In his most egregious display of clock mismanagement yet, Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan left Game 7 of the World Series before it ended.
Ryan told reporters at One Bills Drive on Friday afternoon that he and a dozen friends attended the deciding game between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs but left during the 17-minute rain delay between the 9th and 10th innings. Ryan, a Cubs fan, would miss Chicago scoring twice in the 10th inning to win their first World Series in 108 years.
The story, as told by a reporter frantically tweeting it to the masses, plays out like a Greek tragedy.
Rex Ryan confirms he attended Game 7 of World Series in Cleveland. Calls it a "perfect situation" schedule wise. He took a bus with friends.
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) November 4, 2016
Hey! Rex was there. That’s cool. He’s a Cubs fan so that’s gotta be a really cool experience for him. I wonder if he celebrated like Bill Murray. That guy looked like he had a lot of fun.
Rex Ryan says he and about a dozen friends left during rain delay of Game 7 of World Series. "I hate to admit it," he says. He's a Cubs fan.
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) November 4, 2016
Oh. Oh no. Why… why would you do that, man? It’s only a few hours from Buffalo. You went with a bunch of people. You didn’t have to drive buddy.
Rex Ryan says the radio in the us he took to Cleveland wasn't working, so he couldn't hear call of Cubs' final out. Rob Ryan called him.
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) November 4, 2016
Oh.
Oh, Rex.
Listen, man: I’m not gonna tell you what you should have done here. I could say you could have found the radio feed on your phone or something. Bought TuneIn Radio Pro or whatever. But your mistake was made the moment you left your seat and said “eh I’ll read about it in the papers” and piled back into the bus.
You had a dozen people with you, Rex. One of them should have talked you out of this. You need better friends, man.
Ryan confirmed all this on Friday after brushing off Talkin Bout The Cubs on Thursday. Here’s a blog from The Buffalo News about Rex’s appearance at Progressive Field.
Because of Monday night’s game at Seattle, Wednesday was a day off for Bills players.
Ryan was at work Thursday morning. When a reporter asked him if he had watched Game 7, he responded, “Oh, yeah, absolutely.” He joked that his Cubs — whom he adopted as his team when his father, Buddy, was the Bears’ defensive coordinator — “had it all the way.”
But Ryan never mentioned that he was at the game, which went 10 innings.
Even if he chose to leave Cleveland during the rain delay, which at least one team source said was the case, the quickest he would have returned by car would have been pretty close to 3 a.m.
OK, I’ll say it: so?
Oh no. A sleepless night for an NFL football coach? Never heard of that happening. You gotta see that thing played out, man. Check the radar and stay put. Get some sleep on the bus and enjoy something that hasn’t happened in more than a century. It might be the closest you’ll ever get to being a part of sports history!
Anyway, here’s a picture of Rex at the game looking happy.
https://twitter.com/bvfutbol22/status/794189805223559168
Imagine how happy he was when he found out the Cubs won. On a bus with a broken radio hurtling down I-90 somewhere underneath Lake Erie.
I hope he stopped at a Sheetz to celebrate.
