Category Archives: AIM conversations

Sometimes, It Really is Better to be Lucky

We’re all familiar with the cliche “it’s better to be lucky than good”.

My Mom called me after the game GT-FSU game Saturday to discuss the miracle finish. (Video, in case you haven’t seen it.) I told her at the time that it was “the luckiest thing I’ve seen since I started watching Georgia Tech football”, even more so than the miracle finish at Clemson in 2004.

But then I thought about it, and decided perhaps I should do a little comparison.

2004 vs. Clemson 2008 vs. FSU
Background Clemson had the ball and needed only a first down to win the game. On first down, Charlie Whitehurst tucks and runs with plenty of open space in front of him. To avoid the tackle, he slides down half a yard short of the first down. Clemson is then stopped for no gain or a loss on the subsequent two downs. FSU intercepted a Jaybo Shaw pass with plenty of time left and began to drive. Tech had forced a 4th and 11 and a punt at one point, but Daryl Richard fell out of his stance and was called for offisdes. FSU went for it on 4th and 6 and made the first down, and the drive continued unabated to the Georgia Tech 4. With the clock winding down under a minute, FSU looked like they were going to score the game-winning TD, but even if they somehow didn’t they still just need a chip-shot field goal to tie.
The Break Clemson’s long snapper doesn’t quite get it to the punter. The Clemson punter falls on it at their own 12 yard line. FSU’s Jermaine Thomas carries the ball straight up the middle with only one hand on the football. Safety Cooper Taylor puts his helmet on the ball and it flies in the air into the end zone.
The Luck Clemson was up by 3. Had the Clemson punter had the presence of mind to pick the ball up and run with it into the end zone Clemson probably would have preserved the lead and been able to force Georgia Tech in worse field position on the subsequent kickoff. Freshman cornerback Rashaad Reid makes a, well, freshman mistake and tries to pick the bouncing ball up instead of falling on it. Two FSU players attempt to get the ball, but somehow Reid comes out of the ensuing pile-up with the ball and a touchback for Georgia Tech.
The Game Reggie Ball throws the first of what would become Georgia Tech’s staple red-zone play for the next 3 seasons, the simple fade to Calvin Johnson. Despite some excitement on the ensuing Clemson Hail Mary, Georgia Tech escapes with the win. The call is reviewed and the replays confirm the touchback call. With 45 seconds left, Jaybo kneels twice (FSU had a timeout) and the game is over.

Overall, I have to go back on what I told my Mom and say the Clemson win was still luckier, mainly because there was pretty much no reason for Tech to get the ball back in decent field position there (much less the Clemson 12). All Charlie Whitehusrt had to do was slide an additional half a yard to get a first down and the win. All Clemson had to do after that was gain a half a yard in two plays. And all they had to do after that was punt the football. In the FSU game, the fumble was caused by an athletic play, and while recovering the ball required a significant amount of luck it didn’t require 4 straight plays worth.

One of my friends from Tech wasn’t able to watch the game (I was, thanks to the magic of the Slingbox) and so I was giving updates via AIM. Here’s the (slightly edited) conversation.
(3:40:57 PM) Me: [FSU rushes] to the GT 4
(3:41:41 PM) Me: FUMBLE
(3:41:45 PM) Him: NO WAY
(3:41:45 PM) Me: TOUCHBACK
(3:41:49 PM) Me: IT’S A MIRACLE
(3:41:53 PM) Me: SNAP THE […] BALL
(3:42:01 PM) Me: it’s questionable
(3:42:05 PM) Me: snap the […] ball
(3:42:27 PM) Me: we put a helmet right [on it]
(3:42:30 PM) Me: I think we really have it
(3:42:55 PM) Me: CALL IS CONFIRMED
(3:42:57 PM) Me: TOUCHBACK
(3:42:58 PM) Him: eeeee
(3:42:59 PM) Me: GT BALL
(3:43:01 PM) Me: 45 SECONDS LEFT
(3:43:04 PM) Me: FSU HAS 1 TIMEOUT
(3:43:16 PM) Him: So help me god if we fumble
(3:43:29 PM) Me: COOPER TAYLOR FOCED IT OUT
(3:43:33 PM) Me: FORCED, EVEN
(3:43:44 PM) Me: GT WILL KNEEL
(3:43:51 PM) Me: THERE’S ONE
(3:45:23 PM) Me: BALL GAME
(3:45:30 PM) Him: gaaaaaaa
(3:46:06 PM) Me: they’re rushing the field
(3:46:17 PM) Him: hahahah
(3:47:57 PM) Me: wowowowow
(3:48:02 PM) Him: 49-3
(3:48:08 PM) Him: Florida is savaging Gerogia
(3:48:13 PM) Me: today
(3:48:15 PM) Me: is an excellent day

Exponentiation!

Will: you should totally round up a group of 25000 braves fans out there at work and road trip to any games we play out there, so you can make up for the opposite happening in atlanta
me: lol
me: I’ve met 1 other braves fan
me: I’ve met 2 people who actually care about baseball
Will: well, does he know 24,998 others?
me: well, maybe
Will: okay, well say he knows ten fans
Will: and each of those ten guys knows ten guys
Will: and each of those hundred guys knows ten guys
Will: and each of those ten thousand guys knows ten guys
Will: you’ve got 100,000 people
Will: piece of cake
Will: and say each of those 100,000 guys know 10 guys, and each of those million guys know 10 guys, and each of those ten million guys know 10 guys, and each of those hundred million guys know 10 guys, and now you’ve converted the entirety of earth’s population plus about four billion people that don’t exist into braves fans
Will: which means we might be able to get more than 30,000 of them to go to turner field during the playoffs

Oh, NFL Europe

Will: okay, so i know it’s june, but i just saw the most confusing football play i’ve ever seen in my life
Will: so i’m flipping channels, and there’s an nfl europe game going on where one team just scored to take the lead with 48 seconds left, so i say “what the hell, i’ll watch”
Will: well, it’s the kickoff, receiving team is down 3
Will: the ball gets kicked, lands near the goal line, the returner picks the ball up after a bounce about five yards deep in the end zone
Will: well, the returner jogs up close to the goal line, looking like he’s about to take a knee for a touchback
Will: and then out of nowhere, he passes the ball to one of his teammates standing at the 25
Will: the announcers sounded surprised, but not really as confused as i was, so i was wondering if maybe there was some weird forward pass on kickoffs rule in the nfle or something
Will: well, the “wide receiver” gets dropped at about the 35, then i see there’s a flag
Will: for an illegal forward pass
Will: (so i was suddenly far less worried about the nfle rules committee)
Will: with the penalty being a safety, because the forward pass occurred in the end zone
Will: thus clinching the game
Will: i then realized that it was, in fact, the dumbest play i’ve ever seen in my football-watching life