Of all the big games this past weekend, one will be remembered
generations from now. No, not the St. Louis Cardinals’ slide toward
Atlanta Braves status — I thought this year would be their year,
after the lousy performance they gave against the Red Sox in last
December’s (or whenever it was played) World Series. Nor the
sainted Angels’ losing to the devilish A.J. Pierzynski & Co. of
the Chicago White Sox — who after all did have the finest record
in baseball this year. That used to qualify you for the World
Series automatically. Instead too often than not the Series winner
— like the overblown Red Sox last year — turns out to be a team
that didn’t even win its division and eked into the “playoffs” like
a beneficiary of affirmative action. The most impressive thing
about the White Sox four straight wins against the Angels: they
were all complete game victories by its starting rotation. That’s
probably not happened in the post-season since the invention of the
“live” ball.
The game I have in mind, as a heart-broken dear friend who shall
remain nameless knows full well, is USC’s come from behind last
second 34-31 defeat of Notre Dame in South Bend under a rising full
moon on Saturday. I was once for Notre Dame — in 1964, when under
new coach Ara Parseghian it rose from the ashes to go 9-0 coming
into its final game of the season at the Coliseum against USC. An
undefeated season it was not to be — somehow USC’s flanker Rod
Sherman scored the winning touchdown late to defeat ND’s John
Huarte and Jack Snow 20-17 in a hugely depressing defeat for Irish
fans from coast to coast. Lots of people thought the Irish had been
robbed, but no one said that somehow Notre Dame had won even in
losing.
Yet that’s what faithful Irish fans from Lou Holtz to Michael Novak were suggesting after yesterday’s
defeat. I understand the sentiment. One can delight that rookie
coach Charlie Weis is doing exactly what Parseghian did four
decades ago — restoring a great football program to greatness. But
these things take time. Weis’s guys played beautifully. In years
past no way a USC would have withstood such an excellent
performance. The luck of the Irish always prevailed. This time
there was no such thing. It was USC that pulled off the brilliant,
fearless last-minute plays. At one key moment the ball bounced its
way, out of bounds, to give it one more snap. A horde of Irish fans
had already invaded the field, thinking their team had won. It
wasn’t to be. I don’t think they spent Sunday thinking that their
team didn’t end up losing.
Nor did ND’s now impressive quarterback, Brady Quinn,
heartbroken as he was describing the premature sense his team had
won: “The reaction of the fans being on the field and then seeing
how you kind of want it to come out, then seeing the exact opposite
all in a matter of minutes,” he began. “People were pretty shocked
and devastated.”
On that score, the last word, as is only proper, goes to Coach
Weis. “If you’re waiting for me to say it’s a good loss, you won’t
hear that here,” Weis said. That’s why, when he beats USC next
year, no one will be claiming that USC didn’t really lose in
losing.
