Did that really happen?
BUMBLED, BLOCKED and AXE-d
Again, the toughest team to be a die-hard fan of (east of Boston-that is) has let us down again.
You would think Laurence Maroon-ey's 258 rushing yards would get it done. You'd think an amazing program-changing win in the Big House last week would prevent this sort of thing from happening. Or maybe, maybe, Glen Mason's 2005 talent would be ready for a bobbled snap when its 4th and 1, deep in their own territory, with less than :30 seconds to play. But of course, the coaching staff can't see beyond their laminated notes -- and there was no Plan B. The Badgers blocked Gophers kicker Justin Kucek's second try at a punt, pounced on it in the Gophers' end zone for an unbelieveable TD, and cut down the Gophers' first chance to be in a tie for the Big Ten lead in years.
That's game, 38-34. The damn Badgers win again.
Pasadena was always unlikely. A New Year's bowl looked do-able. But with the likes of Ohio State, Iowa, Michigan State remaining it appears we will be watching (or won't be) our beloved rodents again at the YourFavoriteWebsite.com Bowl.
Which makes me think, why doesn't Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, or Apple have its namesake on a stadium yet?
The spectulation over Mason's contract status began weeks ago and will again heat up soon. Some media members said he bought himself a new deal with the win last week in Michigan (the first of his career over the Wolverines, also the first for the program since 1986). After this loss, people (particularly students) seemed ready to set fire to his home. The fact is, unless Mason's squad loses out or his minons get busted at Al and Alma's on Lake Minnetonka, he will be back in 2006 and will be the Gophers coach in its eventual new home back on campus.
Red Sox nation waited 86 years to kill the curse. Our curse may be about a rusty toilet bowl of a stadium, but our state's leaders are in no hurry to help the situation. Which makes me think, when will I get to write a book like Bill Simmons' "Now I Can Die in Peace." Hopefully not at Simmons age.
posted by The Divoteer at 1:49 PM
1 Comments:
I believe that any team that has been on the brink of prominence, without succeeding, has tortured die-hard fans. The Gopher football team is of course no exception. Having lost in such a dramatic fashion is of course a sign of lost opportunity.
If indeed there is semblance of the Red Soxs' "Curse of the Bambino", I don't see it. The better story in the Wisconsin Badgers game would have been the sub par coaching effort in the crucial seconds leading to the finale. The worst-case scenario presented itself, with a botched punt ending with a fumble recovery for a touchdown. Why it is that Glen Mason did not prepare “butter fingers” Kucek for this event, I don’t know? Some might contend that it is an issue of execution on the punters part. WRONG, he didn’t misexecute running out of the endzone and conserving the victory.
Its an issue of poor coaching, when it mattered the most, not the case of tortured fans.
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