There are many amazing things that could be said about Indiana University winning the College Football Playoff National Championship. But what I want to talk about is the joy. And this joy is why I think the Hoosiers’ story resonates with so many of us right now.
The Hoosiers’ story is one of hope and audacity and grit. It’s about a team working hard and working together. Listen to any interview and the team will tell you they are not comprised of all-star recruits. They’re comprised of players who were passed over and denied opportunities. Yet together, with the belief they could win, they did. They wrote a story that says if you put in the work, you can achieve what seems like impossible dreams.
Coming into this final game, they were undefeated. Their quarterback, Fernando Mendoza, won the Heisman. They were smashing records and defying everyone’s expectations. Sports journalists would choose against them for big games, waiting for them to stumble against top teams, but they just kept winning. Hoosier fans packed every stadium, turning bowl games in places like Atlanta into home games for IU. It was a perfect season.
And all this was on the line with the final game. Would they continue their undefeated season? Would they clinch the first-ever title for IU football? Or would the story end here, so close to the finish line?
To be honest, it was hard for me to enjoy this final game, because I was so nervous. They had so much to lose and one huge, final victory to gain. I paced almost the entire fourth quarter. My hands were too sweaty for my kids to hold. And at one point, my wiggliest kid told me that I was moving too much for her.
When I think about it, of course I was nervous because I wanted IU to win. But I think I wanted this win so bad because of something a little deeper. I wanted the good guys to win. I wanted the underdog team that has never done it before to get the title. I wanted a quarterback like Fernando Mendoza, who has accomplished so much and with so much integrity, to win this final battle. The world hands us enough disappointment and dismal news. I wanted something good to happen that felt pure and hopeful.
And in the tensest game of my life, they did the impossible. A final interception sealed the win, and the Indiana Hoosiers were National Champions. It was a storybook ending. We watched Mendoza hug his family with tears in our eyes. We watched Head Coach Curt Cignetti actually smile! Joy.
After the game, I scrolled on social media and was met with more joy. Not bad news or angry posts. Just celebrations. It felt like the early days of social media, where doom scrolling wasn’t a thing. Post after celebratory post. Videos from friends at the game. Posts of babies in IU cheerleader uniforms. Joy and lightness and fun. Just some good in the world. Had I forgotten what that felt like to see only good? How long had it been since I felt that much joy?
I live in Bloomington, in the epicenter of Hoosier Nation, and this city has been buzzing for months. I’ve stood in line outside of our stadium for rally towels and made friends with the strangers around us (in one line, two people discovered they had recently attended the same wedding! That’s the kind of thing that happens around here). I’ve bought way too many IU-themed cookies and cookie cakes, including one my kids adored with Cignetti’s classic scowl captured in frosting. Our kids’ school corporation preemptively delayed school for the day after the game in preparation for history to be made. And everyone has just been joyful and pumped and united.
When the game ended, fireworks started going off in our neighborhood. My entire family was screaming. Joy. The win couldn’t have gone to a more deserving team, to a more deserving quarterback who never hesitates to first thank God.
To write this beautiful story that shows hard work and integrity pay off feels nothing short of incredible. To have my kids listen to Mendoza’s interviews and see his character feels just as good. To know my Indiana Hoosiers are National Champions—it’s just unreal. So, for this moment in time, however brief it might be, there is joy in something that’s just plain fun and hopeful.
Thank you, Hoosiers, for the best season ever. Thank you for the joy. In the words of our fight song, Indiana, we’re all for you.
by Kyle Means 
by Her View From Home 
by Jessica McCaslin 
