I am a pretty passionate guy when it comes to football. I would say that from August to January not a minute goes by that I am not babbling about the game. When my teams are doing well, I am happy. When my teams are doing poorly, I am miserable. I started playing football when I was 9-years old, and I played for eight of the next nine autumns. All of this culminated with my senior year at Jacksonville High School in the fall of 1997. I worked really hard in the off-season, lifting weights and even running. I really wanted a successful senior season.

But things really didn't work out that way. We started off with a win against our cross-town rivals. We had a great option quarterback who was the best athlete on the field. But we had no team chemistry. After that first win my team managed only two more wins. We finished the season 3-7. It was the first losing season for Jacksonville High School in 31 years. Disappointment was an understatement.

Now, I know football isn't the meaning of life. And although I love the game, I know there is more out there that winning a football game. But in 1997 it felt like the world was crashing down. I had to come to grips with disappointment and the fact that life doesn't always work out like you think it should.

But sitting here four years later, in my senior year of college, I understand things a lot better. Life is not a scripted Hollywood plot where you win the state championship in your senior year. Instead I think life is a lot of ups and downs. People want to feel like they are in the movies. But I think real life is more dealing with the highs and the lows. Some days you will feel like a champ. Some days you will feel worthless. But through it all we need to remember how blessed we all are.

This year a lot of people are upset about the Notre Dame football team. And I am one of them. But I learned my lesson four years ago. I love this university and I love our football team. But I am not worried about going 4-7. It isn't life or death. Notre Dame football, much like life, isn't going to be perfect all of the time. I know that someday we will be back at the top of college football. And that will be awesome. But I know that deep down, regardless of how the football team is doing, I am a pretty lucky guy.

Contact Matt Orenchuk at Orenchuk.1@nd.edu

• Life exists after football