Real fans take football seriously. Some fans used to wait outside their team’s dressing room and beat up their field goal kicker after he missed an important kick. Fans of the coulda-woulda-shoulda Boise State Broncos are different. They know that football is a game and college players are college kids.
Saturday Boise was nine yards away from its first major bowl game—a certain Rose Bowl bid, and possibly a chance to play instead for the national championship. It was Boise 31-Nevada 31 with one second left, and reliable kicker Kyle Brotzman trotted on to kick a game winner. An easy “chip shot” like a thousand he had made. But he missed. Overtime.
The Broncos’ first possession fizzled at the Nevada 12 yard line. Another chip shot. Kyle missed again. Nevada promptly moved into position and their kicker kicked the winning field goal. Boise’s dreams were dead.
But Bronco fans didn’t beat up Brotzman: they came together with a display of love for their hero-turned-goat. As of this minute, less than 36 hours after the fiasco, a Facebook page called The Bronco Nation Loves Kyle Brotzman has over 18,000 fans.
Boise fans have earned a mythical Marv Levy award, named for the Hall of Famer and former coach of the Buffalo Bills, winner of four American Football Conference championships, and four-time loser of the Super Bowl. When asked whether an upcoming game was a “must-win,” Levy answered, “No. World War II was a must win; this is a football game.”
Boise fans know that Saturday’s loss was a football game.
(Thanks to http://larrybrownsports.com for the tip.)
Tags: Boise State Broncos, Boise State fans, ethics, Facebook, field goal kicker, Kyle Brotzman, Marv Levy http://larrybrownsports.com, national championship, Nevada, Rose Bowl, The Bronco Nation Loves Kyle Brotzman
Ethics Bob 
November 29, 2010 at 9:33 am |
Loved this!