Favorite Moments in Sports:

Straight AheadTomorrow night, Florida will play Ohio State for the college football national championship; but for most of us, that game will be anti-climactic and almost irrelevant because of one of the favorite moments in sports that took place last Monday night. Of course, for most of us, our favorite moments in sports revolve around our favorite teams. For me, those would include the national football championships won by Alabama, the 1992 pinch-hit single in the bottom of the ninth inning by Francisco Cabrera that drove in two runs and gave the Atlanta Braves a 3--2 win in the seventh game of the NLCS over the Pittsburgh Pirates; the "Music City Miracle" in the January, 2000, wild card game that gave the Tennessee Titans a victory in the final seconds over the Buffalo Bills as the Titans moved toward the Super Bowl; the Braves 1995 World Series championship over Cleveland. But the favorite moment in sports on Monday night, January 1, 2007--the great moment in sports--wasn't about any of my favorite teams. It was in the Fiesta Bowl. Boise State, a team that hasn't even been playing big-time football for all that many years--was playing perennial power Oklahoma. Most of us didn't give Boise State much of a chance. We were surprised and pleased that they could even stay on the field against the Sooners. Actually, at one time in the third quarter, Boise State led Oklahoma 28--10. But Oklahoma came back; and with about ninety seconds left in the fourth quarter, intercepted a Boise State pass and went ahead 35--28. At that point, I turned off my radio. I figured Boise State was done. But how wrong I was! On a fourth down and eighteen play, with just seconds left, Boise State pulled a miracle of its own out of the hat, scored a touchdown, and tied the game. Then, after Oklahoma scored on its first play from scrimmage in overtime, Boise State faced another fourth down situation--and did it again, scoring a touchdown. But instead of kicking the extra point for another tie, they went for two points on a mis-direction play--and won the game--43--42. In these days of arrogant athletes, big-money, high-powered sports programs at almost every level, and questions about drug and steroid use by players, I just thought we should take a minute, before we get too far away from this year's college football bowl season, and recognize one of the really great stories that took place on the field this year. The Boise State coaching staff is one of the youngest in big-time college football--and their players are some of the hungriest. They got tired of being told they had no chance--and they simply refused to lose! Good for you, Boise State!