Tom Knauer Arizona Daily Wildcat

Truth be told, I'm new to the UA sports scene. I've never led a chant of "Bear Down" nor do I know much of the difference between Miles Simon and Miles Davis.

I do know this:

The 2003 season wasn't nearly as abominable for the UA football team as students, alumni and even my contemporaries here at the Wildcat have deemed it.

As a dorm-ridden freshman last fall with Arizona Stadium literally casting a shadow over my daily life, I took joy in the athletic entity lambasted by almost everyone else in the greater Tucson area.

Going 2-10 overall leaves much to be desired for the coming season, and deservedly so. But before we finally anoint Coach Stoops our savior, Wildcat fans, appreciate the quality storylines, and the actors involved, that took root here a year ago.

Sept. 6, 2003: Here come the National Champs, part I.

In a prescient, but ill-fated stroke of luck for Arizona's schedule-makers, both national champions visited Tucson during the regular season (more on Southern California shortly). I knew many who believed our 42-7 romp over University of Texas at El Paso the previous week would spell doom for Louisiana State, the eventual BCS winner. Fans gathered en masse at Arizona Stadium, expecting an epic brawl beneath the emerging twilight. But, as was duly shown by LSU's 35-0 halftime advantage and 59-point final output, blowout victories over conference lackeys do not spell "upset."

Sadly, it was a lesson we Wildcats learned twice.

Sept. 27-28, 2003: UA boots Mackovic after OT loss

After enduring arguably their worst defeat of the season to No. 25 Purdue (59-7), the Wildcats had their tails against the wall for No.19 Texas Christian. Yet as the game lurched on, Arizona appeared to be making a game of it. The cheering erupted outside my window at the beginning of overtime, when the score was knotted at 10, and hope rose that we would really pull a win off against a ranked opponent. But, alas, after a deflating drive by TCU to Arizona's 16, Horned Frog placekicker Nick Browne smacked a 33-yarder through the uprights, extending our team's losing streak to four in freshman quarterback Kris Heavner's first collegiate start.

The loss sealed the fate of already-maligned head coach John Mackovic, who compiled a 10-18 mark at the helm. The fired Mackovic made off with $900,000 from the school's athletic account, padding his suddenly-needed retirement fund.

Nov. 8, 2003: There go the goalposts. . .right?

I, among many thousands of fellow mourners, packed into the student section awaiting another sorry beatdown, this time by Washington. To our benefit, the Huskies came in reeling, with quarterback Cody Pickett still nursing a wrist injury and receiver Reggie Williams, who was taken ninth by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the NFL Draft last April, representing the only legitimate weapon on offense. More importantly, UA running back Mike Bell entered the game with consecutive 100-yard games, an achievement that, in our eyes, gave us a real shot for the win on Homecoming night. The sophomore Bell worked the crowd early, scampering for a 69-yard touchdown. Pickett and Williams countered with their own aerial assault - Williams ended with 13 receptions for 121 yards - but Bell's two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and career-high 222 yards rushing overall helped give us our first Pac-10 home win in three years and ended a draining eight-game losing stretch.

Most of the 48,000 still in attendance flooded the field and attacked the home goalpost. Ironically, our lack of experience with upsets left us unable to topple the uprights, and the police officers dispatched to the scene quickly dispersed the crowd.

Nov. 15, 2003: Here come the National Champs, part II.

Riding ridiculously high after our prior week's win, we once again filled the seats, now in anticipation of the top team in the nation (sorry, Sooners fans). I spent the entire 20-minute pregame interval observing USC quarterback Matt Leinart lob passes to his soulmate, NCAA scapegoat Mike Williams. The practice paid off in the first half, as Williams had three acrobatic touchdown receptions. The bombs brought Williams's career TD total to 25, breaking the single-season Trojan record. Williams sat out the second half, and Leinart and USC rolled to a 45-0 drubbing.

And we all know what happened after that. Interim head coach Mike Hankwitz got the ax in the offseason after compiling a 1-6 record in relief of Mackovic, and Mike Stoops has stepped in to soothe our singed program.

So, Arizona faithful, look forward to the Wildcats' season opener Sept. 4 against Northern Arizona. It starts the team's seven-game home slate, during which Arizona faces, among others, Utah, Wisconsin, California, and bitter rival Arizona State.

If nothing else, we should expect a good story or two from it.

Tom Knauer is a journalism sophomore. He can be reached at sports@wildcat.arizona.edu.