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this comment is not so much about the game, which was downright enjoyable to watch, but more so about a giant pet peeve of mine that has been repeated over and over again in this column and in the letters.
that pet peeve is when people casually forget that every sporting event is one giant sequence of butterfly effects - you CANNOT assume the exact same sequence of events would have played out if you subtract one play, let alone a controversial one. yes, vince young's knee was down before he lateraled the ball to his streaking teammate for the tuddie. but one cannot assume that had the call been made, texas would or would not have scored a tuddie. or that they would or would not have kicked a field goal.
the beauty of sports is that every subsequent sequence of events is dependent on the prior sequence of events. coaches call different plays depending on the time left in the game, the score, the weather, the referees, and the adjustments the other team makes, just to name a few factors. these factors are constantly shifting, and shifting on both sides of the ball (and consequently on both sidelines). so you have an offense that is reacting to a defense, a defense that is reacting to an offense, x 2, with various other factors built in.
thus, to say that the same EXACT sequence of events would have played out if early events were different (ie scoring plays, non-scoring plays, calls) is absolutely ridiculous. if vince young is called down before he laterals, the game could have taken an entirely different turn. on the next play, a different play is called, the defense adjusts accordingly, and maybe vince breaks his leg. or maybe a cornerback is out of position, leading to a touchdown pass, and various adjustments by both teams which leads to a slightly different game plan.
the entire point of this diatribe is that it pisses me off to no end when fans, announcers, and commentators say things like "if shaq makes those 2 first quarter free throws, we're tied now" - everything changes based on every play. so please stop assuming the game would have played out in the same fashion if one call/stop/play was made.
