Losing sucks. Always has. Always will.
But somebody has to lose, and, in college football, just like most other sports, people usually know who is going to go home the loser and who is going to be crowned the winner.
The funny thing is that the winning team can go home with an empty win, but a loss is always a loss.
And every loss is painful.
Sitting in the visiting media room after Temple's 23-10 loss to Penn State made the ironclad bowels of Beaver Stadium seem distant and cold on what ended up being a sunny day.
Outside, Nittany Lion fans cheered, the Blue Band played on, and the sun dried early morning raindrops from a sky that was painted Penn State Blue and White.
But the inside of that media room, where members of the Temple Owls answered questions about that day's performance, seemed worlds away from Happy Valley.
It seemed like that soggy gray Saturday morning that had looked so ominous.
For the Owls, Saturday never got sunny.
You could hear coach Bobby Wallace's voice waiver as he second-guessed his own play calling.
"That was a mistake on my part," he said under his hat's black bill.
You could see the pain in quarterback Mike McGann's eyes as he stared dejectedly into the table in front of him while taking questions.
"It doesn't matter how improved you are if you don't win," he said.
Clearly, McGann had expected to lead his team in an upset over the Lions.
But that victory never came. McGann, Wallace and the Owls went home alone and empty handed.
They probably didn't sleep well Saturday night.
Losers -- and its hard to call a team that when it plays with heart -- aren't afforded the opportunity of sleep.
They get to toss and turn.
They might not have slept Friday night either but that was because they were like Zack Mills, Derek Wake and the rest of the Lions. Both teams had the expectations of a kid on Christmas morning going into the game.
Saturday morning both teams expected to go home winners.
I would venture a guess that any member of the Owls coaching staff or roster would have said they expected to upset Penn State.
The media, fans and Vegas odds-makers probably don't understand that they wouldn't have been just saying that; they would have believed it.
That's part of the beauty of sports.
The upset.
Temple would have enjoyed proving odds-makers, the media and fans wrong about calling them underdogs.
And it could have happened.
If Temple had made their first two field goal attempts they would have been beating the Lions 9-7 in the third quarter. What ended up being the 23-10 game might have been a lot different.
And a loss like that hurts Temple, a young team that had nine players making their first career start Saturday.
In our culture we flock to the winners. We want to know what it's like to be them. We want to adore them.
Sometimes we applaud the underdogs even after losses -- but that's rare.
What's amazing to me was that the one Owl who had acted the more downtrodden than the rest of his teammates showed he still believed in his team.
Before, he had acted like there was nothing to be happy about.
His team had played the game right and gave their all, but still lost.
He understood someone had to.
It's easy to say too bad for them, but the Lions have been there as well -- just a few months ago against Auburn.
When the interviews ended and McGann walked out of the locker room he was asked how the team was going to handle the loss while it prepares to play Villanova next week.
Just minutes before McGann had sulked at his table running his hands through his bright, red, curly hair while his teammates answered questions.
Now the junior, who last season led the nation in interceptions, was different now.
His eyes brightened. Hope gleamed in them.
This game was forgotten.
He spoke about the teams' chances and what they had to do for their upcoming game against the Wildcats.
His voice was not shaking anymore.
It carried confidence.
There's another game for the Owls. Another chance. And he knows that.
McGann isn't thinking about losing anymore. He's got a win on his mind.
And that's good for the Owls.
