The dreaded 'close loss'

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Everyone hates to lose. But a close loss is even worse.

After the Flagler Palm Coast Bulldogs lost their regional quarterfinal game to Lake Brantley, 44-43, players refused to speak to the media, upset about losing the game, which they all believed they should’ve won, by a point.

When a team gets blown out, they go into the locker room believing the other team was just better on that day. Friends and family tend to be more lenient. They say things like, “It just clearly wasn’t your day today,” or, “This loss still counts for only one.”

Not so, when the score is close. Think about the Seattle Seahawks’ last play in the recent Super Bowl. Fans, commentators, analysts and non-football fans alike spewed thoughts such as, “The coach (who won the previous Super Bowl, to remind you) needs to fired for throwing the ball on the goal line,” “The Seahawks should’ve been back-to-back NFL champs,” for hours in their minds after the event. Everyone loves to offer an opinion, armed with the end result. Too bad coaches and players don’t have that option.

The Bulldogs and their supporters will spend the rest of the year thinking about what could have been. Could they, too, be headed to the Final Four with the Lady Bulldogs, if only they had made one extra bucket, or if they could’ve prevented one?

They had a 12-point lead in the third quarter, and just as they did to close out the first half, they could have held on to the ball a lot longer on every possession until the end of the game.

At the end of regulation and overtime, the Bulldogs had opportunities to win the game with a shot and missed. This is the outcome of the dreaded close loss.