A Startling Realization about Karma and the Baltimore Orioles/Ravens

As pitchers and catchers report for another great season of fail whale for the Orioles (Why bother having optimism?  We're basically hoping that every team overlooks us and sends their Single-A affiliate to play the game instead), Casey Willet posted a video reminder of how last season ended, with pretty much the only Orioles highlight to mark the season.  We got to play a role in the most epic, fortuitous 30 mins of baseball I've ever seen between two teams.  Boston and Tampa were tied for the Wild Card.  A win by one and loss by the other would seal it.  Any other scenario would mean a play-in game the next day.  Through...7 innings?...Tamps was losing 7-0 to the Yankees, who had already wrapped up their division title with a nice bow, but they weren't giving up.  We had an earlier game and were losing 3-2, but there was a long rain delay, allowing Tampa-NYY game to pass ours.

The stage was set first by an epic comeback by the Rays, as they managed to come all the way back to 7-7, shocking the Red Sox Nation.  But, the Red Sox were still winning against us, and it came down to the bottom of the ninth.  With a man on second, Nolan Reimold slapped a double off the great Papelbon to tie the game.  The next batter, Robert Andino.  And on a 1-1 count, he hit a line drive right to a sliding Carl Crawford...WHO DROPPED IT.  The throw to the plate was too late to get Reimold and just like that, O's win, Red Sox now hoping the Yankees pull it out in extra innings against Tampa.  Within about 5 minutes of that, Evan Longoria hit a solo shot in the bottom of the 12th to give the Rays the win, which ended the Boston baseball season without a playoff trip.  I was awake and watched this comeback and despite how bad the O's was, it felt good to see us play a role.  Aand watching the highlight video, I sort've celebrated...

And then I remembered.  What NFL team does Boston/Massachusetts play host to?  The New England Patriots.

Yes Baltimore, we had our laugh against Boston.  And they promptly returned the favor, about four months later.

We were down 3 points to the Patriots in the AFC Championship game (difference noted...game with playoff implications vs an ACTUAL playoff game.  And the Conference title game no less).  Joe Flacco throws a pass to Lee Evans in the endzone and he doesn't secure the catch, allowing a former practice squad DB to knock it loose.  Two plays later, Billy Cundiff lines up for a pretty easy FG of 32 yards.  And due to whatever circumstances you want to list (Ghost of Myra Kraft, Scoreboard-gate, stupid idiots not taking a timeout), he pushed it about as wide left as you can.  Just like that, when it seemed we could at least make a go of it in OT, the BALTIMORE Ravens lost and the NEW ENGLAND (Read: Boston) Patriots were advancing.

Oh, how I wish I could go back to that night in September and just WILL Carl Crawford into catching the ball.  O's would likely lose in extra innings, Boston would pull off a win, and the fate would be out of Baltimore's hands.  And then, 4 months later, maybe Cundiff just happens to pull off that FG which he makes 1000 times in practice, or Evans manages to make a catch he would have 1000 times in practice.

I know, I know...woulda coulda shoulda.  And now, we have to suffer through 6 months of no football, which will inevitably be an Orioles losing season.  Maybe I'll be wrong, maybe something will finally go right for the Orioles.  But I'm counting on karma to push the Orioles season as wide left as that Cundiff kick, if only that maybe, the Ravens will once again have a nice, dominant season.