Turnarounds

I have never been one to watch college football. It has never been all that big a deal to me. I have been a professional football fan ever since my then brother-in-law got me hooked on watching the only professional football team in New York State, the Buffalo Bills. (The Jets and the Giants, despite their names, actually play in New Jersey. My Grandparent's graves happen to overlook the Meadowlands where those teams play, but that is another story).

So, my brother in law got me hooked on watching the Bills when poor Joe Ferguson was the quarterback. I use the term, "poor" for a reason. The man put up enormous statistics, but had the misfortune of not having a winning team. He should have been in the Hall of Fame, but had very bad luck. So I became a Bills fan when they were having 2 and 14 seasons. But then, one day, Jim said I had to watch a college game with him on television. He had heard really, really good things about the quarterback, a guy named Doug Flutie. It was Flutie's last game playing for Boston College against Miami. And it was one of the greatest games in college football history.

Doug Flutie made a last second, hail Mary pass and won the game.

A few years later, watching the Bills play out a season that would end at the Superbowl, Jim Kelly got hurt late in the season. The backup, Frank Reich, stepped in. In the playoff game against the Houston Oilers. The first half of the game was basically all Oilers and they were kicking the Bills all over the field. At half time the score was Oilers 35, Bills 6. It looked over. When the Bills came out of the locker room after halftime, however, something had changed. And Frank Reich went on into history.

Frank Reich beat heck out of the Oilers and ran up a score of 35 to 3 in the second half alone to beat the Oilers 41-38. It is the greatest comeback in NFL history. (I lived outside of the blackout zone and was able to watch the game. I did not tape the game, however. I could have made gobs of cash if I had - people wanted to see that game so badly!)

Things can turn around in a hurry, can't they?

Just saying. I have no idea how Tuesday will turn out. But things can turn around when they look hopeless.