James Brown was the “team artist” for the 2013 Eastern football season.

So, when Tennessee State deemed the song “Payback” by James Brown as its anthem for its second round matchup against Eastern in the FCS Playoffs, the Panthers were more than content with it.

Every pregame the Eastern football team listened to two James Brown songs; his songs echoed throughout weight lifting. James Brown might as well have jumped in an Eastern uniform himself.

Sean Edinger, Eastern’s head strength coach, was in charge of compiling a playlist for the Panthers’ pregame warm up for their postseason game at O’Brien Field.

Naturally, a number of James Brown songs made the cut. Edinger, last-minute, insisted that “Payback” be added to the playlist, so it was.

Eastern beat Tennessee State 34-16 at its homecoming five weeks earlier in the season on Oct, 26, 2013. The Tigers wanted “Payback.”

Just a few days before Eastern’s first playoff game, Edinger heard that Tennessee State had been listening to that same exact song all week.

He asked head coach Dino Babers if he should swap the song out with a different one because when the Tigers heard the song being played during warm ups at O’Brien Field, they might be given extra motivation.

“It may be their theme song, but that’s our team artist,” Babers said.

The second-year head coach encouraged Edinger to play the song.

“If they think that song will let them win the game, then you need to play that song,” Babers said.

And so came game day.

Sure enough, the song was played during warm ups. The faces of the Tennessee State players blazed with intensity.

The Tigers went crazy. They began jumping up and down uncontrollably to the point where the coaches could hardly contain them.

“Our guys were just looking at them and looking at them and looking at them,” Babers said. “We’ll let our pads do the talking.”

The No. 2 seeded Eastern responded with a 51-10 wallop over its Ohio Valley Conference foe on Dec. 7, winning its first postseason game since 1986.

“To beat a TSU team like that twice in one season, it tells you something about your football team,” Babers said. “They’re big and athletic, but they also play to the point where if you have even the slightest mistakes, they’ll take advantage.”

Babers said Eastern was a team of destiny all throughout the season and the 41-point win against Tennessee State furthered his argument. Everybody believed it.

Two-time defending national champion North Dakota State was in sight. But first, Eastern had to get past No. 7 seed Towson in the quarterfinals.

Babers thought it would be a high-scoring fair that Eastern would eventually pull away from. The Panthers’ passing game versus the Tigers’ running game at 7 p.m. Friday Dec. 13 at O’Brien Field on ESPN2.

That is where the Eastern defense was plowed just like the snow from the blizzard that preceded the game.

“Some guy named West happened,” Babers said. “He ran over a lot of people that year, but against us was something different.”

Towson running back Terrance West unleashed an FCS Playoff record 354 rushing yards and a career-high five touchdowns, leading the Tigers to a 49-39 win and the opportunity for play Eastern Washington for a championship game appearance.

“I actually did see this coming,” West said after the game. “Coach said we have to picture a game before it happens. If you picture big plays, you’re going to make big plays. I was picturing big plays all week.”

Eastern’s magical season, which seemed like it would never end, came to a screeching halt that night.

It finished at 12-2 with a second straight OVC title, a win over an FBS program and a plethora of shattered records to show.

But the season still felt unfinished.

After all, it was a team of destiny in Babers’ eyes.

Had O’Brien Field not been blanketed with snow, who knows how the game would have ended. But it’s fun to think about.

“The snow was plowed to the outside where all our receivers were while the middle was open where all their backs were,” Babers said. “It was the worst conditions to play a team like that in.”

Towson went on to beat Eastern Washington 35-31, and then lose to North Dakota State 35-7 in the championship game. The Bison had a three-peat.

But how Babers itched to see his No. 1 offense pitted against Craig Bohl of North Dakota State’s No. 1 defense.

“It was the matchup everybody wanted to see,” Babers said.

Everybody except for Bohl.

Babers, who now has made the jump to the FBS level as the head coach at Bowling Green, met Bohl, who did the same only at Wyoming, after the season.

Babers said Bohl told him that Eastern was the one team North Dakota State would have had trouble with, the last team Bohl wanted to see.

“It would’ve been a treat to have our offense against their defense,” Babers said.

But for now, appreciate the treat Babers and the 2013 Eastern football team already was.

Such success only happens every so often. Players who were part of the 1978 Division II National Championship team can agree with that.

“All the former football players always say, ‘man I was here for the ‘78 season. Now that was a team,’” Babers said. “I can’t wait for 30 years from now when everyone is talking about the 2013 season. That will be cool.”

Anthony Catezone can be reached at 581-2812 or ajcatezone@eiu.edu.