Last weekend was kind of rough on me. On Saturday, my 10th-ranked Tar Heels went into Lexington and lost to Kentucky by two points. On Sunday, my amoebic Redskins lost to the unbeaten Saints in overtime by three. Which one was tougher?
Well, the Tar Heel game got out of hand early. Kentucky used a 26-2 run to take command of the game and Carolina spent the rest of the game fighting back. They had a chance to take the lead late in the game and couldn't convert. Also, the game was in Lexington (our first true road game) against a team ranked No. 4. Plus, we are a team that's so young and inexperienced that this year has none of the pressure of the previous two seasons -- so losses aren't as grating.
Actually, I was quite bit pleased when the game was over. No, there is no such thing as moral victories, but I like the fact that we were punched in the face that hard and still had the fight to come back and make it a game. There was a lot of growing in that game.
However, I moved from Charlotte to the Kentucky side of Cincinnati over a decade ago and anytime their Wildcats get the best of my Tar Heels, I hear about it. That sucks.
The Redskins game was way worse. The Skins led pretty much the entire ballgame. We had a 10-point lead in the 4th quarter against N'Awlins -- a team that just slammed the Patriots last Monday night. We had a 7-point lead late and were lining up for a chip shot field goal attempt. And then it all came falling apart.
First that field goal was missed. Then the Saints ran down the field and used LaRon Landry's over-aggressive style to tie the game up quickly. Then with us with plenty of time to get down the field for a FG attempt, Jason Campbell gets picked off. Luckily, the field goal attempt that the Saints got was further than their kicker could get it. On to overtime.
The Skins won the coin flip and then fumbled the ball away to the Saints (the last of three turnovers). We looked beaten as the Saints rumbled their way down the field and hit their chip shot field goal attempt.
That loss sticks with me much worse that the Tar Heels loss ... and not because it was the most recent. It isn't that I love the Redskins more than the Tar Heels (I love those kids equally). It is just that it would have been nice in a 3-9 season that Washington could have something to hold onto. If we finished that game, that means we toppled a team that many felt would finish the season undefeated. It gives us something. My Carolina side can still flash the "defending champion" tag for the rest of the year and point to a growing team adding an outstanding class for next year's squad.
The Redskins are just stuck in the mud and no one knows what the future holds. So it would be nice to have something to hold to now.
Well, the Tar Heel game got out of hand early. Kentucky used a 26-2 run to take command of the game and Carolina spent the rest of the game fighting back. They had a chance to take the lead late in the game and couldn't convert. Also, the game was in Lexington (our first true road game) against a team ranked No. 4. Plus, we are a team that's so young and inexperienced that this year has none of the pressure of the previous two seasons -- so losses aren't as grating.
Actually, I was quite bit pleased when the game was over. No, there is no such thing as moral victories, but I like the fact that we were punched in the face that hard and still had the fight to come back and make it a game. There was a lot of growing in that game.
However, I moved from Charlotte to the Kentucky side of Cincinnati over a decade ago and anytime their Wildcats get the best of my Tar Heels, I hear about it. That sucks.
The Redskins game was way worse. The Skins led pretty much the entire ballgame. We had a 10-point lead in the 4th quarter against N'Awlins -- a team that just slammed the Patriots last Monday night. We had a 7-point lead late and were lining up for a chip shot field goal attempt. And then it all came falling apart.
First that field goal was missed. Then the Saints ran down the field and used LaRon Landry's over-aggressive style to tie the game up quickly. Then with us with plenty of time to get down the field for a FG attempt, Jason Campbell gets picked off. Luckily, the field goal attempt that the Saints got was further than their kicker could get it. On to overtime.
The Skins won the coin flip and then fumbled the ball away to the Saints (the last of three turnovers). We looked beaten as the Saints rumbled their way down the field and hit their chip shot field goal attempt.
That loss sticks with me much worse that the Tar Heels loss ... and not because it was the most recent. It isn't that I love the Redskins more than the Tar Heels (I love those kids equally). It is just that it would have been nice in a 3-9 season that Washington could have something to hold onto. If we finished that game, that means we toppled a team that many felt would finish the season undefeated. It gives us something. My Carolina side can still flash the "defending champion" tag for the rest of the year and point to a growing team adding an outstanding class for next year's squad.
The Redskins are just stuck in the mud and no one knows what the future holds. So it would be nice to have something to hold to now.
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