Football Forever
Upchurch
A referee makes an arbitrary approximation of the spot of the football as Kain Colter is brought to the turf. A couple of guys dressed like crossing guards then take out an extremely precise ten-yard chain. The referee, staring at the football like it's the bottom line of an eye chart, determines that the play has resulted in a first down by the smallest of possible margins. For all intents and purposes, the game is over, decided by an educated guess made at breakneck speed.
Football is the worst.
The contest continues, however, and Michigan sells out against the run for a stop. For a moment, it looks like Jeremy Gallon could provide a miracle as he briefly breaks free after fielding a line-drive punt, but he's tackled at the 38.
18 seconds remain. No timeouts remain. Little hope remains.
But then the backup quarterback hucks the football to the impossibly-skinny senior receiver, improbably left in single coverage, and this wisp of a man somehow bats the oblong projectile out of the air and controls the ricochet, an absurd feat of concentration and athleticism that brings 110,000 despondent humans screaming to their feet in elation.
Football is the best.
From that point, victory feels strangely academic given the prior proceedings. Brendan Gibbons, Keith Stone cool, splits the uprights from 26 yards out for the tying field goal. Three plays after Devin Gardner finds Roundtree again to give Michigan first-and-goal on the opening overtime possession, he fakes a give to Fitz Toussaint, breaks contain, and lopes into the end zone unimpeded. Northwestern can only get within two yards of that blasted first-down marker on their subsequent series before Kenny Demens stonewalls Tyris Jones in the hole on fourth down.
The stadium erupts, again hopelessly in love with the greatest game known to man. Michigan 38, Northwestern 31, football forever.
November 10th, 2012 at 4:09 PM ^
My first thought was a Ferrell-esque "That. Just. Happened." An amazing finish for a team that was not going to quit.
November 10th, 2012 at 11:03 PM ^
Totally unrelated: do you typically quote Space Balls and/or Princess Bride ever?
Just a little bet Ace and I have going about age and what movies people quote always.
November 10th, 2012 at 11:17 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 12:05 AM ^
As if being crotchety on the internet didn't already identify you as Generation X.
FTR Ace's theory is Millenials only quote Zoolander and Anchorman, never the classics.
That Vizzini, he can *fuss*.
November 11th, 2012 at 2:34 AM ^
I think he likes to scream at *us*
November 11th, 2012 at 10:22 AM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 6:19 PM ^
about the Germans bombing Pearl Harbor, that doesn't register?
November 10th, 2012 at 11:51 PM ^
May the Schwartz be with you!
November 11th, 2012 at 10:36 AM ^
Short answer: no to both.
November 11th, 2012 at 10:47 AM ^
Ugh! Ugh!
/loses faith in humanity post-whenever the actuary tables say people who remember memes from 1980s American pop culture will all be dead.
November 11th, 2012 at 11:53 AM ^
No 1980s pop culture memes? Inconceivable!
November 11th, 2012 at 2:16 PM ^
Unless the actuarial tables are going by the Mayan doomsday calendar for everybody 30 and above (hi!), you still have a few solid years of faith in humanity left...
November 10th, 2012 at 4:10 PM ^
There's something special about seniors stepping up at big moments. Roundtree. Campbell. Demens.
Football Forever.
November 10th, 2012 at 6:19 PM ^
Also, are Muppets still common currency here?
November 11th, 2012 at 1:38 AM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 4:10 PM ^
in replay of the stop was the happiest I've seen him on any one play as far as TV goes.
November 10th, 2012 at 4:18 PM ^
Compare Brady's reaction to Fitzgerald's after the Beyer late hit. Pat was jumping up and down with his arms raised like a tool. He's a good coach and seems like an ok guy, but I hate his cheerleading.
November 10th, 2012 at 4:32 PM ^
Yeah I was mad and no one I was watching with (neutral fans) understood why. I like Pat Fitzgerald usually, when we're not playing them, and I know he was understandably excited, but fuck, man that wasn't your team, that was a fucking penalty.
November 10th, 2012 at 4:56 PM ^
I think his reaction was really more as a joke. He had been upset about some previous calls according to the announcers. His reaction was "hey you finally called something fuck you" instead of "hooray you hit my QB late." That being said, he still looked like a huge tool celebrating like that.
November 10th, 2012 at 5:35 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 6:06 AM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 1:34 PM ^
I don't think he was celebrating a win, because his team was down 28-24 at the time the play happened (with about 5 minutes to go). The play allowed them to avoid a 3rd and 11 and set up their go-ahead TD.
November 14th, 2012 at 10:26 AM ^
So your stance is he can't be celebrating because he hasn't won yet and people obviously never celebrate a win until a game is over. His team was driving for what would be the go ahead TD and he gets a call that gets them out of a 3rd and long. I would bet he was pretty confident at that point he was driving for the win and was thus celebrating.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:08 PM ^
Fitzgerald was like a basketball coach working the officials. He's a good coach, but that was obnoxious.
November 10th, 2012 at 4:32 PM ^
Fitzgerald looked like a clown jumping up and down after that late hit penalty. It's one thing to be enthusiastic, but the way he acted was over the top.
November 10th, 2012 at 5:02 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 4:33 PM ^
Fitzgerald's reaction was odd... I can't recall a head coach acting like that unless it's a game-winning play. Assistant coaches, sure. But head coaches are usually more stoic than that.
Add in the fact that he was celebrating a late hit call on his QB... seems like his first reaction should be concern for his QB or anger at a "cheap shot" but instead he's jumping around like he just got an N64 for Christmas.
November 10th, 2012 at 4:54 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 8:52 PM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 1:42 AM ^
I loved 007.
November 11th, 2012 at 2:14 AM ^
November 11th, 2012 at 6:26 PM ^
antics during the '70s Fitzgerald's cheerleading, obnoxious as it was, pales in comparison.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:12 PM ^
I couldn't see him well from the stands, but for what I did see..... I took it like he was happy to get another set of downs. Must have looked different on TV.
November 10th, 2012 at 9:27 PM ^
Careful: Making fun of Pat Fitzgerald on this blog could result in you being sent to Bolivia.
November 10th, 2012 at 11:05 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 11:12 PM ^
Hah, that was just a friendly jab at our leader. I'm all for Fitzgerald being mocked.
November 11th, 2012 at 10:49 AM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 4:14 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 4:17 PM ^
Now, that is nicely put.
November 10th, 2012 at 11:08 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 4:17 PM ^
November 10th, 2012 at 4:21 PM ^
Nicely put. On the long throw to Roundtree though the defensive back is the one who bats the ball and Roundtree has to somehow corral that thing and catch it. IMO that's harder than even tipping it to yourself. What a play and what a game. I still can't believe we won.
November 10th, 2012 at 5:07 PM ^
Looking at the replay, if the DB hadn't gotten a hand on it, it would have sailed over both of their heads and been incomplete. Roundtree wasn't close to getting a hand on the ball before it was tipped.
November 10th, 2012 at 7:38 PM ^
I'm still patiently waiting. When I am afraid to make a friendly 10 dollar bet on my team playing Northwestern, I'm patiently waiting.
November 10th, 2012 at 4:23 PM ^
What poise to come back after a mistake and throw down the gut. The OT run for a touchdown was great, Why have we been hiding this guy instead of developing his skills?
November 10th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
Comments