant that Baylor football will never return to the powerhouse status it had only recently achieved, but there is something the media has not picked up on: Baylor is more than football.
Baylor had fans before it became the football power we know it to be today. Even when it was the joke of the Big 12, it still had people that loved it despite its losses because it offered something more. These aren't bandwagon fans. Their loyalty goes beyond wins.
Baylor is a community. It's a place where people feel at home and where you can't go anywhere without running into someone you know. Being a part of that community doesn't end when you leave campus after four years, because Baylor pride never leaves.
Baylor values its students. Despite past mistakes, the university has found answers for students at a loss for what has been happening, even at the institution's own expense. The school's integrity is more important than its reputation.
Baylor is loved, and it hurts to see something you love suffering, but Baylor is making improvements and bettering itself in order to make it an even better place.
"Baylor we are and Baylor we will always be. But it's up to us to define what that means." - Robert Griffin III, "RG3"
I don't know what is to come of this next year or next football season at Baylor. All I know is that I'm excited to go back, excited to watch the Baylor Line run through McLane, and excited to cheer on my team. Sic 'em forever!