I have officially stepped away from the ledge, had my psych rehab sessions, and somehow ready to move forward. Never Quit baby!!
A few of you here who actually know me, and know how confident I was coming into this game (I knew EXACTLY how this game was going to play out LOL), and know how tough the result was on me (I lost 4 parlay wagers because of the Cards - and one was very large), should be glad to know I'm back and finally over it.
At halftime, I was consoling my group who thought we were playing far too conservative, and I convinced them the game was going just as planned. After we execute another long methodical drive that ends in a TD, by basically running it down their throat, they will be on the brink of collapse. They will have to abandon the run and throw it every down. And for all intents and purposes, it will be over.
And when it happened, a FRIGGIN' 9-MINUTE DRIVE, I simply smiled at them while heading to the bathroom knowing that "I was the man." Told you guys to relax!! All because they can't run on us and they can't stop us from running on them.
And then it happened....
A special teams TD.
My group freaked out again, negative nellies. I said again "calm down, when we take it down their throat again, it will be clear, we're better, and it's over....because they can't stop us from slowly and methodically running it down their throat." And it played out again, just as expected, another well-executed drive down their throats. 24-14. Knocked them to the ground a 2nd time. Now they gotta throw it.
But we stuck our hand out and let 'em up again.....this time by allowing Male's Cummings to run down the sideline on 1st down totally uncovered - unbelievable. And on the very next play, RB Ray Davis runs a wheel route right by TJ Quinn and Leary throws it like an NFL QB hitting him in dead stride. What?
And there goes my group again swearing to me that we're beat, we're losing again. Once again AJ, being the ultimate optimist, tells them to relax. Yes, we let them up again. Yes, they made a great play. Yes, they are now playing with the confidence they've been searching for since beating down Florida early in the season. BUT, I told them, they still can't run it on us, and THEY STILL CAN'T STOP US FROM METHODICALLY RUNNING IT DOWN THEIR THROAT. So, when we do it again, for the third consecutive time, they will be done. And you guys will be once again be thinking how smart I am when it comes to this matchup.
And that ensuing drive started just as anticipated, even better. We were now running it down their throats so easily we were moving the chains and chanting "another Cards first down" without even getting to 2nd down. We were literally beginning to pummel them into submission, right in front of everybody's eyes.
And then came the Jaws fumble.
We let 'em up again! And just like that we were tied. But, once again I talked my group off the cliff, turned to them and said, "if we take it down and score here it's over. Trust me." But then I added, but if we don't, we might be in some trouble." Three plays later Jack's fumble happens. Unbelievable. Am I really watching this happen? I felt like we were watching us knock them down, over and over, extend a hand to let them back up, only to have them punch us back. And then, all of a sudden, they've knocked us down, and they aren't extending no hands to let us up.
My group all looked at me again, looking in desperation with every ounce of hope in their eyes, only to hear me thell them....."we're f*cked!"
Yep, that's right. Down 31-24 in the 4th, AJ the Optimist had lost all hope. I gave up. I gave up and should have been beat down for doing so!! We were losing and I was dumbfounded. Then our defense steps up, we get it back, and Jack makes a great throw escaping the pocket on 4th down for a game-tying TD. Wow, what a game.
But our defense was already done.
Oh well, now I'm 15-5 in this game using numerical analyses. I did pretty accurately predict the team rushing totals for both squads. But just didn't see the KO return, fumbles, and complete defensive breakdowns in the 2nd half. One of the toughest losses I've ever experienced. But that's sports and why we play them!
Now it's time to put Saturday behind us and prepare for two potentially incredible game experiences in the ACC Championship and Orange Bowl. We are sooooo fortunate to come out of such a disheartening loss and these opportunities right in front of us.
A part of me believes that Saturday's loss will end up being a giant blessing. Incredibly bad events and black moments are often followed by another bright sunrise and new beginning. Maybe this game created the laser focus we absolutely needed for this week, especially on defense (because that's 3 weeks in a row of big-play breakdowns for them). I have a sneaky suspicion that we're sitting on one of those Alabama-Fiesta Bowl/Florida-Sugar Bowl historical performances. And I'm not alone....look at the spread. We're about to upset #4 FSU and charge into the Orange Bowl as ACC Champs with a chance to potentially face #5 OSU. Wouldn't that be AMAZING? Don't give up on this special team. Enjoy the end to this special season.
