Most of us rarely have the opportunity to “PLAY ON THE BIG STAGE” in life. However, sometimes sports players & teams DO reach the BIG STAGE. It presents a great opportunity for each team.
…So, that’s how it was on Saturday for Mizzou. Playing the #1 team in the USA, Georgia, in Athens Georgia, the Tigers really were PLAYING ON THE BIGGEST STAGE in the NCAA football. Leading 19-12 after 3 quarters, the Tigers couldn’t hang on to upset the Bulldogs and fell 30-21. Close losses to top teams on the BIGGEST STAGE are forgotten quickly and easily dismissed. Misplays, penalties, turnovers…it really doesn’t matter….Mizzou lost the game. It’s strong efforts will be filed someplace in someone’s office but for the vast majority of fans…it’s just another loss..in & out of your mind quickly(like what you ate yesterday for lunch). You HAVE TO WIN ON THE BIG STAGE to get the “glory” of winning.
…This game actually was closer than the 30-21 score but….(here ya go again)…it’s a loss that the vast majority of college Football fans will just chalk up as another win by a #1 over ….who was it again?
Having watched some of the game, some parts of this BIG STAGE game, stuck out to me (not as an expert but just as a fan watching the game). 1) For the 1st half, Georgia’s entire Def line frequently shifted in unison after the MU QB began calling signals prior to the play @ the Line of scrimmage. This wasn’t unexpected but it took MU to the 2nd half to really adjust. 2) With just 45 seconds left in 1st half, it was still 10-10 & the Tigers had 2 timeouts. MU hoped to score to take a ½ time lead into the locker room. Star running back, Cody Schrader (Luth South grad) was dragged down close the out-of -bounds line. The MU staff thought that he was out-of-bounds, which would have stopped the clock. The Officials didn’t see it that way & the clock kept ticking. Coach Drink ignored the time-out possibility thinking that he could still make it work but…it didn’t. Call Drink went biserk…his extended loud verbal exchanges didn’t leave much to the imagination for the viewer as his 4-letter words were easily understood by most any TV fan. A 3rd quarter pass interference call went the Bulldogs way on a play that looked like most other pass plays these days…some contact at some point but usually no call. Georgia took a 17-13 lead on a TD after the call. It seems on almost ANY STAGE, the favored team seems to get the nod on close calls, especially when playing @ home. It was still 24-21 after Mizzou scored with 12+ minutes left in the game. Then, 2 FG’s iced it up for the Bulldogs. Sooo…when it’s all over…the Tigers were on THE BIG STAGE but couldn’t capitalize. Will most fans remember these key moments of the game?…..Nah…the #1 team won—like they were expected to do. Losers to the #1 team are remembered for a short while…maybe!? You must WIN on the BIG STAGE to make a lasting memory.
……The World Series is the BIGGEST STAGE of the MLB season. The Rangers had some battles to gain the championship ring but overcame the challenges. Starting at the top…manager Bruce Bochy was magnificent ON THE BIG STAGE. Bochy is now only 1 of 6 managers to win the Series 4x! He’s 6-0 in winner-take-all games and 14-0 in elimination games! Bochy has a personality with a mix of excitement about being on THE BIG STAGE and yet he also displays a level of calmness, not letting the moment overtake him. Simply put…. He doesn’t panic in the playoffs. He just makes the moves he believes need to be made. Bochy has integrated well the old school approach with the new trends. He studies the analytics prior to the game, makes mental notes about information, then inserts that information with his own experience & instincts in the course of the game. He doesn’t run to the computer during the game for info for each specific situation (like another manager that I see frequently).
…Now to WIN ON THE BIGGEST MLB STAGE, you must have the players. Texas had a terrific batting order. Texas knocked in 881 runs (10th most of any MLB team in the past 10 seasons!!!). They won the AL Triple Crown—with league’s top batting avg–.263; on-base percentage-.337 and slugging %$-.452. They had 25 games where they scored 10 runs or more! That’s 15% of the games scoring 10 or more runs!! To give you an idea, the Cards scored 10 runs or more, 10 times this season. Texas’s pitching led by Nathan Evoldi & Jordan Montgomery. Monte is really living right…he went from the last place Cards to Texas. Then, won 4 post-season games with a 2.90 ERA in 50.6 innings.
…As I write this on Sunday morning, City SC is preparing for the 4:00pm match vs Sporting KC. Landing on the BIG STAGE early in the season, City shocked most everyone in the MSL world with 5 straight wins to start the season. As the season unfolded in its 1 game/week schedule, opposing teams seemed to prepare for the all-out pressure approach of City. In fact, City has been outscored 9-1 in the last 3 matches as opposing teams are turning the tables & pressuring City.
…I must confess, as a non-soccer playing guy, that the shuffling of players to “loan them out” to other teams in other leagues seems like it could take a toll on a players stamina, skill, concentration. I realize that the players motivation is that they are gaining additional compensation. It clearly isn’t the BIGGEST STAGE but does extra traveling, switching of roles/positions, working with different teammates enhance or diminish their skills over the long 6 month season? It’s easy to think the only the players who AREN’T on the BIGGEST STAGE do this type of thing.
…As I write this on Sunday morning, the Blues have won back-back games. It seems like the Stanley Cup parade of 2019 was years ago. It’s a rebuild time after falling totally off of the BIGGEST NHL STAGE to the basement last year. In my early view, the Blues seem much improved at transitioning from their defensive end to the offensive end of the ice. Binnington has sparkled in the nets in October & early November. Can the Blues score enough seems to be the challenge to reach HIGHER STAGES in the NHL? The Blues are only 10 games into the 23-24 season…it’s a long, long way to skate to the regular season’s end on April 17.
…Also far from the BIGGEST STAGE, like the Blues…STAYING ON THE BIGGEST STAGE IN THE NFL for 11 straight years (2009 thru 2019) of 1st place finishes, the NE Patriots have fallen completely off that top level stage. They’ve fallen WAY OFF…now sitting in 3rd place (4 team divisions) after a 2nd place finish in ’21 and a 3rd place finish in ’20. Somehow, I don’t think that Bill Belichick is getting much consolation these days about his fall from the glory years.
…On the other hand, the Detroit Lions are starting to SEE the BIGGEST STAGE in the Nearly Forgotten League (NFL). It’s been a long, long time since they’ve even seen it!! Currently, the Lions sit in 1st place in NL Central division with a 6-2 record. They haven’t SEEN THE BIG STAGE of a Conference Title since 1993! They haven’t won a playoff game since 1991 (lost in the 2nd round).
….Despite it being November, you can bet that the Cards are checking out some free agents pitchers —Blake Snell, Jordan Montgomery, Eduardo Rodriguez, from Team Japan-Shōta Imanaga (30 years old), Lucas Giolito. II would think that the Cards MUST dip into these free agent waters to obtain a reliable starter (at least 1). The cost of obtaining a couple starters might make the Cards wiggle a bit….but to reach the BIGGEST STAGE, you’ve got to get outs. In addition, the Cards will need to find some batters who can get on base to set up the 2 “big boys” in the lineup.
…Thanks for making it to the end of this Buzz on it’s BIGGEST STAGE (it only has 1 STAGE 😊) Your thoughts are ALWAYS invited. Place right on my Facebook Page—Bob Ryan or send to me & I’ll do it for you. If you haven’t taken the opportunity read the reactions each week, you’re really falling off of the BIG STAGE! Thanks for your time & read! Bob
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