It seems like forever ago that Baylor students were able to stroll into Floyd Casey Stadium five minutes into the first quarter, pick up a ticket, walk to the student section and find a row of open seats. That’s right, freshmen. There was once a time when you didn’t have to spend 45 minutes online praying and waiting with thousands of other students to get a ticket to the next game. Shocking, right?   

Suddenly in 2013, something magical happened. Baylor’s football team actually started winning. Not that I’m bashing Baylor football at all, but going to games that you know you’re going to lose is just not that fun. So when Baylor became good at football, everything changed.   

During a summer vacation in Florida in 2012, a student at an SEC school noticed my Zeta shirt and asked me where I went to school. When I told him I went to Baylor, he asked, “Where’s that? I’ve never heard of that.”   

If I told that same guy today that I went to Baylor, I feel pretty confident that his answer would be different. Why? Because of Baylor football. (Did you know we’re ranked #4 in the nation right now? #sicem)   

So what changed? The Bears’ success in recent years is largely attributed to Coach Art Briles. The “Briles era” in Baylor football’s history started off slowly, with the team losing more games than they won. But with Briles’ experience and leadership, along with the rise of RGIII, the team began to improve, culminating perhaps in the incredible 2012 upset of Kansas State (ranked #1 at the time, while Baylor was unranked).   

Following that season was last year’s record 11-2 season, with Bryce Petty, Lache Seastrunk, Tevin Reese and Glasco Martin leading the team. Scoring 70 points was an easy attainment in the first few games during that season, which was arguably the best in Baylor’s history. With only one conference loss, the Baylor Bears were finally becoming a household name with a nationwide reputation and a top-ten ranking for most of the conference games.   

Freshman year, I spent the majority of the season not knowing the name of our quarterback, leaving games early and not caring about the team at all. This year, you’ll find me logging into the ticket site an hour early to get a ticket and waiting in line outside McLane Stadium to ensure I get a good seat, in which I will stand in until the buzzer signals the end of the fourth quarter.  

In the past few years, Baylor has had a Heisman winner, a strong Heisman contender, bowl game wins and even our first BCS bowl invitation. Going from 4-8 seasons to a (currently) 6-0 season has changed Baylor, Waco and the team’s national reputation. Though Baylor is consistently on some people’s hate lists (for no good reason), the team has made major improvements that have made Baylor students passionate about football again. Now, the team is tasked with defending its Big XII Champions title.   

The lyrics of the unofficial theme song for the 2013 season were, “started from the bottom, now we here.” These lyrics were spot on for the season, ending with a Big XII Champions title (our first). 

#StartedFromTheBottomNowWereBigXIIChamps 

UPDATE: I understand that Baylor lost to WVU this weekend and now our ranking has changed. But how lucky are we to be Baylor Bears and not West Virginia Mountaineers (or anyone else)?! Baylor has STILL made such remarkable improvements over the past few years, and one loss cannot change that. SIC 'EM!