DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – In a perfect world, this end of the year football review would have an Atlanta dateline since it would be churned out in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium press box at the conclusion of the Celebration Bowl.

Alas, as Michael Keaton said to Kim Basinger in the 1989 Batman "It's not a perfect world." To which Basinger retorted: "It doesn't have to be a perfect world….."
 
Or does it?
 
Instead of stopping by The Varsity for post-game, it's now just a matter of walking across the street for a burger at The Brickyard. That's actually a trade-up, but only for those hamburger aficionados of this diatribe. And since this is a season recap published in Daytona Beach, does this make the 2017 edition of Wildcats Football a disappointment?
 
Nope.
 
7-4. Three more wins than 2016 – a season in which Head Coach Terry Sims says was "the craziest of my coaching career" in regards to injuries.
 
The Bethune-Cookman minimum – winning Homecoming and the Florida Blue Florida Classic.
 
The four losses?
 
Miami. Until Thanksgiving, a Football Championship playoff contender. Oh, yeah, we scored more points and had more total yards than Notre Dame did against the Hurricanes.
 
FAU. Props to Lane Kiffin for turning that program around in a year and into a conference champion.
 
The two Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) losses? At Howard, where a lousy call and late minute heroics from Caylin Newton started league play on a sour note. Then at nationally-ranked and undefeated North Carolina A&T [Celebration Bowl champion], the Wildcats are the only team to have a fourth-quarter lead, only to have a pinball bounce on an interception and a trick play go against them. For every "Aggie Pride" shout, there was a "Dang, that was for the conference championship" snorted in Greensboro that day.
 
And after that, the Wildcats didn't lose again. The spirit of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune helped us out at North Carolina Central, and we helped ourselves once we got down 24-10 in Orlando against Florida A&M.
 
That's the thing. You feel that it's going in the right direction.
 
The run defense "woes" that started the season? Gone.
 
The penalties? Getting better.
 
Pass defense? Number twelve in the nation.
 
The mental toughness? Three games decided on the final play. Two fourth-quarter comebacks. Sims has this team always believing they can win – until the clock hits all zeros.
 
Did the underclassmen show promise? Lots.
 
An enlightened football fan would agree. Trouble is… It all started at Miami. You tolerate "The U" fans because … they're "The U." Then come "The U" haters taking shots because one of "The U" wins was against us. That's pushing it.
 
Then come the MEACFans board members. Bad enough you're coming after my guy [Terry Sims]. Even worse, you're doing it in the third quarter of a four-point game against a team unbeaten in league play. The worst? You can't spell his name right. In one fell swoop, or our case, a last second win.
 
Some folks don't get it when it comes to appreciating what the other team's doing. Don't tell me North Carolina A&T's run isn't good for all of Historically Black College/University (HBCU) Football. North Carolina Central's had a nice run. Howard might be starting one.
 
Bethune-Cookman's starting another one, folks.
 
This year was slowed by some "questionable" officiating (I am allowed to say that, but not the coaching staff), a late run by the MEAC Rookie of the Year [Caylin Newton], a pinball interception and a trick play. That's the difference between 8-0 and 6-2 – and a second place finish in the league standings.
 
Atlanta was out of the picture, but here's some of what is IN the picture for Sims and the Wildcats.
 
Larry Brihm, Jr. grinding. He elevated, and because of it, he's in the discussion of one of the all-time great Wildcats quarterbacks. At the least, he has a touchdown pass at the final horn and another Florida Blue Florida Classic memory to treasure.
 
Frank Brown. Anyone who appreciates that his career touchdown reception total (21) is alongside the legendary Jack "Cy" McClairen respects his place in Wildcatdom. Wonderful job of representing the program as a student-athlete and young man in and around the campus.
 
Diquan Richardson. Up there with Rashean Mathis and Nick Collins as far as defense goes. Professional football – either be NFL or CFL, is certainly in his future.
 
DiShawn Ray. This guy's story is one Sandra Bullock shy of another "The Blind Side." Made his mark on the field. Now he's graduating.
 
Oh, yeah, 22 student-athletes form BCU Football landed on the All-MEAC Academic Team for 2017. You going to celebrate that, or are you going to be that post-game talk show caller on Friday Night Lights (movie edition) who lambasted Coach Gaines after an Odessa-Permian loss because "there's too much learning going on at that school?"
 
There's no doubt in my mind that in a decade or so, one of these players is going to have the kind of success Travis Roland and Matt Johnson had coaching at Flagler Palm Coast this year.
 
We're good.
 
We've completed a resurge.
 
And Atlanta isn't going anywhere.
 
In fact, Atlanta may be closer than you think.