Tag Archives: Alamo Bowl

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Many lessons bigger than a game

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The sting from that football game last night is lingering.

The University of Oregon blew a 31-point lead to lose to Texas Christian University in triple overtime 47-41. No need to revisit the second-half collapse of my Ducks.

Instead, I want to say something good about TCU head coach Gary Patterson, who made a decision two days before the game that was both difficult and easy at the same time.

His all-Universe quarterback Trevone Boykin got into a bar fight in San Antonio and then took a swing at a police officer. He was arrested, taken to jail and then released on bail.

Patterson had a decision to make: let the kid play or suspend him from the game. He chose the latter. On one hand, he could have let the kid play the game pending a “full review” of the incident; on the other hand, he had set down a set of principles and rules of conduct for his players to obey and he couldn’t possibly let any of them — including his star quarterback — abide by a different set of rules.

The outcome of the Alamo Bowl contest has little to do with this commentary here. Patterson made the correct call and in the process, it is my hope that he taught his young quarterback a life lesson that he’ll take with him as he proceeds farther into adulthood.

Someone said  prior to the game that Boykin blew it by night-clubbing and then swinging at the cop just two days before the big game. No, the timing of the incident had nothing to do with anything. Boykin should have behaved like a responsible adult regardless of his standing as a star quarterback for a nationally ranked college football team.

Boykin issued what I believe is a heartfelt apology to his teammates, to the university and to the Horned Frogs’ fans who — I am quite certain — thought it would be curtains for their team as they took the field against the Ducks.

It didn’t turn out that way.

My hope now for Boykin is that he’s learned his lesson. And my hat goes off to Coach Patterson for making a decision that well might save a young man from further shame.

 

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Mack Brown shows class in final defeat

My interest in the 2013 college football season ended when the Oregon-Texas game at the Alamo Bowl concluded on Dec. 30.

The Ducks won big, 30-7, which made me — a native Oregonian — quite happy indeed.

But the moments after the game left me feeling sad that Mack Brown had coached his final game for the University of Texas Longhorns.

I’ve lived in Texas for nearly 30 years now, but never have become a big fan of college football here. Then came Mack Brown to the Lone Star State 16 years ago. He ran up some big numbers while rescuing a football program that had hit the skids. He won a national championship. His teams won about 75 percent of all the games they played during his time in Austin.

It wasn’t good enough, though, to suit many Texas boosters, alumni and the faithful who insist that they win every time they take the field.

The end of the Alamo Bowl showed why Coach Brown is such a classy individual and a gentleman.

He embraced Oregon coach Mark Helfrich in the middle of the field. He then whispered something into Helfrich’s ear and I was struck by the way he held a folder in front of his mouth to shield whatever he was telling the opposing coach from the TV camera’s prying eyes. Whatever it was, it must have been intensely personal.

Then the defeated coach talked to many of the Oregon players, congratulating them, patting them on the back, the shoulders, the head — maybe even a few backsides.

Coach Brown could have skulked off the field. He could have reacted differently. He left the field with his head held high — and his reputation as a gentleman burnished to a fine shine.