Playbooks Don't Have Screenplays

Last night's Tennessee-LSU game reminded me of one of the things I love about sports: it's so maddeningly unscripted. Like most of the country, I've got a soft spot for LSU and their hurricane-ravaged fans. Last night's game was the first significant sporting event played in Louisiana since Katrina hit, so the nation wanted those fans to get a win. That provide everyone with a feel-good moment of resilience, right? Well Tennessee had other plans, plans that involved a 21-point comeback win in overtime. Instead of being uplifted, LSU fans were devastated by a crushing come-from-ahead loss at home in a game they were favored to win. Not exactly storybook.

But that's the great thing about sports: the games write their own stories. That's why it's so frustrating when prominent media figures so openly root for a storyline. Right now, journalists everywhere have been setting up (and practically begging for) storylines like "Yankees and Red Sox on collision course with 3rd straight ALCS showdown" and "McNabb and T.O. feud reaches breaking point; Owens cut from team, banned from football forever." But the games don't need screenwriters, and compelling sports plotlines will develop organically, thank you very much.