My Hero
Bob Stoops, head coach of OU football, is my new hero. He really is. His Sooners are currently 3-0, though the official records list them as 2-1. The source of the discrepancy? The low-down, cheating, no good, sons of an egg-sucking sea serpent refs in the Pac-10!
You see, on Saturday OU played Oregon (which is a good team). OU was leading 33 to 20 with 2 minutes left. Then Oregon got the ball, drove and scored a touchdown, making it 33 to 27 with a little under 2 minutes to go. Nice job, Oregon--that's good football. What followed wasn't, however.
Next, Oregon attempted an onside kick. They recovered it*, but only because they cheated: One of their players, in clear violation of the rules, touched both the ball and the OU player trying to recover the ball before the ball had gone 10 yards. The refs reviewed the play, watching a video that clearly showed the Oregon violation, then ruled how? No penalty--Oregon gets the ball with great field position! On the next drive, OU's defense gets called on pass interference, but the play was again reviewed and showed clearly, on replay, that the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage, meaning pass interference is impossible. Whew! Good, so no penalty right? Wrong. Again the Pac-10 refs cheat and give Oregon the free first down and about 15 yards, which then propells them to a touchdown.
My reaction to all of this? Anger. In fact, I considered using my remaining funds from working in Japan to hire a hitman to track down some of those cheating refs.
Bob Stoops' reaction? Let's quote him in his own words, shall we? "In the end, it isn't going to change anything. In the end, I've got to look at a bunch of kids who fought hard and have a loss right now." No vengeance, no hitmen, no complaining--he's just moving on.
That's why Bob's my new hero. The guy's got class--way more than I would've showed. Thanks, Bob. If I were wearing a hat, I'd salute you.
*It is disputed whether Oregon actually recovered the ball, as an OU player seemed to have possession after the play.
You see, on Saturday OU played Oregon (which is a good team). OU was leading 33 to 20 with 2 minutes left. Then Oregon got the ball, drove and scored a touchdown, making it 33 to 27 with a little under 2 minutes to go. Nice job, Oregon--that's good football. What followed wasn't, however.
Next, Oregon attempted an onside kick. They recovered it*, but only because they cheated: One of their players, in clear violation of the rules, touched both the ball and the OU player trying to recover the ball before the ball had gone 10 yards. The refs reviewed the play, watching a video that clearly showed the Oregon violation, then ruled how? No penalty--Oregon gets the ball with great field position! On the next drive, OU's defense gets called on pass interference, but the play was again reviewed and showed clearly, on replay, that the ball was tipped at the line of scrimmage, meaning pass interference is impossible. Whew! Good, so no penalty right? Wrong. Again the Pac-10 refs cheat and give Oregon the free first down and about 15 yards, which then propells them to a touchdown.
My reaction to all of this? Anger. In fact, I considered using my remaining funds from working in Japan to hire a hitman to track down some of those cheating refs.
Bob Stoops' reaction? Let's quote him in his own words, shall we? "In the end, it isn't going to change anything. In the end, I've got to look at a bunch of kids who fought hard and have a loss right now." No vengeance, no hitmen, no complaining--he's just moving on.
That's why Bob's my new hero. The guy's got class--way more than I would've showed. Thanks, Bob. If I were wearing a hat, I'd salute you.
*It is disputed whether Oregon actually recovered the ball, as an OU player seemed to have possession after the play.
posted by Peter Rice at 3:42 PM
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