Pitarresi: You've got to play the game

Oh, I just loved watching Oregon State beat Southern Cal Thursday night.

 

I have no particular antipathy toward USC, but I love underdogs and a I love seeing the experts – the TV and radio guys and, yes, the sportswriters - get their assumptions and predictions jammed right back into their faces.

 

Oregon State had to hang on, but for much of the game, and absolutely in the first half, they kicked the Trojans around. They refused to believe they were supposed to lose, even if they were a 24-point underdog. That’s the great thing about sports. You have to play the game. You can’t just walk out on the field if you are the favorite, and you can’t accept what some fan or sportswriter’s estimation of what your abilities are. You go out and play with passion and smarts, to the best of your ability. Let it rip it. Oregon State did that and USC didn’t.

 

In sports, everyone wants to deal in absolutes – make your prediction, come out and say that USC will win 50-0, whatever. That isn’t the way it is. You’ve got to play the game.