I am annoyed. I'm not sure why, maybe because I know in the back of my mind that this takes place in more important realms than sports. But since there's so much spin out there with regard to "facts" about anything else, I have decided to set the record straight on some common myths about sports history.
There are many such misperceptions, but three of them stick out in my mind more than others. Here they are:
1. The U. S. Olympic Hockey Team beat the Russians for the gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, NY.
Ah, now that was a great memory, wasn't it? Who could forget that U. S. player throwing his stick into the air as the final buzzer sounded, and commentator Al Michael's famous call, "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"
There's only one little problem with this memory. It never happened. Oh, the U. S. Hockey Team did win the gold medal that year. But the team that they beat to win the gold medal was FINLAND, not Russia. True, they did beat Russia in one of the earlier rounds of the tournament, but it was not in the gold medal game. People think it was Russia because, in the middle of the Cold War, it was just too good of a story line to pass up, so that became the myth.
2. Doug Flutie's best play as a quarterback was when he threw that long touchdown pass for Boston College to beat Miami as time expired.
That play, known in football as a "Hail Mary Pass" involves less skill for the quarterback than any other play in football. The only thing that is required to execute a Hail Mary successfully is arm strength enough to throw the ball 50 to 60 yards, which most quarterbacks have. The quarterback simply drops back, throws the ball as far as he can, and hopes that one of his teammates makes a play on the ball for a score (which BC receiver Gerard Phelan successfully did in this case.) That's why that play is called a "Hail Mary", because all the quarterback can do is throw it up and say a prayer. Doug Flutie himself told Sports Illustrated in an interview, "All anyone thinks I ever did was throw that stupid pass."
Flutie spent four years at B. C. and has since spent 21 years in professional football, and he is still playing. He is now a backup for the Patriots. A typical 7 yard pass for a quarterback on the pro level requires the following mental checklist: a) read the defense at the line of scrimmage (is this a coverage scheme or a blitz coming?), b) change the play at the line of scrimmage if necessary, c) drop back and start your "internal clock" in your head, because you know you only have so much time before a defender hits you from the back side, d) find the primary receiver to see if he is open, if not, find the secondary receiver, third receiver, etc. e) and if nobody's open, decide whether to try to run for the first down yourself or throw the ball away, f), if you are going to throw it, "checkoff" other receivers so as not to "telegraph" your pass. In other words, once you have decided who you're throwing it to, turn your head and look at other receivers before you throw it so that defenders can't "read" you and anticipate your throw to intercept the ball.
As you can see, that "Hail Mary" pass was one of the easiest plays Flutie has executed in the past 20 or so years.
3. The Red Sox lost the 1986 World Series and it was all Bill Buckner's fault because the ball went through his legs.
Now this is the biggest myth of all. In fact, this one has several myths wrapped into one. First, some people think that the Buckner play happened in Game 7 of the World Series. It didn't, it happened in Game 6. So the Red Sox still had a chance to win the World Series even after they lost that "Buckner" game. In fact, the Red Sox were leading game 7 by 3-0, before blowing the lead in that game.
Now, here is the biggest fuel source for the Buckner myth. People think that the Red Sox were leading the Mets with 2 out in the bottom of the 12th when the ball went through Buckner's legs, allowing the tying run to score from third and the winning run to score from second. READ MY LIPS: THE RED SOX WERE NOT WINNING WHEN THE BALL WENT THROUGH BUCKNER'S LEGS. YOU REMEMBER IT WRONG.
The game was already tied at 5 when Mookie Wilson hit that grounder down the first base line to Buckner. Had Buckner made the play, and stepped on first for the out, the Red Sox would NOT have won at that point. That would have been the end of the 12th and it would have gone into more extra innings with the game tied at 5. The Mets had the momentum at this point, were playing at home and had a much better bullpen than the Sox did. So if it had gone into more extra innings, the Mets probably would have won the game anyway.
One reason people think that the sox were up by a run when the ball went through Buckner's legs is because the were up by a run when Mookie Wilson first stepped up to the plate. It was 5-4 Boston at the beginning of that at bat. The mets had runners on second and third base. But Sox pitcher Bob Stanley threw a pitch that got past Sox catcher Rich Gedman (it was ruled a passed ball error on Gedman), and THAT allowed the tying run to score from third (and the winning run to move from second to third). THAT was what made the score 5-5. THEN, after that had happened, Wilson hit the NEXT pitch down the first base line, through Buckner's legs, allowing the winning run to score from third.
Lastly, people assume that, had Buckner fielded the ball right, he would have beaten Mookie Wilson to the bag at first for the out. This is far from clear, however. Buckner had a badly injured leg, he was a fair distance from first at the time, and Mookie Wilson was a very fast runner.
So can the "it was all Bill Buckner's fault" nonsense. Not even close.
O. K. now I've gotten it off my chest. Thanks for letting me vent.