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WEST POINT, N.Y. - Sometimes, you learn more about a football team after the clock runs out and the TV cameras turn off.
That's when you might see desire when you were expecting complacency. That's where you discover restraint when you go looking for celebration.
That's where you see South Florida football players standing at midfield and listening graciously as the Army band plays its alma mater.
As a snapshot, it was endearing. As a moment in time, it was instructive. For sure, it was a fitting show of respect for the cadets of the U.S. Military Academy. But maybe, for these Bulls, it also was a bit of longing.
It has been a long time, of course, since Army has stood for football excellence. Yet there still is something remarkable about the program. Something impressive about the Heisman trophies on display and the list of national championships painted on the grandstand. Something stirring about the heroes of other fields that have walked this campus.
USF overwhelmed Army 28-0 Saturday afternoon, and then, like the Grinch watching the folks of Whoville celebrate Christmas, stood in quiet surprise as thousands of cadets serenaded a defeated football team.
And perhaps that's when some of the Bulls came to this realization: That's what they want.
Not just the fleeting comfort of an easy victory. Not just a clip on a highlight show or a headline in a newspaper.
They want it all. They want what can not be found, borrowed or bought. They want something that never goes away. They want tradition.
You could see that later. In their answers. In their expressions. In the way they refused to gloat about a sloppy, but lopsided victory.
For as long as there has been football at USF, there has been anticipation of this game. It was the first Conference USA game in program history, and it was an utter success on the scoreboard. And yet there was no boasting. No sense of satisfaction. There certainly was no locker room celebration.
"It was the opposite of a celebration," receiver Huey Whittaker said. "When you don't do as good as you can, you hear it from the coaches. We were expecting it."
This is how programs grow up. This is how USF will rise. By refusing to accept mediocrity, even when it comes wrapped in victory.
This is a team that has forever been in a hurry. When you have no history to relax on and no tradition to draw from, you have no other choice.
A year ago, USF may have had the most talented of all of C-USA's teams. But since the league stubbornly refused to allow the Bulls through its doors, we never will know for sure. Today, the Bulls are younger. They appear less explosive. And still coach Jim Leavitt expects them to accomplish more.
"We have to be better than we were last year," Leavitt said. "That's the plight of South Florida. Our burden is that we have to be better. We don't have the luxury of not getting better."
And so the Bulls heard a coach's frustration instead of praise. He screamed a little at halftime and lectured a bit afterward.
Actually, it was not without cause. USF's offense was awful. Against a team that has lost 14 of its past 15 games, a team that was giving up more points than any program in the nation, a team that had six turnovers and averaged 2.2 yards a play Saturday, the Bulls could manage no better than two offensive touchdowns.
It was a performance that - if repeated - will get USF beat each of the next two weekends when league favorites Louisville and TCU hit Tampa.
"No way. Absolutely not. We can not beat Louisville if we play like this," safety Kevin Verpaele said. "We're capable of winning the conference. We have the athletes. We have the potential. We need to play better."
That may be asking a lot. Quarterback Ronnie Banks is not hitting enough of his receivers and USF is not built to support him with a running game. Penalties are a concern and dropped passes have been a problem.
If you are desperate to find encouragement from Saturday, it is in the way the Bulls reacted afterward. Pleased, but not satisfied. Confident, but not content. As if they knew there still is much more for them still out there.
This was the day's lesson. This is what you saw when the Bulls halted their postgame huddle to stand and face the Army band.
Safety J.R. Reed is the one who captured the team's attention. He told Leavitt it would be respectful to listen to their opponent's song.
"I'm not really good about standing for another team's alma mater. I don't think I've ever done that in my life," Leavitt said. "But I thought it was really appropriate."
Reed got the idea the night before when he was talking with Army defensive end and former Hillsborough High teammate, Karl Davis.
"He told me that after the game we should wait up, you know out of respect for them and sing their alma mater," Reed said. "He said if we wanted, they would come over and sing our alma mater with us. But I don't even know if we have one."
That's what the Bulls want.
A song to sing.
A tradition to hold.