“The Buffalo Bills take the lead with 1:54 to go in the fourth quarter!”
Jake Varcoe’s “Bills Bunker”, you can find on YouTube. Varcoe is passionately biased as a sports reporter. He offers a perspective from the front row on both the joy of victory and the pain of defeat that is often lacking in professional sports commentators.
Varcoe believed that his Bills were just one game away of the Super Bowl three weeks ago in a thrilling playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills. Buffalo was leading by three.
“What an amazing game! In the final two minutes, there were three lead changes! “
But ….
“The Chiefs still have a chance. With that one, they’re within field goal range. “
Yogi Berra immortalized the words “It ain’t over ’til it’s over” It wasn’t. The game reached overtime.
If your team scores the touchdown and gets the ball first in overtime, you win. It can be very important to get the ball first. This is done by flipping a coin.
“(Sighs). And the Bills lose their coin toss. You’ll win if you get the coin flip. “
Although it’s not so simple, Varcoe is correct: The odds favor the team who gets the ball first. The Chiefs won the ball. The Chiefs won.
Varcoe said that although he was not a fan overtime rules in the NFL, he didn’t complain about them. “Congratulations to Kansas City Chiefs for a hard-fought win.”
Nice. Gracious. They were also classy. These young men showed the country something it has lost: how to win with dignity, and lose with grace.
Jason Gay, a Wall Street Journal sports columnist, stated that “In the days thereafter, there was this really compelling gesture by Chiefs fans. They donated $13 to the charity established by Josh Allen, Bills’ quarterback.
Chiefs fans donated thousand of $13 (13 being the time it took for the Chiefs to tie the game, and then send it to overtime).
Gay stated that this resulted in a sum of hundreds of thousands of dollars. It was a touching moment when you think about how bitter that ending could have been.
Koppel asked: “Jason? I don’t think that it will shock you if I tell you that I’m asking whether our sports fans can do something that our politicians are incapable of doing?”
Gay responded, “I believe sports, mercifully,” We don’t say 42-38 when the scoreboard says 30/27. That is a big difference between our platforms for athletics and other platforms in our lives.
Condoleezza Rice is a Stanford professor and a national security advisor. She was also secretary of state under the George W. Bush administration. She stated, “There’s something about sports that kids learn very early on. Maybe this time I won’t win and then you’ll win.” Maybe next time, if I work harder, maybe I’ll win. All of us have to follow the rules and make the game meaningful.
In fact, Dr. Rice has been openly stating for years that she longs to be the commissioner of the National Football League. But not anymore.
She said, “As I get older and wiser I have started to think maybe it’s not so great a job afterall.” “I will just be a fan.”
It was probably a smart decision. It’s been a difficult job, with the league facing charges of racial discrimination as well as sexual harassment.
Sometimes, the people who enforce the rules make mistakes. This is when the commissioner gets involved, as happened three years ago in another playoff game between the Los Angeles Rams and the New Orleans Saints.
Gay says: “We have an 20-20 game. Drew Brees throws a pass down the sideline and a Rams cornerback takes out the Saints receiver. The play was not flagged. The call was missed by the official. The crowd was wild.
Gay stated, “So, this really awful penalty, which you could rightfully argue prevented the Saints scoring and going to the Super Bowl was just allowed to happen.”
Saints fans voiced their disapproval: “This is a tragedy!” “Worst call ever!” “Cheatin’ f****s!”
Koppel was told by James Carville, a particularly passionate Saints fan who sometimes also dabbles with Democratic Party politics, that “First of all it was obvious to anyone in the stands that our receiver had been interfered with.” I was shocked. “They will have to do something,” I replied.
Koppel stated, “Now, the Commissioner did apologize to coach, didn’t he?”
“That’s great!” Carville laughed. Carville laughed. He didn’t know what else to do. He had to apologize, of course.
“Did anyone think about bringing a suit?”
“A lotta people,” Carville replied. ” Some were filed.”
One fan said to a reporter that if he or she can find an attorney in New Orleans who is willing to fight the NFL, he/she would be willing to put his/her house on the line.
Carville stated, “I considered being a plaintiff on one’em. But I know a lot of lawyers who said, “I thought about being a plaintiff on one of ’em.” You know what? You’re not going to win.
What happened, however? Gay stated, “Nothing.” “We are still in a situation that NFL games are often left up to subjective decisions made by players on the field.”
Fans had to eat it.
However, sports and politics have a final authority and understanding. It doesn’t matter if it’s passed down by someone wearing a black robe or a striped shirt. Fair or not, you accept it for the benefit of the sport (and sometimes the nation), just as Al Gore did after a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling that gave George W. Bush the Presidency.
Gore stated, “Let it be clear, although I strongly disagree with this court’s decision,” on December 13, 2000. “I offer my concession for the sake of unity and strength of our democracy.”
Rice stated, “That’s how democracy should work.” It is important to understand that the rule, the understanding that although I might not like the outcome, I will respect it. This is extremely important. However, there is something I think has been forgotten about 2000. Some of the people on the opposing side, including some in Congress, said that he wasn’t really my president. Maybe that was the beginning of erosion before we realized it. It is important to regain the belief that elections are the true test of democracy and that we can move on after they are over.
Are we really comparing a bad decision in a football match to the Supreme Court ruling that cost Al Gore his presidency? Not even close. You have to be able to let go of any appeals at some point in football or in real life in order for the system work.
Carville stated, “In spite all the facts, every court decision 60 court decisions, six gajillion count – I’m speaking about 2020, yeah, – I don’t know how many different recounts all find that same thing, that there’s no evidence or fact that anything other that minor discrepancies in any election had any effect. You have 35% who believe otherwise. They won’t change. They aren’t going to change.
We have seen the consequences of refusing to accept this notion.
Within hours, however, around a hundred million Americans will be watching the event live on television. This is one of few national events in which the final score can still be accepted as fact.
