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How can you not get romantic about college football?
Posted on 11/5/12 at 11:59 am
Posted on 11/5/12 at 11:59 am
Good read: LINK /
There is a great line in the movie version of Moneyball, where Brad Pitt handsomely says to Jonah Hill, “How can you not be romantic about Baseball?” That line came to my head as I watched the fourth quarter of Alabama at LSU.
It was the best of so many things. History, rivalries, toughness, fanaticism, alcohol, team work, leadership, the South. Had this game been played in last season’s BCS Championship game, the BCS wouldn’t be getting dismantled. Instead of SEC fatigue, we’d have SEC withdrawals. Nobody would have anything to bitch about. This game was more than anyone could have hoped for.
“Alabama has a chance now, but I must tell you. Based on their performance in the second half I don’t know how you can be very optimistic. They’ve not done anything with the football in this half. McCarron is one for seven for zero yards. 94 seconds to go, both teams out of time outs.” – Verne Lundquist.
Come on? That is how the table is set for the final drive? Masterful, Verne. Aaron Sorkin, who I’m assuming wrote the line from Moneyball (it reeks of Sorkin), could not have done it better himself. He was critical, but he was right. McCarron was struggling bad. 43 seconds later, Alabama had the lead.
A.J. McCarron, who seemed so uncharacteristically rattled for the entire second half settled down and just played throw and catch with Kevin Norwood for 44 yards, before hitting future millionaire T.J. Yeldon for the go-ahead 28 yard touchdown. He became the emotionless robot we saw in last year’s title game… until the clock stopped, then every bottled up emotion from his entire life flooded out of him. It flooded out of him because what he just did was so hard. 94,000 crazy humans screaming at the top of their lungs for four hours can break a man. So can the expectation to have a perfect season.
Everything was going LSU’s way. They outplayed Alabama to that point, and they deserved to win this game. Zach Mettenberger had the best game of his career when the spotlight was the brightest. It felt like LSU’s night, and A.J. McCarron knew he was the guy who had to prevent the upset that seemed so inevitable. He could have quit, but he fought and he won.
The moment reminded me of Tim Tebow crying after the 2009 SEC Championship loss to Alabama. Tebow wanted it so badly and lost. McCarron wanted it so badly and won. It’s not the result so much as it was the fight that broke both guys.
How can you not be romantic about college football?
There is a great line in the movie version of Moneyball, where Brad Pitt handsomely says to Jonah Hill, “How can you not be romantic about Baseball?” That line came to my head as I watched the fourth quarter of Alabama at LSU.
It was the best of so many things. History, rivalries, toughness, fanaticism, alcohol, team work, leadership, the South. Had this game been played in last season’s BCS Championship game, the BCS wouldn’t be getting dismantled. Instead of SEC fatigue, we’d have SEC withdrawals. Nobody would have anything to bitch about. This game was more than anyone could have hoped for.
“Alabama has a chance now, but I must tell you. Based on their performance in the second half I don’t know how you can be very optimistic. They’ve not done anything with the football in this half. McCarron is one for seven for zero yards. 94 seconds to go, both teams out of time outs.” – Verne Lundquist.
Come on? That is how the table is set for the final drive? Masterful, Verne. Aaron Sorkin, who I’m assuming wrote the line from Moneyball (it reeks of Sorkin), could not have done it better himself. He was critical, but he was right. McCarron was struggling bad. 43 seconds later, Alabama had the lead.
A.J. McCarron, who seemed so uncharacteristically rattled for the entire second half settled down and just played throw and catch with Kevin Norwood for 44 yards, before hitting future millionaire T.J. Yeldon for the go-ahead 28 yard touchdown. He became the emotionless robot we saw in last year’s title game… until the clock stopped, then every bottled up emotion from his entire life flooded out of him. It flooded out of him because what he just did was so hard. 94,000 crazy humans screaming at the top of their lungs for four hours can break a man. So can the expectation to have a perfect season.
Everything was going LSU’s way. They outplayed Alabama to that point, and they deserved to win this game. Zach Mettenberger had the best game of his career when the spotlight was the brightest. It felt like LSU’s night, and A.J. McCarron knew he was the guy who had to prevent the upset that seemed so inevitable. He could have quit, but he fought and he won.
The moment reminded me of Tim Tebow crying after the 2009 SEC Championship loss to Alabama. Tebow wanted it so badly and lost. McCarron wanted it so badly and won. It’s not the result so much as it was the fight that broke both guys.
How can you not be romantic about college football?
1
Posted on 11/5/12 at 12:05 pm to kduffey
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This post was edited on 8/29/21 at 2:30 pm
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