After the seconds had evaporated from the scoreboard clock at Mercedes-Benz Stadium a little more than a month ago, I watched Kirby Smart, bitterly disappointed, stride across the playing field with measured alacrity to congratulate Alabama’s Nick Saban on his victory.
Already, even while nearing the entrance to the Bulldog locker room, I was hearing fans talk about “getting robbed.” They saw the television crew failed to replay an Alabama pass reception that appeared to have been dropped but was ruled a catch. A former network announcer sent a text my way: “You guys got screwed.”
What did Kirby do? He took the high road, as he always does. That was the way it was in 2017 when Tyler Simmons blocked a ‘Bama punt and the Big Ten officiating crew flagged him for being offside. The crew later admitted they missed the call.
The following Monday, following the heartbreaking loss, I flew with Kirby to Charlotte for a trophy presentation by the American Football Coaches Association. On the way up, he was lamenting the outcome of the play. He said he and the coaches had underscored with the greatest emphasis to Simmons that the opportunity was there, but he simply could not be offside.
But Kirby’s position was the same as it was a half-dozen years ago. The game was over. The score would never change. No amount of carping or evidence will ever change it.
Likewise, ole timers in Tuscaloosa may claim that Pat Hodgson’s knees were on the ground in Sanford Stadium in 1965 on the heralded flea-flicker play that led to the classic upset of Alabama between the hedges on national television.
The Georgia position on that call was that the rule said for any catch to be legal there had to be “possession and control.” The conclusion was that if the ball had fallen to the turf, it would have been an incomplete pass.
One of the most controversial rulings in SEC history came in the 1966 Florida-Florida State game when a Seminole pass receiver named Lane Fenner caught a touchdown pass that would have won the game – but an official ruled Fenner out of bounds.
After the game, FSU partisans produced still photos that confirmed Fenner was well within bounds. Did Bill Peterson, the Seminoles’ coach, ever howl and gripe? He carried those still photos about in his briefcase and took great delight in showing you how his team was done in by a dastardly official, who “blew the call.”
It’s a play still talked about in Tallahassee today, but the score has never changed. It remains in the record books as a Florida victory.
Taking the high road is the smart thing to do, which is a Kirby mantra. You don’t replay games. It is interesting that with all the clamoring for a replay system – and that when we got it in place – we can’t get the kinks worked out. Why do the officials not err on the side of caution more often?
My view is that as long as we have the human element involved, we will continue to have these controversies.
In the meantime, when you are the one who becomes the hit dog, it is best not to holler, to not shout out to the media and on social media. Take the high road and work behind the scenes to improve the system.
If you are a competitor, you are always working to find a way to win. Anything to give you an advantage, you will explore to the fullest. When it doesn’t work out, you are disappointed and/ or mad. Then you have to walk across the field and face your adversary with a victory handshake.
That is when some people do dumb things. Make the wrong statement, come with an insult or commentary that brings about regret. Nothing will change the score, which is why those who take the high road are the ones who manage the best.
The classiest of the vanquished over the years have been golfers. They learn at the outset to underscore courtesy and manners. The coach who was most magnanimous in defeat for many years was Bobby Dodd of Georgia Tech. Bear Bryant was given magnanimity throughout his career. Vince Dooley belonged to that fraternity.
I have long held the view that the current Georgia coach is one of the smartest out there, but with the way he handles such things as officiating faux pas’, he also has become one of the classiest.