A Little Conundrum

VOTE!  Let your voice be heard!

On a weekly basis, Dave Ruden at the Hearst Connecticut Media Group (specifically the Stamford Advocate) posts a group of nominees to win an award: the Overtime FCIAC Team of the Week ("Overtime" being the name of Rudens' blog).

I was intrigued to see that the Westhill football team won the award, for their 37-30 overtime win against Trumbull.

Westhill's victory is a good one.  It ended a 20-game losing streak and was the first victory for the Vikings over the Eagles ever (Westhill opened in 1972).  For a program that is trying to make something of itself, it is a nice story.

There were other nominees: Wilton field hockey, Greenwich volleyball, Trinity Catholic football, Darien volleyball, Stamford field hockey, and Fairfield Warde girls soccer.  I can't speak for any of the other teams, except to say that the Greenwich volleyball team will, hopefully, be on "The Press Box" soon, and they were campaigning for votes.

That's the thing right there.  The winner is determined via online voting and I have no problem with that.  So, really, this isn't a knock on Dave Ruden, Hearst, the Advocate, the sponsors, or the teams.  I suppose the thing is that, like an all-star game, the ballot box can be stuffed.  Maybe, just maybe, the wrong team can win.

Honestly, this isn't a complaint at all.  It's all good.  I just found myself a little flummoxed in that I thought - by far - the clear winner would be the Trinity Catholic football team.  If you heard the story last week, you know that the Crusaders beat New Canaan in overtime, 31-28 (add in Stamford beating Norwalk and it was a great weekend around "The City that Works").  Trinity Catholic had not beaten the Rams, well technically, ever (since they were previously known as Stamford Catholic).  But in reality, the former Stamford Catholic team beat New Canaan on September 22, 1984...28 years to the day.  Plus their quarterback was a kid named Pete Stokes...who is now the Crusaders' head coach.

Jason Intrieri and I were calling the Brunswick/Taft game on WGCH when I found the score via Twiter, and we were both stunned.  It might not be the greatest upset ever (say, Jets/Colts in Super Bowl III or Tyson/Douglas), but it certainly sits in the pantheon of great stories and big-time wins (Marlins over the Yankees in 2003?).  It sort-of set the FCIAC on its ear, and made everyone take note of Trinity Catholic.

Cool stuff, right? By the way, Ruden's article on the game is here.

So I guess what this all comes down to is bravo to the Westhill fans for rocking the vote.  They become the victors.  It's democracy at work.

Speaking of Stamford football (SHAMELESS PLUS ALERT), Chris Kaelin, Ryan DeMaria, and I will have the call as Stamford High School football debuts on WGCH.  We'll be back at Lancaster Field at Tiger Hollow in Ridgefield as the 2-0 Black Knights visit the 1-1 Tigers.  Air time is 6:40 PM.