That was the mantra for the Ball State football team, really dating all the way back to mid-March when spring practice was canceled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It took on an even heavier meaning Aug. 8 when the Mid-American Conference Council of Presidents voted to postpone fall sports with the intention to pursue a season in the spring. The Cardinals had just barely started fall camp at that time but had to shut it down. Like many FBS teams, Ball State would wait some more.
That's why this week, and Wednesday in particular, generated so much enthusiasm in the program. With the MAC's vote to resume play in November with a six-game schedule, the Cardinals returned to practice. Football is back.
Win the Wait.
In line with the NCAA-prescribed acclimatization period, Ball State spent the first two days of practice this week in shorts, t-shirts and helmets. They had done the same for three days in August before fall camp was halted.
But Wednesday was different. For the first time since last year's season finale against Miami, a span of 11 months, the Cardinals donned shoulder pads.
"This was definitely the longest I've gone without putting on shoulder pads," fifth-year senior center Anthony Todd said. "To go almost a whole year without putting them on and then come out today and put them on, the energy was there. I woke up excited. Everyone was excited to get back after it because you can only do so much just blocking pads and running routes on air. When you finally get to lace 'em up and block a body, it's a whole different feeling."
Normally the first day in shoulder pads comes in early August with temperatures in the 80's or 90's and the sun likely beating down to make the Scheumann Stadium turf even hotter. Wednesday was an unseasonably cool late September day with temperatures in the 50's, a steady breeze and some occasional droplets of rain.
In a typical year, the Cardinals would be preparing for their fifth game of the season with this week's practices. This time around, they're just getting started, still a little more than a month away from the new Nov. 4 start date.
As everyone knows, this year has been anything but typical, but it's something the veteran Cardinals have embraced.
"We're a pretty resilient team," redshirt junior linebacker Jordan Williams said. "We're a very experienced team. We've been there, done that. But obviously no one has gone through a waiting period like this, so we just decided it was a new challenge to get through."
Win the Wait.
What exactly did that look like? It meant approaching every task like there was something to play for. Because, eventually, there would be.
From weight lifts, stretches and sprints to film sessions and individual skill work, it was the idea that you continue give it your all every day. Even when the carrot of a season looked like it was dangling far in the distance.
"We could have taken it as we're not going to play this year, so why go hard now," Todd said. "Well, that's just not our motto. That's not how we work here. We're going to go hard because at some point we're going to play football again, and when we do, we're going to be the most trained team, the most disciplined team and just be an overall better team because of it."
Now the wait is getting shorter in a real sense. The first full-padded practice comes later this week. A 2020 season, once thought to be off the table, is back on. A chance to compete for a championship is coming soon, and the Cardinals will be ready.
For all these guys, Nov. 4 can't come fast enough.
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BSU Football, Back to Practice, Has Been Focused on Winning All Along - BallStateSports.com
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