Call from the Bullpen by David Maull
The Bullpen | Major Leagues | Sports Front Page
Searching for a Reason to be Happy
From the Oct. 8, 1998 TV Times
A hectic Monday morning deadline had passed and now I was settled in at my desk with a bowl of leftover spaghetti and a copy of Philadelphia Inquirer.
With great anticipation, I extracted the sports section and began reading about my beloved Philadelphia Eagles, who had faced the Kansas City Chiefs a day earlier.
It wasn¹t long before I was seething.
My grip on the newspaper tightened as I read about yet another quarterback controversy caused by coach Ray Rhodes and his ridiculous decision to start journeyman Rodney Peete over the younger and more promising Bobby Hoying.
My hands began shaking as I read that Chiefs cornerback Mark McMillian, a former Eagle released by Rhodes, intercepted another of Peete¹s ill-advised passes, setting up a fourth-quarter touchdown that sealed Kansas City¹s 24-21 win.
Steam began emanating from my ears as I read that the Eagles were flagged for unnecessary roughness on the opening kickoff, which happened to be a touchback.
It was when I read that on a sweltering afternoon Rhodes denied his team the luxury of sideline fans, a perk the visiting Chiefs enjoyed, I began muttering obscenities under my breath.
Finally, I gave up trying to understand what was happening to my favorite team and decided to look for happier news.
I flipped to the page containing the weekend¹s NFL summaries to see how my fantasy football league players fared. Kordell Stewart: no touchdowns, only 108 yards passing. Raymont Harris: no touchdowns, 82 yards rushing. Alas! A 25-yard touchdown reception by Mark Chmura - now if only he had been in my starting lineup.
Gradually, my anger gave way to depression.
Desperate for something, anything, to lift my spirits, I frantically searched each page of the sports section.
Finally, a nugget. The Washington Redskins, the team I despise more than any other in professional sports, had lost to Denver 38-16 and, just like the Eagles, were 0-4.
But even that was cold comfort. The Redskins are more talented than the Eagles and will almost certainly finish the season with a better record. It¹s no fun laughing at another team¹s misfortune when your own team is also in the toilet. But nevertheless, there was hope.
The light at the end of the tunnel widened when I flipped back a few more pages to the story of NASCAR driver Ricky Rudd, who overcame a severe case of heat exhaustion to win the NAPA Autocare 500 in Martinsville, Va. On a day when temperatures soared into the mid-90s and the heat inside the car was nearly unbearable, Rudd¹s helmet, which was supposed to provide air circulation and water, malfunctioned.
But Rudd refused to give way to a replacement driver and did his postrace interview lying on his back in the winner¹s circle with an oxygen mask strapped to his face. The courageous effort kept alive his streak of winning at least one race for 16 straight seasons.
On Page 2 there was more positive news. The Prairie View A&M football team had broken an 80-game losing streak with a 14-12 victory over Langston the previous Saturday.
At that moment, I had an even stronger belief in the philosophy that nothing, whether it be good or bad, lasts forever. Some day, even the Eagles would enjoy prosperity.
With my disposition improving, I shuffled back to the front page and got a huge lift from an unlikely source - baseball. The sport that routinely inflicts serious damage upon itself is in the midst of a truly wonderful season. And on this day, the paper featured a huge photo of Mark McGwire connecting on his 70th home run, an astounding total.
But even more intriguing was the race for the National League Wild Card. The Cubs and Giants both lost heartbreaking games the previous day and were now tied at the end of the regular season. This set the stage for one of the greatest events in sports - the one-game playoff.
For six months and 162 games, the teams battled day-in and day-out for a chance to make the playoffs and now it came down to one winner-take-all game. The intensity level of such a contest could probably be matched only by the seventh game of the World Series.
I read the preview story, analyzed the pitching matchup and carried a feeling of excitement through the rest of the day. That night, I stayed up until midnight watching the Cubs beat the Giants 5-3.
The irritation I felt 12 hours earlier was long gone. Suddenly, everything seemed right with the world.
That is until I found out Detroit spanked Tampa Bay 27-6 on Monday Night Football, wrecking my weekly pool and bringing me to the realization that Mike Alstott, who is on my fantasy team, had not scored for the Bucs.
Oh well, nothing lasts forever.
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