Football and I aren ’t talking;
we’ve got relationship issues
It’s official.
Football and I? We’re on the
outs. We’ve had an argument, and
it’s time for me to end it once and
for all.
Why are we breaking up, you
might ask?
Let’s just say
it’s been a
rocky few
weeks for foot
ball and I, be
tween the
Seattle Bowl
and the rest of
the Pac-10
bowls and the
NFL playoffs.
And as
A m a n i
Toomer fell
into the end
zone seconds
ago to put the Giants on top of my
49ers, 28-14, right before halftime,
well, let’s call that the final nail in
the relationship coffin. Even if the
Niners come back to win this
game, it will be far too little, way
too late for football. Maybe.
So before all the rumors start
circulating about why we broke
up, before football can get its story
out there qpd starting painting a
nasty picture of me, I’m going to
lay it out, in print, why we’re axing
this thing.
It’s been a beautiful 21 years, to
be sure.
There were the good times at
the beginning. I still remember
when football and I first met. I’m
young, one year old, and naive as
a baby.
But here comes football, with
the great Joe Montana and Jerry
Rice leading the way, winning the
Super Bowl for the 49ers seven
months after I’m born in a San
Francisco hospital.
By the way, Jeff Garcia just hit
Terrell Owens for a 26-yard touch
down late in the third quarter. 38
20 Giants. Hey, they got the two
point conversion. 38-22.
Nah. They can’t come back.
Anyway, those memories are
hazy — so long ago — but warm.
Peter
Hockaday
Two minutes for
crosschecking
Four years later, I’m semi-aware as
Montana leads the Niners past Dan
Marino and the Miami Dolphins, in
Stanford Stadium, no less! I spend
many more fall days in that stadi
um watching the Cardinal play —
and lose. But it isn’t about the win
ning or losing. It’s an experience,
preseason games and Big Games
equal in my mind.
The Niners win back-to-back
Super Bowls in 1989 and 1990,
and by now I’m a full-fledged Nin
er wannabe, waiting in line for
hours at a shopping mall to catch a
glimpse of Rice. Buying football
cards and immediately throwing
out the non-Niners. Mourning as
Candlestick Park is rattled by an
earthquake, but delighted because
now I actually get to see the Niners
play at Stanford Stadium.
Hey, there’s a nifty Garcia run
into the endzone. They get the two
points again, now it’s 38-30. I’ll ad
mit, I’m getting a little excited.
Damn, this football is a tough cus
tomer, isn’t it? All this smooth
talking, appealing directly to my
swiftly-beating heart.
Nah. They can’t come back.
The Niners dip as Montana
leaves, but Steve Young leads them
back to glory and a Super Bowl in
1995. I notice as a fledging Pac-10
team up north uses a fearsome
Gang Green defense to get to the
Rose Bowl, and I actually root for
these Ducks on Pac-10 principle.
Football and I are getting along
just fine.
But then, the salary cap hits.
The Niners drop off dramatically,
losing year after year to the hated
Packers in the playoffs. They
struggle under talented quarter
backs but an often non-existent
defense. Rice, my Jerry Rice, my
hero, actually moves across the
bay to Oakland to play for the evil
silver and black.
There are still highlights. The
49ers win a thriller over the Pack
ers in the 1999 playoffs, finally giv
ing the gold and red a little re
demption. Oregon, now my
school, goes to the Holiday and Fi
esta Bowls, and life is good.
Wrestling
continued from page 11
Chuck Kearney said. “We made fun
damental mistakes in close matches
that cost us. We’re hoping we learn
something from this.”
Oregon’s forfeit came at the 125
weight class, giving the Wolverines a
6-0 lead right off the top.
In the 133 class, redshirt junior
Jason Harless and opponent Foley
Dowd were tied at seven going into
the third period. Harless had a quick
escape to go up by one, but with 30
seconds left, Dowd scored a take
down and held on — winning the
match 9-8.
Senior Casey Hunt went behind
early, with Clark Forward taking
an early 5-0 lead in the 141 match.
Hunt came back with four points,
cutting Forward’s lead to one after
the first period. In the second, For
ward held Hunt to the mat for the
full period. Hunt tied the score
with a takedown in the third, but
allowed Forward the escape. Hunt
was unable to score again, and For
ward won 9-7, earning a point for
riding time.
Wolverine Rob Sulaver pinned
redshirt freshman Chet McBee 2:04
into the 157 match. McBee started
off with a takedown, but fell behind
when Sulaver earned a takedown
and three-point near fall before pin
ning McBee.
Redshirt sophomore Luke Larwin
took the first lead of the 165
matchup, with a takedown near the
end of the first period. Pat Owen
tied the score with a reversal with
three seconds left in the period.
Both wrestlers had escapes to keep
the score tied, and Owen earned a
takedown with 30 seconds left to
win the match 5-3.
The Wolverines’ other pin came
in the 197 matchup. Kyle Smith
pinned redshirt junior Jason Leair
at the 3:23 mark. Smith led 9-2 be
fore the pin.
Michigan’s two major decisions
came at 184 and heavyweight. Willie
Breyer earned a 12-2 win over fresh
man Tony Roland in the 184 class.
Greg Wagner kept redshirt freshman
Neil Phillips scoreless, winning the
heavyweight matchup 9-0.
Oregon will compete against Pa
cific, Central Michigan and Wiscon
sin on Friday in the Oregon Classic.
Mindi Rice is a freelance writer
for the Emerald.
Taurus
What are you doing this weekend? Check your
PULS#
Almost as good as right now, be
cause Jeff Chandler just hit a 25
yard field goal to make it a five
point game! But wait, be still my
beating heart, this isn’t happening.
This is a little trickery on football’s
part, that coniving little...
Anyway, life was good before
this year. This year, football got
mean. It gave us a miserable loss
on the frozen frickin’ tundra in
Green Bay to start the year. Then
blowout after blowout during the
Ducks’ season, before the Most
Miserable Bowl in the Land, also
known as the Seattle Bowl. Then
losses by all the other Pac-10
teams in their bowls, before a
semi-redeeming win by USC in the
Orange Bowl.
And here’s the final cruel twist
from football. The Niners scored
with a minute left to take their
first lead, only one point, but the
Giants are marching back down
the field. The Niners just aren’t
playing defense! The Giants are
going to have to really screw this
up to lose.
They set up for a 41-yard field goal.
The snap spirals back.
It’s botched!
Niners win! Niners win! Niners
win! Niners win! Niners win!
Oh football, football, football.
Football, football, football.
Football. What was I thinking?
I love you.
Contact the sports editor
atpeterhockaday@dailyemerald.com.
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