The Rivalry by John Feinstein Page B

said.
    Stevie nodded. Susan Carol’s hometown.
    “I hope I get to meet Susan Carol too,” Hill said. “You two are quite a team.”
    *   *   *
    They were on their way back up to the press box so Kelleher could write his column for the Sunday paper when Stevie heard from the other half of the team.
    He checked his phone and discovered a text from Susan Carol:
Halftime. Great game. FREEZING to death. Miss you
.
    When they reached the press box, Stevie found a TV that was showing the end of the Navy–Notre Dame game. Just looking at the snow and the bundled-up fans in the stands made him feel cold.
    Watching your game now
, he texted Susan Carol back.
Army’s win amazing
. He paused for a second and then added:
Miss you too. Not the same
. They really were a good team.
    Stevie heard a roar from the TV after Navy intercepted a pass only to have the officials give the ball back to Notre Dame because of a holding call.
    “I don’t see it,” NBC analyst Pat Haden said. “If there was a hold, the official must have had an angle we don’t have.”
    “It’s that kind of call along with the hold that denied Navy a touchdown earlier that makes people occasionally wonder if the Irish don’t get the benefit of the doubt from the officials in this stadium,” Tom Hammond added.
    Stevie was surprised to hear Haden and Hammond say that. He had watched enough Notre Dame games to know that Hammond and Haden almost always sang the praises of the Irish. It had to have been a truly awful call if they were criticizing the officials, even mildly.
    Kelleher walked up behind him, computer slung over his shoulder, as the game was winding down.
    “Irish are going to pull it out here, huh?” he said as Notre Dame was lining up for a field goal to win the game.
    When Stevie told him about the holding call, Kelleher shook his head. “I wish I was surprised.”
    The field goal split the uprights and the Notre Dame players celebrated. Stevie looked for Susan Carol on the sidelines but didn’t see her.
    He heard her loud and clear, though, when she called later to tell him about the game. Once she’d had a chance to review parts of the game on TV and see it from all angles, she’d only gotten madder than she’d been on the field.
    “Let ’em have it,” Stevie told her.
    And in her story for Monday’s
Post
labeled “News Analysis,” she did.
    There are some who say the luck of the Irish has very little to do with luck, especially in Notre Dame Stadium. That was never more evident than Saturday, when two controversial holding calls from the officials were the difference between a Notre Dame win and a Navy win.
    In the fourth quarter, with the game tied at 14 all, quarterback Ricky Dobbs lofted a perfect touchdown pass to G. G. Greene. Butthe play was called back on an offensive holding call. Navy’s coach, Ken Niumatalolo, was enraged by the call. But holding is not a reviewable play, so he was left to vent his frustration at referee Mike Daniels, saying, “You’re stealing the game from my players!” Daniels tacked on a charge of unsportsmanlike conduct for the Navy bench.
    On the very next play, Notre Dame was able to capitalize on this second chance—picking up a fumbled pitch and running it back for a touchdown to put them ahead.
    Navy battled back against a tired Notre Dame defense and put together a fifteen-play drive to tie the game again with just under six minutes left.
    Notre Dame seemed poised to answer back when Navy cornerback Kevin Edwards jumped the route and intercepted a Roger Valdiserri pass, returning it to the Notre Dame 21. But again, a holding call reversed a Navy big play and gave the ball back to Notre Dame, along with a first down.
    With only three seconds on the clock, Notre Dame was able to kick a field goal and win the game 24–21.
    NBA Hall of Famer and Navy grad David Robinson was on the sidelines making hisopinions known, wondering aloud if it was in the officiating contract that Notre Dame