Man I Hate to Lose

I'm sure some of you had the fortune to watch the Oregon Ducks vs. Oklahoma Sooners game this weekend. The game went down to the wire and the Ducks had the good fortune to pull out a victory. Or snatch victory from the teeth of defeat as a more dramatic sports writer would have penned.

What a game it was. Two superb football programs meeting in Eugene for the first time and only the seventh meeting of both teams.

The first half was all Ducks. Then the next two quarters it was all Sooners. Except for the last 2 minutes. In this back and forth battle on the gridiron came to the final two minutes the Sooners led 33 to 20. The Ducks needed a miracle to win and boy did they get one, or maybe two, it depends on who you talk to.

The Ducks were fortunate enough to get the first touchdown by sure determination leaving them down 27 to 33. They then needed to recover the football on an onside kick. The kicker booted the ball against the ground and it bounced high in the air. Coming down across the imaginary line that laid ten yards away from where it was kicked. After reviewing the replay the refs gave the ball to the Ducks.

The Ducks then took the ball from mid-field and drove the remaining yards to a long bomb pass to supposedly clinch the victory. Autzen Stadium went crazy. People who had already headed for their cars were trying desprately to get back in and the security forces were holding back the salivating crowd from going onto the field.

With 45 seconds remaining the Ducks kicked off to the Sooners and one of the oklahoma players brought the ball back into Duck territory. After one running play the Sooners spiked the ball to stop the clock with 2 seconds remaining. They sent out their sure score kicking team for the final dagger to the Duck's heart. The ball was hiked and the place setter laid the ball down for the kicker right wherfe he was suppose to. And the kicker gave the ball a boot and luck bieng the Duck's that day, the Duck's defense blocked the field goal attempt and made the Ducks the victors.

Now all we hear is the whinny Sooner fans and President of their school demanding that the game be removed from the record books because they feel they got riped off by the poor refering job on the onside kick.

They don't mention that the only reason the Sooners were ahead was because of the four bad calls against the Ducks in the third and fourth quarter prior to the onside kick. The misplacing the ball on the Duck's 47 instead of their own 47 on their last touchdown. They forget to mention that the last touchdown made by the Sooners came on a play that the play clock had been sitting on zero for some time. They don't mention that the Sooner receiver stepped out of bounds on his trek to the end zone.

They also forget to mention the offensive interference the Sooner receiver did in the end zone on one of their touchdowns. Thay only want to whine about the onside kick.

Get over it. You had ample opportunity to win the game Oklahoma and you didn't. I have been an avid watcher of football for years and have seen Oklahoma get their share of calls and a lot of their prominence over the years has been held up because of many of those poor calls.

Maybe we should play it over again.

Peace...