Column: The ending is the hardest part

FB: Beacons say goodbye to 2023 season as players contemplate future

ST. PAUL - I’ve been to funerals that had more joy than the hallway outside the Valparaiso locker room underneath O'Shaughnessy Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

To be honest, as I watched player after player walk out to the bus following Valparaiso’s 16-10 loss to St. Thomas, I felt like I was at a funeral.

It felt like that long walk down the hallway symbolized some sort of path to football afterlife. Some of the players will turn left and be back with the Beacons next season. Some of the players will turn right and head into the transfer portal. Some of the players will keep walking straight ahead into a life without ball. It won’t be an easy walk.

The ending is the hardest part.