It's Monday And I'm Still Not Over Saturday Night's Thriller
Waking up yesterday just hurt. I’d blame all the Jameson shots that I drowned my sorrows in, but I know better. It’s the way Texas A&M lost that’s made yesterday really shitty. I was ready for Sunday to be over and NFL games hadn’t even kicked off yet.
I actually felt butterflies before kickoff. I haven’t been that emotionally attached to a game since college. That’s the one thing that really sucks when you’re in sports broadcasting. This industry takes the “we” out of everything. Literally. Saying “we” on a network camera is a big no-no. There’s no crying in baseball and there’s no cheering in the press box or sidelines.
Of course, I always will love A&M. I still have a house there and the Aggies are my team. But I won’t be ruining my eye makeup like I used to every single time the Ags take an L. And trust me, they’ve taken a TON of Ls in my lifetime.
But this one, man. This one is brutal.
Yes.
I didn’t really know what to expect. Sure, Jimbo Fisher is only one of four active head coaches that has won a National Championship and he’s now in charge in College Station. He’s also very familiar with Dabo. All positive things. But I didn’t know if A&M would be anywhere near ready to compete with Clemson’s incredibly nasty front seven. Or if A&M’s QB Kellen Mond in a new offensive system would crumble under the pressure of the #2 team in the country being on the same field.
I’m a broken record here, but for all the “sports fans” out there that say college football isn’t entertaining, you’re just wrong. That ending had every single person in the Boston bar where I watched the game on their feet. Most of them were wearing Red Sox shirts but losing their minds over A&M/Clemson. It was that good of a game.
And what a gut wrenching ending. A&M got absolutely jobbed on a few things. But they didn’t help their cause either.
Dave and Big Cat absolutely torched me about A&M during our first episode of the new CFB show. So, when A&M’s kicker Daniel LaCamera missed a 26-yard FG on the opening drive, I wasn’t shocked when I got this text.
As much as it pains me to admit it, it turns out he was 1000% right. There are a million excuses I could make about that game (like the fucking horrendous no call OPI or the touch-back rule), but at the end of the day… if A&M makes that FG, they walk away with the W.
Rule #76. No excuses. Play like a champion.
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Like my internet pal Cam points out, there are multiple reasons why A&M ended up losing that game. All equally important. But let’s not ignore how bad the touch-back rule is. I’m not just saying that because it went against my team either. Its a god awful rule.
Jimbo Fisher lost his mind and he should’ve. It’s bullshit.
PS – Inject this kind of emotion into my veins. I love college football.
But the Pylon Camera sealed the deal. It was a touch-back. Horrendous rule, but a rule.
For those of you who are living under a rock, the game came down to this unbelievable catch to put the Aggies within two. They missed 2-point conversion.
Moral victories are for losers. A&M lost. But as an Aggie, I’m pretty stoked for what Jimbo has cooking down there in College Station. They looked so damn good last night against the eventual ACC champions and probably CFP team. (PS: What an absolute cake walk that conference is going to be this year.) Kellen Mond is the real deal. So is Kendrick Rogers. So is the Aggie defense.
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We can all admit that the CFB world was just put on notice, right? I mean I knew A&M isn’t paying Jimbo Fisher $75 million to continue to be a middle of the road SEC team. I just didn’t think it was going turn around this quickly. Yes, they lost. It was brutal. But what a game. What a team.
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The Aggies make the trip to Tuscaloosa on 09.22.
I think my butterflies are here to stay. (and probably my shitty hangovers).