Another close loss

You might think by the title of this article that I am about to bemoan another close loss by my beloved Auburn Tigers football team this past weekend.  After the close and somewhat controversial losses to both Oklahoma and Georgia, it seems that lightning could not possibly strike a third time. 

Alas, my Tigers found a way to lose in double overtime to the Missouri Tigers.  Had we made any of our three missed field goals we would have won the game at the end of regulation time.  Instead, we managed to advance the ball a total of four negative yards in the two overtime periods and did not score a point.  

It is tough to be an Auburn football fan at this moment.  Any longtime fan of a college football fan has suffered close, disappointing, even excruciating losses before.  I cannot recall, however, losing three such contests with a season just over half done.  

To make matters worse, this is not even the toughest loss I endured this weekend.  On Friday night, for the second time in October, my longtime Spades partner and I lost to our opponents by ten points.  One trick out of a total of 500 points.  Earlier in the week we lost by a margin of three points, an almost infinitesimal amount in the course of this card game.

Bill and I have been Spades partners for over a half century, dating back to our early days at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house in Auburn.  I never recall two such close losses happening back to back in all that time.

To make matters worse, we lost to our wives, Pam and Mary Lou, who have become formidable and worthy opponents in the regular card games we have played literally around the world during the past decade.

When Auburn loses a close game, one of the teams gets on a plane and heads home.  With the exception of the Iron Bowl and perhaps the Georgia game, most players will not have any interaction with the other players until they suit up again the following year.

In the case of a close loss between my college roommate and our spouses, we have to sleep in the same bed that evening listening to the winners replaying crucial hands and moves as we mercifully drift off to sleep.

Has Auburn had a tough run so far this season?  You bet.  Are these football games the worst close losses I have endured in October?   Not even close.

Congratulations, ladies.  Well done.  Wait until the next game.

o0o

Dan Ponder can be reached at [email protected]