True story folks.

Before my cousin and I headed off to college, our uncles decided to loan us their extra wheels for the summer so we could handle all of our post high school shenanigans. So we alternated between driving one uncle’s white 1971 Chevy Corvette Stingray and another uncle’s almost doo-doo brown 1976 Plymouth Valiant.

Yes the Stingray was as awesome as it sounds. 427 cubic inches of aggressive, opulent, spectacular American Muscle.

Also yes, the Plymouth was a hooptie. We affectionately named the Plymouth “sadadat” based on the sound she made when we drove her.

“Sa-da-dat”, “sa-da-dat”, “sa-da-dat”….. you could hear us coming from 3 blocks away.

It was actually my homeboy Johnny Torrence, currently the proprietor of Torrence Lifestyles, who came up with that name but I digress.

Both vehicles got us to and from beachside parties, girlfriends homes, work…you name it. But getting there in the Plymouth was nothing like arriving in the ‘vette. What the Stingray was in feisty excitement, sadadat was in humdrum pragmatism.

I have spent all summer trying to figure out if the 2018 rendition of @BCUGridiron will be more like the ‘vette or the Plymouth I use to drive. Excitement or humdrum? The truth is I have no idea.

Every time I try to make myself believe the Cats are poised to make a run, I start to hear “sa-da-dat,” “sa-da-dat,” “sa-da-dat” playing in my head.

I wish I could go on a Denny Green tirad and shout “the Wildcats are who we thought they were” but I have no idea who the Wildcats are.

I have even robbed myself of my late summer hobby of spending hours envisioning all of the reasons why our beloved Bethune-Cookman Wildcats will finish the season atop the MEAC and HBCU football standings.

But nope! That has not yet happen this season.

No wishing the Aggies, Rattlers, Bulldogs and Eagles fans bad luck this season for having the audacity of thinking they will somehow win against the Mighty Fighting Wildcats. My posts on MEACFanZone haven’t been filled with passive aggressive jabs about “the little church school”striving hard to prove everyone wrong.

It hasn’t happen. None of it. Instead I am just sort of preparing to ride out the 2018 football season in the passenger seat of the Plymouth…but I have my racing gloves and shades in hand just in case in I need to jump in the ‘vette too.

Terry Sims took over as the head honcho in Daytona Beach in 2015. The Wildcats finished 9-2 that season, 4-6 the next and 7-4 last season under Sims’ direction. For those keeping score at home, Sims’ teams have swapped between good, bad and average like my cousin and I swapped vehicles. BCU’s 20-12 (.600) record in the Sims era averages out to about 7 wins and 4 defeats a season.

Bethune won 7 of its 9 matchups against FCS teams last year. That is good. 8 of those 9 games were 1 possession games entering the final 2 minutes of the contests including against bad 3 win teams like South Carolina State, Savannah State and FAMU. That is not good.

Sure you will take a win any way you can get it but what if the Wildcats don’t convert a Hail Mary against NCCU as time expires this season? What if the Cats don’t block a SCSU field goal as time whines down? What if the FAMU punter doesn’t foolishly attempt a fake punt with his team leading and possessing all of the momentum in the second half? (That last question was fully intended to frustrate Rattler fans btw.)

If BCU plays the same way they have the past two seasons, there is equal chance of the ball bouncing for or against them.

The prayer of the Wildcat faithful is that Coach Sims and company will calibrate things just right, have this team firing on all cylinders and find themselves putting games away early and not allowing contests to hang in the balance.

Of course other teams will have something to say about that but the Road to Atlanta and the Celebration Bowl is more easily navigated this year than in years past.

The two North Carolina schools are the only schools to have represented the MEAC in the Celebration Bowl. However, both schools find themselves in a state of major transition with head coach Rod Broadway retiring at NCA&T and NC Central losing their head coach Jerry Mack to FBS Rice.

BCU’s roster is talented enough to rise to the top of the leaderboard in conference but if they are to do so, they will have to improve on both sides of the ball. The Wildcats finished last season ranked in the middle of the pack on both offense (6^th) and defense (5^th).

Sims described his defense as bend but don’t break last year. With running starters like Elliot Miller (DB), Trenton Bridges (LB), Devin James (LB) and Todney Evans (DL), the Wildcats should have plenty enough on defensive side of the ball to exert their will and return to the dominant, hard hitting, fast paced unit they are traditionally known as being.

The D will have to lead the way early in the season while Arkevious Williams acclimates to being the new starting QB. Offensive coordinator Allen Suber will also have to look for ways to prepare a bevy of new receivers to make up for the losses of Jawill Davis and Frank Brown.

“Vroom, vroom” or “sa-da-dat?

I am still unsure which one we will see in 2018. What I do know is we are just two weeks away from finding out when the Cats travel to Nashville on September 1^st at 7:00pm to take on Tennessee State in the John Merritt Classic.

HailWildcats.com will be there to bring you a fan’s perspective of all the action. You are cordially invited to travel with us to Nashville and all road games as we support our boys in their quest to make it to the Celebration Bowl. Click here for fan bus details: https://hailwildcats.com/ontheprowl/.