In case you missed it, with less than four minutes remaining in the latest installment of one of football's most bitter rivalries, the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys were tied at 19 points apiece. The Skins had the ball at their own 45-yard line and proceeded to drive to the Dallas 31. Kicker Nick Novak lined up for a 49-yard field goal that would all but end the game and also put a stop to a three-game losing streak for Washington.
The snap is good, the hold is good, the kick is up ... and ... it's no good! Wide right! The Cowboys take over at the Washington 31-yard-line with 31 seconds remaining. Three completed passes and 25 seconds later, Dallas kicker Mike Vanderjagt is poised to win the game with a 35-yard field goal. Novak can do nothing but stand on the sideline and plan his escape into the tunnel and locker room below the stadium.
The snap is good, the hold is good, the kick is up and ... it's blocked! Sean Taylor recovers and returns it for the Redskins all the way to the Dallas 44 as time expires. Tack on an extra fifteen yards for a facemask personal foul and Washington has the ball at the Cowboy 29 with one untimed down (a game cannot end on a defensive penalty). Novak lines up the 47-yard field goal.
The snap is good, the hold is good, the kick is up ... and ... it's good! Just inside the right upright! The Redskins pull out the win!
Where else can one go from goat to hero so quickly? Thanks to the passion of fans for their team, all past failings or errors are forgotten if you can turn it around in the end. Sure, it may be a little too "what have you done for me lately" at times, but it shows that with another chance, any athlete can change their place in the minds of fans simply by coming through for the team that those fans love.
Novak was put in a position where if he failed, 90,000 people in FedEx Field and a ton more watching at home would be calling for his head (or job, I guess). Instead, he got a second chance, came through and became the hero as he secured a win for his team and their fans against their most hated rival.
The conclusion of Sunday's game demonstrates one of the most endearing qualities of sports, namely that true fans attach themselves to a team and then live and die with it. Following sports can be an exhausting rollercoaster ride (like the final four minutes of the Cowboys-Skins game), but its all worth it in the end with a win.
The anatomy of this concept is something to which 800 words could never do justice, but with this past weekend's game and a couple of other recent personal experiences, I'll try to highlight it as best I can.
One good example occurred a few weeks ago during the playoffs with one of the most exciting plays in baseball. Unfortunately, I missed seeing Magglio Ordonez's pennant-clinching walk-off home run live, but I did catch highlights of it. However, it wasn't until I checked out a YouTube video that someone filmed from the stands at the game that I truly got a feel for what it meant to be there as a true fan. The clips of that home run give me shivers every time I watch them, the same way that clips of David Ortiz's game-winning hit for my Red Sox against the Yankees in 2004 still gives me chills.
Even without being there, you can feel the excitement in the air and witness the pure elation on each fan's face. Most any fan can relate to such an event, either by recalling a time when his or her team won it all, by fantasizing what it would be like or just by recognizing how much it means to the fans of the team that has just won. I bet some people could even find themselves getting goose bumps over Aaron [expletive] Boone's home run in the 2003 ALCS (well, if they don't have hearts).
More recently still, I got to experience the excitement of my good friend Dallas James, a huge Cardinals fan, as his team made a clutch run through the playoffs to win the World Series. He was in Charlottesville for two of the World Series games, and I got to, once again (though this time vicariously), root a team on in the Fall Classic. As we watched, I knew what it would mean to him (having experienced it myself a couple years earlier) and was glad that someone I knew was going to have the chance to see his team win it all.
In the end, I feel bad for people who don't like or follow sports. The great joy it can bring is worth all of the pain and frustration that also comes with the territory. The excitement of a player going from goat to hero or a last-second victory and the devotion of a true fan are just some of the things that make sports such a beautiful institution.
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