College football is awesome because you simply never know when you will see an unforgettable moment unfold right before your eyes, whether in person at a stadium or through the miracle of television. Last week in Ann Arbor saw Michigan lose control of a punt only to see Michigan State inexplicably celebrate a win nobody could have envisioned with 10 seconds to play. Yesterday in Atlanta we saw another stunner at the end of a game when Georgia Tech picked up a blocked field goal and returned it for a game-winning touchdown. Immediately, the memories of Auburn’s Kick Six against Alabama came to mind for many watching, including myself.
Today many will feel a need to give the touchdown play a signature name that will live on for years in Georgia Tech lore and in Florida State agony. Others may feel an urge to compare and rank Georgia Tech’s win against the Kick Six or the Michigan State victory at Michigan or any other improbable moments. Feel free to get caught up in that if you wish. You could also choose to ignore all of that and simply enjoy the moment.
Georgia Tech’s surprising special teams touchdown for the win does not need a name. It does not need to be ranked against other miracle plays. It, like others before it, simply deserves a space in your college football memory bank for offering a moment of pure joy or agony that reminds you that anything can happen at any given time in a 60-minute college football game.
Living in a microwave society can sometimes take away from the thrill (and agony) of living in the moment and letting a sequence of events truly unfold and sink in. These are the types of memories we should not want to rush through while anticipating the next classic moment, unless you are a Florida State or Michigan fan perhaps.