Opinion > January 17, 2008

December 2007 was a month to remember for Demon Deacon sports.

First, on Dec. 16, the men’s soccer team finished off an impressive season by winning the program’s first-ever National Championship in a thrilling 2-1 victory over Ohio State. The image of senior co-captain Julian Valentin, with a still-bloody gash across his face from a kick to the face, holding the NCAA trophy with his teammates will not soon be forgotten.

A spate of national awards were given to Deacon players and coach Jay Vidovich brought home the Walt Chyzowych Lifetime Achievement Award this year. It could hardly have been a better season.

That will be a tough act to follow, but there’s plenty of young talent left on the team, so we eagerly await the encore.

The football team followed up last year’s ACC Championship with a second consecutive bowl berth, a first for the Deacons. And they won a resounding victory over the Connecticut Huskies. Winning a bowl game, it turns out, is even more fun than getting to one.

It was comforting to see Head Coach Jim Grobe still on our sidelines. He turned down what would have undoubtedly been a more lucrative and prominent job at Arkansas to stick with his players at dear old Wake Forest. We hope he’ll make the same decision should other big-school offers come his way.

The Meineke Car Care Bowl was another great gathering of Demon Deacons from all over the country, who showed up and bought tickets in astounding numbers.

Beyond our team’s on-field victories this month, the way in which they won is remarkable – exhibiting class and sportsmanship. They win without the resources and recruiting power that many larger schools enjoy. They play without selfishness and remain committed to the student-athlete ideals. That, more than anything, makes us proud to be Demon Deacons.