It sounds like movie-hype but in sports….on occasion…Its Just 1 Touch That’s All it Took. For example…
… Its Just 1 Touch That’s All it Took in the United States Mens National Soccer team game against Mexico in a CONCACAF World Cup game. From my view, Mexico had a edge in play in the 1st half. In the 2nd half it seemed that the USA had much more control of the ball in their offensive half.
But..then suddenly, in the 74th minute, Christian Pulisic-who had only been in the match just 5 minutes, had his 1st touch of the match—and that’s all it Took. It was on a slick cross from Tim Weah from the outside. Pulisic, raced to put himself between the defender & Weah. He lunged at full speed & headed it into the back of the net. The 2nd USA goal in the 85th from Weston McKennie pushed the USA (4-1-2) past Mexico (4-1-2) on the goal differential and in the standings. This win marked the 1st time that the Americans have beaten Mexico 3x in a year.
…or it’ll be the Just 1 Touch that’s all it Took for the Cards this winter. By all accounts, the Cards are seeking a medium-priced starter ($15m ish). I hope that they’ll consider a LHP first. Some potential Cards—Danny Duffy, Yusei Kikuchi or Steven Matz would be all it TOOK to bolster the rotation.
…probably the most significant 1 Touch for the Blues was in game 7 of the final series against Boston in 2019 when Ryan O’Reilly put it in the net at the 16:47 mark of the 1st Period…and it actually WAS ALL it Took as the Blues won it 4-0 over Boston. When one considers that the team that scores 1st in the NHL wins 67% of the time, his 1 Touch likely would have been ALL it TOOK in game 7.
….all that was needed was 1 Touch. The Baylor Bears #13 upset #8 Oklahoma 27-14 but it was an unusual ending. Warned prior to the game that the Baylor fans would “rush the field” if the Bears won, common sense seemed to escape. With 1 second left, Baylor had the ball & a 13 point lead, just 1 touch would be all that it Took to End the Game. Well…as the 3rd down play concluded, the fans thought it was over. They rushed the field in the thousands. They were euphoric, having fun, jumping around, etc. OU demanded that the game be played to the 0:00 mark. Sooooo….all the fans cleared the field peacefully. Then the Baylor coach decided to take another 1 touch…he had his team kick a FG. That 1 Touch was All it Took to make everyone happy…except for OU who is now miffed that Baylor kicked a FG 😊 Sometimes, you have to be careful what you ask for!
…or it was the 1 Touch off the backboard. In last year’s NCAA Final Four of Mens’ basketball, Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs had the game winner as he banked in a 3-point shot to beat UCLA in the semi’s. How many 3-pt backboard shots do you see?
…the greatest 1 Touch in the StL Rams History was the game-saving tackle with seconds left in the game @ the 1 yd line by Mike Jones on WR Kevin Dyson in Super Bowl XXXIV (34). Jones’ 1 Touch was All it Took to end the game and lift the Rams to their only Super Bowl Victory. Many “experts” (that leaves me out) say that the game-saving tackle was the BEST ending EVER in the Super Bowl.
……in the MLB, nothing seems worse that a Walk-Off HR that beats you with that 1 Touch. Those are the crushing losses for a team. Sadly, our Cards went through several losses like that.. On July 20th, up 6-1 when bottom of 9th began, Cubs loaded the bases w/o a hit (Molina didn’t catch strike 3; DeJong error; walk. Alex Reyes entered walked his 1st batter, got a strikeout, walked in a run, Javy Baez single drove home 2 runs followed by Ian Happ’s 1 Touch 2b that drove home tying & winning runs. 2) on Aug 29, Cards up 3-1 against the Pirates as the bottom 9th arrived. Alex Reyes walked 2 and had 1 strikeout when Yoshi Tsutsugo had 1 Touch that landed in the stands for a 3 run/HR 3) On Sep 19, Cards entered bottom of 9th up 5-1 against the Brewers. Alex Reyes gave up a run then Daniel Vogelbach had just 1 Touch.. and that was all it took.. a pinch-hit grand slam to give Brewers 6-5 win. Despite those crushing defeats the Cards overcame them with their 17 game win streak and reached the playoffs. In retrospect, one has to tip their hat to the Cards for bouncing back.
…I realize that SLU wanted to build their win total while “learning” to work together as they waltzed through the first 3 games. At times, seemingly, it was 1 Touch & That’s all it Took as the Bills scored at will as they demolished Cen Ark, Harris-Stowe (really going down to this level?), E. Illinois while averaging over 100 points/game. Memphis is coming in tonight so that’ll be a good test. I’m hoping next year that the Billikens won’t need so many of these “1 Touch & That’s All it TOOK” teams to prepare for the conference. Time to step up in non-conference-you’re past the multiple cupcake level. Play 3-5 Big Boys next year. In some ways, your non-conference schedule shows the real confidence that you have in your team.
…the 1 Touch on the Shoulder, should be ALL it TOOK for Florida. The Gators shockingly poor win over an FCS (lower division) team-Samford 70-52 that brought more questions than answers for Florida. After firing the Def-Coordinator 2 weeks ago, Florida has given up 92 total points to S. Carolina & Samford. If I were Florida HC, Dan Mullen, I’d be expecting that 1 touch on my shoulder from the Florida administration after the season. I think Mizzou has good chance this Sat against the Gators!
…Thanks for the read….out a day early this week but should return to Wednesday’s next week. I hope that you’ll reply with your own “1 Touch & That’s All it Took” plays, players, games that you recall. Post on my Facebook page (Bob Ryan) then read all the very interesting responses. If you want to respond…do so. If you don’t want your name known, send it to me—I’ll publish with your initials. New to these blogs…find earlier ones on http://www.bobryansportsblog.com . Thanks for your time & the read! Bob