Playoffs thrill those left behind
By Brian Witter
The onset of winter quarter always brings the excitement of two major sporting events to campus: Bronco basketball at the Leavey Center and the NFL playoffs. With what seemed like about half the school away in Tahoe over the long weekend, those of us left behind were able to enjoy some great action in the four divisional playoff games.
A rainy Saturday provided the perfect setting for staying inside and watching the Seahawks end Joe Gibbs' miracle playoff run with his old team. I know Seattle's first postseason win in 21 years made a few people around here happy, at least the ones that didn't die from heart attacks when league MVP Shaun Alexander suffered a concussion just as the game began.
Speaking of heart attacks, Jerome Bettis' fumble on the two-yard line late in the fourth quarter of the Steelers-Colts game actually caused one. 50-year-old bar patron and lifelong Steelers fan, Terry O'Neill of Pittsburgh, actually suffered a heart attack just mere seconds after Bettis fumbled. O'Neill was saved by two firefighters and is recovering in a local hospital quite nicely. He was quoted as saying, "I was upset because I didn't want to see him end his career like that. A guy like that deserves better. I guess it was a little too much for me to handle."
We watched as Bronco quarterback Jake Plummer, whose nickname should be changed from "The Snake" to "Chewbacca," helped rally his team to take advantage of New England's mistakes and end the dynasty. Lastly, we saw the NFL's best defense in nearly the last 30 years, Da Bears, pushed to the brink by the talented, under-the-radar duo of Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith, who have been the poor man's Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson all year long.
Every football fan already knows this, but I'm going to repeat it anyway. The playoffs are so exciting because there is absolutely no guarantee. Analysts, Vegas bookies and locker room interviews never mean anything because it all comes down to what happens on the field. That is why we tune in and watch -- because a Colts team that was predicted to run the table and go undefeated in the regular season gets knocked out by a No. 6 seed that was barely able to grab a wild card spot.
It's true that a lot of people were out of town last weekend, but if you heard the dozens of voices that would scream out in joy or agony every time there was a game-changing play, it seemed as if the campus was full of life. And that is, truly, what it's all about.
Contact Brian Witter at (408) 551-1918 or bwitter@scu.edu.