End of a Great Season...And A Hard Lesson Learned

"Life is not fair"...you hear that a lot. As a perpetual optimist, I often disagree with that statement and overall I feel that life is fair. I feel for most of us, life can contain a series of highs and lows, good days and bad ones, but I generally believe that most of the time it is fair.

And then came the events of yesterday...

I had a lot of expectations as I watched two chartered buses pull out of Rochester High School's parking lot. Those buses were full yesterday. Full of dreams and football players that had worked so hard to go to the semi-final playoff game. It was a great match between the Rochester Rockets and Metamora Redbirds, two great teams. Even the weather cooperated yesterday, it was simply beautiful, amazing for late November.

So what happened?

It started out great. So much excitement. The Metamora fans were great sports and all the staff working the game was great. I have no issue with Metamora, the team, their players or fans. It was the official who took what was supposed to be a fairly called sporting event and he turned it into something else. Besides spotting the ball in the wrong location on the field (and to Metamora's advantage), we were also called for defensive holding and as a result that kept Metamora's last touchdown drive in the first half going. On third and 10 at our 14 yd line, a Metamora pass was knocked away by our team near the goal line. But we were called for defensive holding near the line of scrimmage, and as a result it was third and short at the 7. If this had not happened, Metamora would have had to go for a field goal, and we would have been given a chance to score again when the ball came back to us. Now bad calls happen, but then there was a pass ruled complete at midfield on a third-down play in the second quarter. The official was wrong. The pass was low, and it hit the ground before the Metamora player had it in his hands. As a result of this call, Metamora went on to score a one yard run before halftime. It also did not help to see Matt Bane beaten up for most of the game with no calls on the player covering him. But Matt was called when he finally pushed the kid who was hitting him in the stomach away.

Our kids looked like they had been punched in the gut at half time. So did the fans. But they came back in the second half, they fought like warriors and they ended up playing with so much heart that they tied the game. We lost it on the last play of the game, but we put it all on the line and gave it our all. The kids standing on the sidelines were holding hands, the entire town was behind our Rockets, they did not give up and I tell you, I have never been prouder of the boys.

But it was not fair, it was not clean and I would love to tell the official what I think of the bad job he did yesterday. Mr. Official, you let the kids down and the fans down, we deserved better. You let Metamora down. Let the winning team win or lose on their own merit. You sir, did not do your job. It was so frustrating. One bad call, maybe...but this series of calls...no.

Did we make mistakes too? Yes. That is not what this is about. When you try hard and make mistakes, that is part of the game. Officiating should not have been a factor in this game, especially at this level of play. It is a bitter pill to swallow for this 46 year old mother who doesn't know that much about the game. It is devastating for these kids and their families. To play hard and not reach your goal is one thing, to have it taken from you, is another.

So yesterday, life was not fair.
Yesterdays game will be a memory these kids and Coach carry forever. I hope when they think of it, they also remember that they had a great, great season and we couldn't be prouder of them.

But it still hurts.