12/21/24
October 12, 2002
Wide Left I: Florida State placekicker Xavier Beitia, the fourth Seminole kicker to miss a game-deciding field goal against Miami, is making news for inconsolable sobbing. "I haven't seen a player take anything worse than him," says team chaplain Clint Purvis.
Talking to my dad earlier tonight, he said that the game showed a graphic that FSU had lost some six games over the years by missed field goals. You'd think they'd learn by now.
posted by Ufez Jones at 11:59 PM on October 12, 2002
Ufez: Only four in the UM-FSU series, at least. And after the second one, Bowden personally flew to the home of the best HS FG kicker in America to recruit him. That said... FSU has lost seven one-point games to UM, and five one-point games to all other schools. Good news for UM fans- not only is UM 7-0 in one point games against FSU, the last three times UM has beaten FSU by one point, UM has won the national title. jmd: FWIW, the first Wide Right was in Tallahassee, so it's not just the east end zone of the Orange Bowl. Anyway... I haven't jumped up and down like that for a football game in a long time. It was fun :) It's hard to blame Beitia for crying; he'd nailed his previous two attempts from nearly exactly that distance and had to know how huge a third made attempt would have been. Some day, an FSU kicker will beat UM- that kicker will be a hero in Tallahassee forever. Until then... the pressure on the shoulder of every kid who has an attempt at that immortality will just keep growing and growing. The first two don't even grant interview requests any more.
posted by tieguy at 01:41 AM on October 13, 2002
Why did the ball go wide left? Because FSU = Evil. The Football God of Mojo does not like Evil. (I'm actually a Gators fan, but the Noles are like the Dallas Cowboys of college football. In the bad way.)
posted by owillis at 03:50 PM on October 13, 2002
owillis has it right. FSU is evil. So is LSU after last night... :(
posted by Bernreuther at 04:11 PM on October 13, 2002
FSU doesn't win the big game often enough to be evil. ;) Given the links between UM and Dallas, in fact, I'm sort of surprised it isn't Miami you're both identifying that way....
posted by tieguy at 04:31 PM on October 13, 2002
I think the goalposts at Miami are possessed. I mean, how else do explain all the missed field goals? My friend has a theory the Bowdon has a past with the Devil...maybe he had to give up field goals vs. Miami in return for his powers. On a much brighter note, I was at the UGA-UT game...wow, the was LOUD. Of course, I go to UGA, so all is well in the world =)