Consolation

Another week, another loss. If there's something Buffs fans can take away from the game this weekend, it's that it won't be broadcast on national TV. In sports, there's really only one thing worse than an embarrassing loss -- an embarrassing loss on national television and having all your buddies tell you how sorry they feel for you the next day. This week's 9.5 point line says a lot more about Vegas' confidence that Hawkins will do anything he can to score touchdowns in garbage time than in the Buffs being in any way good. In fact, Hawkins' propensity to score more points in garbage time than in the part of the game that actually counts is perhaps his most deplorable characteristic. Does any self respecting coach or for that matter any coach that has the intention to win a game engage in these types of shenanigans?

Last night I was playing a game of Madden. Down 28-0 with 2 minutes left in the third quarter, the guys I was playing decides to kick a field goal. 28-3. I wouldn't have thought it was possible to have so little confidence in one's skill and ability to win, if not for watching Dan Hawkins made the same types of decisions every weekend. This whole scenario got me thinking -- what would Dan Hawkins do if he played Madden? Would he inexplicably attempt a fake punt on 4th and 20, then later punt on 4th and inches? Down 21-0 with :30 seconds left in the game, does he drive down the field to kick a field goal, then hold a press conference about how the end of the game showed that the team was improving -- "We're right on the brink!". In franchise mode, does he trade away his first and second round picks for a running back, then leave him on the bench for the rest of the season? Does he start one quarterback for the first 5 games of the season, then decide to burn Tyler Hansen's redshirt so that he can play in a time share with the starting QB? (My bad, that last one probably hit a little too close to home.)

I'm not excited at all about the game tonight. If you think I should be, why?