Premature Jock-ularity

   They play on a blue field, but they have balls of solid brass.

   If I killed the last few minutes of the Rose Bowl blowout by reading a script describing what I was about to see in the Fiesta Bowl, I'm not sure if I would've sneered in disgust or laughed in contempt.

   The announcers prattle on during the fourth quarter about how Boise State was pulling Upset of the Year (maybe it'll hold up in December) by playing straight up and not pulling trickeration of any kind.

   Jared Zabransky seemingly blows the game by throwing the most ghastly interception Arizona has seen since the two Neil O'Donnell threw to Larry Brown that cost the Steelers Super Bowl XXX.

   Then the crew harps on Boise State being out of gas physically.

   Such are the elements that give birth to a legend, the kind that will show up on multiple ESPN Top 10 lists (Game of the Year 2007, the next update of the U's Honor Roll series, etc.), prompt punters like me to go online in search of a BSU T-shirt, and leave us delirious at the end of 14 hours' worth of football.

   (I actually work with a BSU alum, but she's no football fan - she retreats from the living room and lets her spousal unit do the whooping and hollering).

   I had no betting interest in this game (and I actually picked Oklahoma to win on this bandwith), but I will not be bouncing off the walls any harder during Sunday's Patriots-Jets playoff game than I did in the last 90 seconds plus overtime.

   * OU's first try for two to tie the game at 28: "That ball's not catchable!" The replay proved the official made the correct call, but OC (officiating correctness) be damned after midnight.

   * "Where the Sam Hill is the coverage?" after the Sooners tied it on the third try.

   * "Jared, where the @#$% are you throwing that ball?"  after Marcus Walker picked himoff and hauled it back to give the Sooners there first lead of the night. I was ready to log on to Wikipedia and find "Rip-your-guts-out defeat." scrolling down a bit from Game 6 of the '86 Series.

   * "Miami play! Miami play!" I kept shouting after Drisan James and Jerard Rabb played Duriel Harris and Tony Nathan for the game=tying touchdown (already Wikied under "hook and lateral").

   * "Those guys in the booth were right," I mumbled after Adrian Peterson, who the Bronco defense had stuffed all night, danced 25 yards through a few waves on the opening play of overtime.

   * "What is Chris Petersen doing?" on fourth and two with Zebransky in motion to the left sideline. Guess the Sooner defense was thinking the same thing with receiver Vinny Perretta throwing on fourth down and finding Derek Schouman open on the lob.

   * Peals of laughter when Petersen put three receivers on the right side, only to have Zebransky slip the ball to Ian Johnson in the other direction like some Roman senator whose name is lost to history slid the knife to Brutus. Whether that play worked or not, Petersen made the right call going for two, much like the Pats rejected John Madden's advice to play for overtime in Super Bowl XXXVI - the D had nothing left after shutting down the Greatest Show on Turf for three quarters. The house paid for the round-trip ticket from Boise to Glendale - why not let it ride one more time?

    Take that, Ohio State and Florida. And in a perfect world, Boise State's got winners...

|  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this