bleacher views

Cheering for the underdog

There are few things in life as gratifying as picking an impossibly long shot and then rooting him home. Oh, the sweetness of looking around to all your scoffing friends and loudly asserting, “I told you so” and have the betting ticket to prove it.

The football version of that scenario happened during the playoff game between The Washington Football Team and The Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a game that was not to be missed on Saturday, Jan. 9.

To say Tampa Bay was favored was putting it mildly. They have gobs of talent and the Greatest of All Time quarterback by the name of Tom Brady, also known as “The Ageless Wonder” and as the owner of six championship rings.

The QB for the hapless Washington team (known at the WFT, with tongue firmly in cheek) was the underdog of all time, right up there with Rudy, he of Notre Dame legend and movie fame. Only this no-chance prospect didn’t have to walk on; he was dragged out of a college math class and told to suit up.

Now Alex Smith, the comeback kid featured in a recent Bleacher Views, was supposed to be the WFT quarterback, but he had pulled a leg muscle and couldn’t go. The prior starter had been released for doing stupid stuff off the field, so guess what? The team was down to the taxi squad QB by the name of Taylor Heinicke (pronounced High-Nee-Kee, I think).

He had bummed around the league for several years as a back-up, but he was widely considered to be too small to make it in the big time. Small QB’s have had a rough go of it regardless of the Doug Flutie’s and Russell Wilson’s of the world, but it is always a good idea to remember the old adage about the fight in the dog before telling the smaller man he cannot compete.

Now if this were a Hollywood production, the little underdog would step up and win the game, making the GOAT look like a goat in the process. Well, he did come pretty close, and I guess that is pretty good considering what kind of year this has been. We will have to take our gratification where we can find it these days, and having our underdog put in an overdog kind of performance will have to do.

But about next year? Well, let’s just see what happens. It might be worth keeping an eye on the WFT.

 

Millerton resident Theodore Kneeland is a former teacher and coach — and athlete.

bleacher views

Latest News

Speed cameras gain ground in Connecticut, stall in Dutchess County

Speed cameras gain ground in Connecticut, stall in Dutchess County

A speed enforcement camera in New York City.

Photo courtesy NYC DOT

Speed cameras remain a tough sell across northwest Connecticut — and are still absent from local roads in neighboring Dutchess County.

Town leaders across northwest Connecticut are moving cautiously on speed cameras, despite a state law passed in 2023 that allows municipalities to install them. In contrast, no towns or villages in Dutchess County currently operate local automated speed-camera programs, even as New York City has relied on the technology for years.

Keep ReadingShow less
law enforcement

In remembrance: Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible

In remembrance: Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible
In remembrance: Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible
In remembrance: Tim Prentice and the art of making the wind visible

There are artists who make objects, and then there are artists who alter the way we move through the world. Tim Prentice belonged to the latter. The kinetic sculptor, architect and longtime Cornwall resident died in November 2025 at age 95, leaving a legacy of what he called “toys for the wind,” work that did not simply occupy space but activated it, inviting viewers to slow down, look longer and feel more deeply the invisible forces that shape daily life.

Prentice received a master’s degree from the Yale School of Art and Architecture in 1960, where he studied with German-born American artist and educator Josef Albers, taking his course once as an undergraduate and again in graduate school.In “The Air Made Visible,” a 2024 short film by the Vision & Art Project produced by the American Macular Degeneration Fund, a nonprofit organization that documents artists working with vision loss, Prentice spoke of his admiration for Albers’ discipline and his ability to strip away everything but color. He recalled thinking, “If I could do that same thing with motion, I’d have a chance of finding a new form.”

Keep ReadingShow less
people
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.

Strategic partnership unites design, architecture and construction

Strategic partnership unites design, architecture and construction

Hyalite Builders is leading the structural rehabilitation of The Stissing Center in Pine Plains.

Provided

For homeowners overwhelmed by juggling designers, architects and contractors, a new Salisbury-based collaboration is offering a one-team approach from concept to construction. Casa Marcelo Interior Design Studio, based in Salisbury, has joined forces with Charles Matz Architect, led by Charles Matz, AIA RIBA, and Hyalite Builders, led by Matt Soleau. The alliance introduces an integrated design-build model that aims to streamline the sometimes-fragmented process of home renovation and new construction.

“The whole thing is based on integrated services,” said Marcelo, founder of Casa Marcelo. “Normally when clients come to us, they are coming to us for design. But there’s also some architecture and construction that needs to happen eventually. So, I thought, why don’t we just partner with people that we know we can work well with together?”

Keep ReadingShow less
architecture

‘The Dark’ turns midwinter into a weeklong arts celebration

‘The Dark’ turns midwinter into a weeklong arts celebration

Autumn Knight will perform as part of PS21’s “The Dark.”

Provided

This February, PS21: Center for Contemporary Performance in Chatham, New York, will transform the depths of midwinter into a radiant week of cutting-edge art, music, dance, theater and performance with its inaugural winter festival, The Dark. Running Feb. 16–22, the ambitious festival features more than 60 international artists and over 80 performances, making it one of the most expansive cultural events in the region.

Curated to explore winter as a season of extremes — community and solitude, fire and ice, darkness and light — The Dark will take place not only at PS21’s sprawling campus in Chatham, but in theaters, restaurants, libraries, saunas and outdoor spaces across Columbia County. Attendees can warm up between performances with complimentary sauna sessions, glide across a seasonal ice-skating rink or gather around nightly bonfires, making the festival as much a social winter experience as an artistic one.

Keep ReadingShow less
performances

Tanglewood Learning Institute expands year-round programming

Tanglewood Learning Institute expands year-round programming

Exterior of the Linde Center for Music and Learning.

Mike Meija, courtesy of the BSO

The Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI), based at Tanglewood, the legendary summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, is celebrating an expanded season of adventurous music and arts education programming, featuring star performers across genres, BSO musicians, and local collaborators.

Launched in the summer of 2019 in conjunction with the opening of the Linde Center for Music and Learning on the Tanglewood campus, TLI now fulfills its founding mission to welcome audiences year-round. The season includes a new jazz series, solo and chamber recitals, a film series, family programs, open rehearsals and master classes led by world-renowned musicians.

Keep ReadingShow less
education
google preferred source

Want more of our stories on Google? Click here to make us a Preferred Source.