The Pecan Park Eagle

GREG WARD, JR OF UH . CAPS 19 YARD RUN FOR WINNING TD AGAINST  UCF WITH 24 SECONDS TO GO, BUT LOSES THE BALL INCHES FROM THE GOAL LINE FOR A TOUCHBACK THAT GIVES THE 17-12 GAME WIN TO CENTRAL FLORIDA.

It figures. I just lost one of the most heartfelt, but thoughtful columns I’ve ever written on the amazing cruel loss history suffered by UH and other “Houston” teams as a result of the latest sadistic script that kept the Cougars from defeating Central Florida  – just as the ball disappeared last night from the fingers of Cougar QB Greg Ward, Jr. as he was about to deliver the winning TD with time running out.

Here’s how that part went down. I have neither the time or energy to recreate what came to me in the original moment of writing. All personal frustration here does is enhance my affinity for what Cougar QB Greg Ward, Jr. must have felt on a far greater level for his role in the play that cruelly sealed the Cougar loss. It’s one thing to lose a column that you think is done. Quite another to lose a game that you think you’ve won.

With less than a minute to go, the Cougars trailed UCF, 17-12, Greg Ward, Jr. was playing quarterback in relief of ineffective starter John O’Corn and had brought UH back to within striking distance on the UCF 38 with a couple of minutes to play. Ward passed and ran the Cougars down to the 5 yard line for a first and goal, but a penalty pushed them back to a first and 20 from from the 20. Then, with less than a minute to go, Ward took of on an elusive zig-zaging run down the left side toward the goal line. Sensing the oncoming presence of UCF tacklers coming from the right side, Ward went flying like a two-handed horizontal Statue of Liberty toward the goal line plane of victory. He was a couple of feet away when a UCF tackler hit his right arm from the right side. The ball began to slightly wobble in his hands.

By the time the ball reached the magic victory plane, it had separated itself from Ward’s grasp, crossing the line solo, with Ward’s reaching fingers still traveling inches behind it on the same flight plane. When the ball hit the turf inside the goal line, it bounced out of bounds to the left for a touchback. The ball went over to Central Florida with 24 seconds left on the clock and the visitors used it up to win the game as a result of the most sadistic “anti-Houston” (grain of salt here, please)  game script that I think I’ve ever experienced. Since my failed expectations are most heavily weighted on the UH side, I understand and respect others may disagree with my choice. – But try to cut me this much slack. It only happened last night. I would imagine that Longhorn or Aggie fans might feel a little of the same torture tomorrow, should either lose to Baylor or Mississippi State in any way that was similar to the road that Fate had in mind for my Cougars last night.

Ouch, dammit!

The common thread in all of the great painful Houston losses I wrote about in the lost column this morning had to do with these factors in summary: It isn’t losing that hurts. It’s allowing expectation to transform itself into a certainty of winning before the actual game is completely finished that hurts so bad. Once we are convinced that victory is ours and we lose on a late or last play, the steep splinter and rock-filled slide down from Expectation Mountain to Disappointment Valley is totally assured.

As of last night, I know from personal fan experience now  that the pain of Fate can also be delivered in lethal dosages that are also as quirky as one of those childhood good buddy “what if” questions:

“Hey, Randy! – What would you do if you were diving toward the goal line in a football game one day – and I was the guy on the other team that knocked the ball out of your hands before you crossed the goal line – and it cost your team the game? – Would you still be my buddy off the field? – Or would you just hate me enough to want to get me back for being a good player? – Uh, Randy, – put the baseball bat down! This is baseball season and we’re on the same team! – There’s no sense in trying to hurt somebody for something that was just a made up question! – Randy! – Randy! OK, you better stop it! – I’m going to hit you back hard if you don’t stop waving that bat in the air!”

Have a nice weekend, everybody! And good luck to you Aggies and Longhorns!

Earlier than our actual UH defeat, a left side profile of Cougar mascot Shasta burning up in the sunset skies over TDECU should have been fair warning that something very bad and quite evil was coming and very soon.