Remember, Dreaming is just Planning.....when you BELIEVE!
A few of you here who actually know me, and know how confident I was coming into this game (I knew EXACTLY how this game was going to play out LOL), and know how tough the result was on me (I lost 4 parlay wagers because of the Cards - and one was very large), should be glad to know I'm back and finally over it.
At halftime, I was consoling my group who thought we were playing far too conservative, and I convinced them the game was going just as planned. After we execute another long methodical drive that ends in a TD, by basically running it down their throat, they will be on the brink of collapse. They will have to abandon the run and throw it every down. And for all intents and purposes, it will be over.
And when it happened, a FRIGGIN' 9-MINUTE DRIVE, I simply smiled at them while heading to the bathroom knowing that "I was the man." Told you guys to relax!! All because they can't run on us and they can't stop us from running on them.
And then it happened....
A special teams TD.
My group freaked out again, negative nellies. I said again "calm down, when we take it down their throat again, it will be clear, we're better, and it's over....because they can't stop us from slowly and methodically running it down their throat." And it played out again, just as expected, another well-executed drive down their throats. 24-14. Knocked them to the ground a 2nd time. Now they gotta throw it.
But we stuck our hand out and let 'em up again.....this time by allowing Male's Cummings to run down the sideline on 1st down totally uncovered - unbelievable. And on the very next play, RB Ray Davis runs a wheel route right by TJ Quinn and Leary throws it like an NFL QB hitting him in dead stride. What?
And there goes my group again swearing to me that we're beat, we're losing again. Once again AJ, being the ultimate optimist, tells them to relax. Yes, we let them up again. Yes, they made a great play. Yes, they are now playing with the confidence they've been searching for since beating down Florida early in the season. BUT, I told them, they still can't run it on us, and THEY STILL CAN'T STOP US FROM METHODICALLY RUNNING IT DOWN THEIR THROAT. So, when we do it again, for the third consecutive time, they will be done. And you guys will be once again be thinking how smart I am when it comes to this matchup.
And that ensuing drive started just as anticipated, even better. We were now running it down their throats so easily we were moving the chains and chanting "another Cards first down" without even getting to 2nd down. We were literally beginning to pummel them into submission, right in front of everybody's eyes.
And then came the Jaws fumble.
We let 'em up again! And just like that we were tied. But, once again I talked my group off the cliff, turned to them and said, "if we take it down and score here it's over. Trust me." But then I added, but if we don't, we might be in some trouble." Three plays later Jack's fumble happens. Unbelievable. Am I really watching this happen? I felt like we were watching us knock them down, over and over, extend a hand to let them back up, only to have them punch us back. And then, all of a sudden, they've knocked us down, and they aren't extending no hands to let us up.
My group all looked at me again, looking in desperation with every ounce of hope in their eyes, only to hear me thell them....."we're f*cked!"
Yep, that's right. Down 31-24 in the 4th, AJ the Optimist had lost all hope. I gave up. I gave up and should have been beat down for doing so!! We were losing and I was dumbfounded. Then our defense steps up, we get it back, and Jack makes a great throw escaping the pocket on 4th down for a game-tying TD. Wow, what a game.
But our defense was already done.
Oh well, now I'm 15-5 in this game using numerical analyses. I did pretty accurately predict the team rushing totals for both squads. But just didn't see the KO return, fumbles, and complete defensive breakdowns in the 2nd half. One of the toughest losses I've ever experienced. But that's sports and why we play them!
Now it's time to put Saturday behind us and prepare for two potentially incredible game experiences in the ACC Championship and Orange Bowl. We are sooooo fortunate to come out of such a disheartening loss and these opportunities right in front of us.
A part of me believes that Saturday's loss will end up being a giant blessing. Incredibly bad events and black moments are often followed by another bright sunrise and new beginning. Maybe this game created the laser focus we absolutely needed for this week, especially on defense (because that's 3 weeks in a row of big-play breakdowns for them). I have a sneaky suspicion that we're sitting on one of those Alabama-Fiesta Bowl/Florida-Sugar Bowl historical performances. And I'm not alone....look at the spread. We're about to upset #4 FSU and charge into the Orange Bowl as ACC Champs with a chance to potentially face #5 OSU. Wouldn't that be AMAZING? Don't give up on this special team. Enjoy the end to this special season.
Remember, Dreaming is just Planning.....when you BELIEVE!
