From: mbs@zycor.lgc.com (Matt Shostak)
Subject: Re: Miami - FSU
Organization: Landmark/Zycor   Austin, Texas
Date: Fri, 9 Oct 1992 20:31:20 GMT

In article <5933@news.duke.edu> ds4@soc12.acpub.duke.edu (DIMITRIS SIDIROPOULOS) writes:
>In article <1992Oct9.161510.2632@lgc.com>, mbs@zycor.lgc.com (Matt Shostak) writes:
>|> Get a clue!  Everyone is sick of Miami's fans whining about this.  I have
>|> a tape of the game you are thinking of, and if anyone were to rewatch this
>|> game with an objective mind, he would realize that if anything, Miami had
>|> several more calls go their way (that had a direct impact on the score and
>   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>|> momentum) than against them.  Give it a goddam rest!  Just about every net
>
>I am not going to try and be kind, as it seems that you used not tact.  I think
>you are lieing.  Tell me, Matt, what calls went their way.....or, as you say
>below,  are you a 'jerk', and an 'idiot', which lies on the side?
>
>|> reader could start posting about lost national titles due to perceived bad 
>|> calls on their respective teams!
>|> 
>|> By the way, you are only confirming the opinions of most people that Miami
>|> fans are jerks.  I feel sorry for those who don't deserve this label, only
>|> to get it anyway because of idiots like you.
>|> 
>|> Matt
>|> 
>|> 
>|> -- 
>|> Matthew B. Shostak              Landmark/Zycor
>|> mbs@zycor.lgc.com               (512) 282-6699
>|> "Gentlemen! You can't fight in here! This is the war room!"
>
>-ds4


Well, I know from your many other posts that you defend Miami to the
extreme, whether right or wrong, and will see things through orange glasses
no matter what.  But just in case, I'll go over this again.  Just before
the half, with Miami trailing, Walsh hit the TE for a completion, and
Stonebreaker hit him hard and stripped the ball.  The refs ruled no fumble.
Next play, Miami scores a touchdown.  Don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying
that there is absolutely no chance that the refs could have been right.  
It was a questionable call, just like Gary's fumble at the end of the game,
but it was in Miami's favor, so it is easy for Miami fans to forget it.
There was also at least one other time Walsh was sacked and fumbled, but
the refs ruled no fumble.  Again, they could have been right, they could 
have been wrong.  But this one went Miami's way and is thus forgotten by
Miami fans.  I am sorry I can't provide more examples, since it has been
a while since I have watched the tape, but I know for sure that several
calls went Miami's way that might just as easily not have.
     Most sports fans tend to remember bad calls or crucial plays that
occur in the fourth quarter, but they forget that there are many other
plays along the way that make up the ebb and flow of a game.  A blown
call in the first half can sometimes be more important than one in the
fourth quarter, but most fans don't see this, because they are caught up
in the emotion of the game.  It is much easier then to say, "Gee whillikers,
if only the ref had gotten that one call right, my team would have won."
Often this may be true, but only if they haven't made equally bogus calls
in your team's favor earlier.
     To tell you the truth, I hate it when the team I am cheering for
benefits from a bad call, because then I feel that the victory may be
tainted.  Usually, however, the refs manage to make up for it with an
equally bad call against my favorite team later, and then I don't feel so
bad.
     I did not intend to start all this crap all over again, but I am fed
up with fans who want to dredge up past history but can only remember one
play from a game.
     If you can, watch the tape again and pretend that Miami is ND and vice-
versa.  You would claim that Miami is getting screwed by bad calls, I'm sure.

-- 
Matthew B. Shostak              Landmark/Zycor
mbs@zycor.lgc.com               (512) 282-6699
"Gentlemen! You can't fight in here! This is the war room!"