Twelve Frustrating Ways to Lose a Football Game
It's football season again, so that can only mean one thing - get ready for some frustration! Even if your favorite high school, college, or pro team is top-notch, chances are they'll suffer several frustrating losses before the season is over. Some ways of losing are just more frustrating than others. Therefore, I have compiled a list of twelve of the more frustrating ways that games can be lost. Many of these are actual ways in which my favorite team, the Washington Redskins, have lost games in the past. So, here we go: 1) Your team collapses and blows the game after having built a seemingly insurmountable lead. 2) Your team is down by 20 or more points and almost completely closes the gap, except for the last field goal or touchdown they need but just can't quite get. 3) Your team maintains a small lead for most of the game, while failing to cash in on multiple easy opportunities the other team gives them to extend the lead and/or put the game away. Instead, they let the other team continue to hang around. The other team, meanwhile, gets very few scoring opportunities, except for the one near the end of the game, when they score and take the lead for good. 4) The other team maintains a lead for the entire game. Every time your team scores to get within a touchdown or field goal, the other team also scores to extend the lead again. This scenario is repeated over and over again throughout most of the game. In the last few minutes of the game, your team finally stops the other team from extending the lead and gets the ball back with a chance to win, but then the other team finally stops your team. 5) Your team dominates almost every aspect of the game - rushing yards, passing yards, total offense, and total defense - but too many turnovers prevent them from winning. 6) Your team's offense is an irresistible force, pounding the other team's defense into submission - until they get inside the red zone, that is. Then they freeze up like a block of ice, unable to score touchdowns and missing many of their field goal attempts. Of course, the other team scores every time they get inside your team's 40-yard line. 7) After nothing has gone right the entire day, it looks as if your team is going to win in spite of everything, as they score a touchdown to move ahead with little or no time left on the clock. But wait - what's that yellow thing lying in the end zone? Oh no, a penalty flag! The touchdown is being called back because of a penalty. Your team loses. 8) Your team, starting from inside their own 10-yard line with under two minutes left, miraculously is able to march more than 90 yards down the field and score a touchdown to capture (or re-capture) the lead. Pandemonium erupts on their sideline as your team begins to celebrate. But the celebration goes a bit too far and your team is penalized 15 years for unsportsmanlike conduct, assessed on the ensuing kickoff. But that shouldn't be a problem though, as there are only 20 seconds left on the clock and besides, the other team has no timeouts left. However, they return the short-field kickoff inside your team's 40-yard line with eight seconds left. Then, with a quick sideline pass, they get inside your team's 30 and out of bounds with one second left. On the final play of the game, they kick a long field goal to win. 9) With your team down late in the game, it looks as if they are finally going to get the ball back for one last chance to win. It's fourth down for the other team and they are about to punt from the 50-yard line. In an attempt to come away with better field position, your team goes for the block and it works! However, someone on the other team picks up the ball behind the line of scrimmage and runs for a first down. The other team then proceeds to run out the clock. 10) Due to the fact that your team wasted all of their second-half timeouts in the third quarter, the clock runs out just before they can set up to kick what probably would have been a game-winning field goal. Instead, they lose by two points. To add insult to injury, you recall that they also lost a chance to kick a field goal at the end of the first half due to poor clock management. 11) As your team sadly walks off the field following a 24-23 loss, your mind returns to early in the fourth quarter when your team had briefly taken a 26-10 lead. But 26-10? How could someone have taken three points away from them? They didn't - your team gave them back voluntarily. On a play when your team's place-kicker had nailed a perfect 45-yard field goal, one of the other team's linemen was flagged for being offside. Since it was fourth down and four from other team's 28-yard line, taking the points off the board and accepting the penalty would give your team a first down. It seemed like a good idea at the time, so that's exactly what your team's coach decided to do. After all, it was a chance to run some more time off the clock and possibly score a touchdown. Besides, your team would likely have another shot at the field goal later, if the drive stalled again. Of course, who would have guessed that the other team would intercept a pass three plays later and take it all the way back for a touchdown? Another touchdown with time running out would seal your team's fate. 12) With your team leading by one point late in the third quarter, the other team's quarterback uncorks a pass from his own 40-yard line toward your team's goal line. Instead of knocking the ball down, one of your team's cornerbacks decides to intercept it before stepping out of bounds at the one-foot line. On the next play, your team's fullback is tackled in the end zone for a safety. That puts the other team up by one, which is the final margin of your team's loss. Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, amateur political analyst, and blogger from Hopewell, VA. On his blog - http://commenterry.blogs.com - he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media. |
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