When I researched ties I went to Wikipedia and found the following tidbit into the old saying:
“A tie is like kissing your sister.” The earliest known use of the phrase was by Navy football coach Eddie Erdelatz after a scoreless tie against Duke in 1953.
This Erdelatz fellow must have been a savage pervert to have known what it was like to kiss his sister in the first place eh? Who says something like this after a game? Was there some Midshipmen from the Naval Academy who asked the coach? I wonder if the interaction went along these lines:
Midshipman: Hey coach, whaddya say about the tie?
Erdelatz: Well…eh…a tie is…a tie is like kissing your sister.
(stunned silence in the locker room)
Midshipman: Okaaaay…
Erdelatz: Well…eh…its the best I got.
Midshipman: Whats a victory like?
Erdelatz: That’s like kissing Rita Hayworth!
Midshipman: Whats a loss like?
Erdelatz: Eh…that’s like kissing my wife….
(Uproarious laughter from the locker room)
Or maybe history misquoted his intention and it went more like this:
Midshipman: Hey coach, whaddya say about the tie?
Erdelatz: Well…eh…a tie is…a tie is like kissing your sister.
Midshipman: My sister?
Erdelatz: Yes. And she’s awful.
(Uproarious laughter from the locker room)
We’ll never know what Erdelatz meant that day but the vast majority of us think that a tie game is just as strange as that comment.
The Washington Redskins tied the Cincinnati Bengals for the first time since the 1997 season, in a game against the New York Giants that featured quarterback Gus Ferotte head butting himself out of the game. I think we can all agree that was probably the best way to end the suffering of watching the game we saw this past Sunday as well.
The Redskins had the luck they needed to win the game but chose to save it for another day instead and proceeded to slap away every opportunity that was given them.
Speaking of slaps, I never knew Josh Norman practiced the art of karate on Sundays. He had four hands to the face penalties and continued to ignore that the refs were serious about calling that type penalty. Tsk. Tsk.
Maybe next time after the second hands to the face penalty he will learn and adapt to the situation. While he’s a world class cornerback, he’s been known to lose focus and control in certain situations. Someone needs to tell him that he needs to stop giving up unnecessary yards this way.
While its easy to blame Dustin Hopkins on not converting a 34 yard field goal with 2:11 left in overtime, he will and must learn from this and be prepared to make a field goal from that range with the game on the line again.
He’s been great so far this year and has arguably kept them in games they had no business being in because of his efforts. He gets a pass this game. If he misses again in a crucial situation, I will undoubtedly be calling for his resignation. Post haste.
The overall action through out the first half was a very predictable 10-7 score and boring as most would have guessed because of the time change and being in a “London fog” that takes a little while to get out of unless you are used to getting up at 5 am to get ready for the game.
In the second half it heated up pretty quickly once the Bengals scored on consecutive drives and took a 20-10 lead.
That seemed to be the wake up call the Redskins needed and they came storming back with two consecutive drives of their own due to a Will Compton interception and took a 24-20 lead.
That lead was also was short lived as the Bengals marched down the field and took a 27-24 lead with 6:54 remaining.
After one more change in possession the Redskins defense made an impressive stand and was able to give the offense one last chance to tie the game which they did with a Hopkins 40 yard field goal to send the game into overtime.
Inline with the famous line from the movie Oliver the fans in London asked if they can “please sir, can I have some more?”
And more they got, with a overtime that went deep into the time allotted. With some exchanges in possession it seemed that the Redskins offense was ready to put us all out of our anxious misery. Which leads me into something I argue about with friends all the time while watching a game.
Why on the off chance do coaches kick the ball on 3rd down when you have one more down left to spare? The argument is that in case there’s a bad snap or a breakdown they have another shot at it. But when on earth has anyone seen this scenario actually play out and then have another chance to kick the ball?
Almost always the kicker either misses or makes the kick. There is no redo.
Which begs the question, should the Redskins have kept going for yards on the ground in hopes of getting even closer to the field goal and maybe even scored a touchdown and ended the game?
We’ll never know but, I promise you we’ll see this scenario play out again someday and we’ll see them kick on a non 4th down again only to lament their decision.
Oh well. Ho hum.
The game ended with such a punch to the gut that it certainly felt like a loss. Some fans might of gotten excited for a short bit once the Bengals fumbled the ball on the 50 yard line. But most knew it was just a tease at that point and the outcome had been decided.
This week’s bye comes at a great time when the team needs some healing at the half way point of the season and give some other team members a chance to practice and get some quality reps. Players such as Robert Kelley, who played a decent game and might not relinquish his starting position if and when Matt Jones comes back from injury.
With the second half of the season left to play and the Dallas Cowboys looking to run away with the division it will be imperative that the Redskins turn it up a notch and improve in the win column to see if there is still any chance to kiss someone other than their sister.
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