THE BLOG

One morning about a month ago I got into my car with the intention of running some errands. When I pressed the starter button, instead of hearing the beautiful sound of my engine cranking and purring, there was deafening silence. Not even a click. Aggravated that my plans had been derailed by an uncooperative car, but thankful that it had happened on my day off and that my wife and her car were at home, I got out of the car and raised the hood…

One of the gutsiest play calls in Mississippi High School football history occurred on November 3, 1988 in a game between the Tishomingo Bulldogs and the Falkner Eagles. The Bulldogs led the Eagles 16-14 with just seven seconds left in the game. Not only were they leading with seven seconds to go, they had the ball on the Eagles’ 35 yard line. If all that was at stake was a win over their archrival, all the Bulldogs needed to do would be to take a knee and run out the clock. But much more was at stake.

One of the classic, even iconic, phrases in sports broadcasting history was spoken by commentator Jim McKay in the video played weekly to introduce ABC’s Saturday afternoon Wild World of Sports. I imagine that right now many of you are quoting it to yourself: “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” Not only are many of you quoting it, but in your mind’s eye you’re also watching the video of the Alpine ski jumper wiping out at the end of the ski jump. Nothing says “the agony of defeat” better than that wipe out.