I Almost Died In New Orleans
Let me start by saying that I am alive and well. (As well as any 450 pound man can be).
But I did have a scare in NOLA. Florida State was beating LSU by a touchdown with only a few minutes left in the game and they were about to score again. All they had to do was not give up the ball. Mike Norvell decides to run a pitch play, because of course he does, FSU fumbles and now LSU has the ball with 2 minutes left.
Listen, I can get over a kid fumbling a ball, but there is no excuse for calling a pitch play in that situation. Be better, Mike! LSU then goes down the field 90+ yards because of course they do. Oh, and all the LSU fans in my section had already left the game. I will never understand leaving a close game with a few minutes left. You just traveled to New Orleans and spent so much money to come to the game. At least stay until the end. I promise you that Bourbon Street will still be there after the game, win or lose.
So, LSU scores a touchdown on the last play of the game and all they have to do is kick the extra point to take it into OT. If I wasn't an FSU fan, I would have been so excited for overtime, but I am an FSU fan, and I just wanted the Win. I prayed and I whispered to the kicker to miss it. As a Jaguars fan, I've seen this happen in person to a team from Louisiana before.
I haven't screamed that loud since the refs called Myles Jack down. My voice is still hoarse, but I will survive. Although my heart may have stopped for a second, it will go on. Hopefully there are a lot more exciting moments like that this season. My heart will be ready!
Also, some people were commenting on my seats and questioning why I was sitting up so high. Sure, I could have gotten club tickets or sat 20 rows from the field. Heck, one drunk kid on Bourbon even invited me to the Jack Nicklaus Suite (I don't know if Jack actually had a suite, but it's so specific that I almost have to believe him, right?), but that's not me. I'm a Coach of the people. I want to sit with the people and if the unthinkable happens, die with the people.
Editor's Note: I saw the thumbnail of this blog and for a moment thought Duggs momentarily turned into a real life Mr. Potato Head with two arms coming out of his skull.
Happy you made it through that wild ending, Duggsy.