If you’re a big movie buff like me, you were probably watching the Academy Awards on Sunday night. I watched almost the entire show, from host Jimmy Kimmel making candy literally rain down from the sky, to Kimmel bringing in a tour bus of unsuspecting tourists into the ceremony (shoutout to Gary from Chicago), to Casey Affleck’s win in the Best Actor in a Leading Role category. When it got to the end of the show, the night had gone well and people were going to talk about one — if not all — of those things tomorrow, right?
Wrong.
All of those things were completely forgotten after the presentation for the biggest award of the night, Best Picture, was interrupted after it was revealed the presenters used the wrong card and, therefore, announced the wrong winner. The original announcement was “La La Land,” but the real winner was “Moonlight.” Watching it all unfold on live television was a sight to behold. Steve Harvey started to creep back into our minds.
How could they have made such a huge mistake?
How the wrong card got into the presenter’s hands is a question for another time. Perhaps, someday, someone will film a documentary about it that will win an Oscar for Best Documentary.
Within the immediate aftermath of the confusion, I thought to myself, “The last time I saw something this unbelievable was ... three weeks ago.” That’s right. My mind connected what was unfolding at an awards show to what happened at a sporting event three weeks ago in Houston: the Super Bowl. With about 17 minutes left in the game, the Atlanta Falcons had a comfortable 28-3 lead and were on their way to their first Super Bowl Championship in franchise history.
Then Tom Brady happened.
Brady led the New England Patriots on an incredible comeback to tie the game and eventually, win it in overtime.
I remember thinking at the time of that game, “I haven’t seen something like that happen since ... November.” That was when the Cleveland Indians held a 3-1 series lead over the Chicago Cubs in the 2016 World Series. The Indians needed one more win to claim their first championship since 1948.
They never got it.
After losing Games 5 and 6 and just coming up short in Game 7, the Indians went home empty handed while the Cubs went on a parade with their first championship in 108 years. I remember thinking at the time of that game “I haven’t seen something like that happen since ... June.”
Notice the trend happening here?
June was when the Golden State Warriors held a 3-1 series lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals. The Warriors were on the cusp of winning their second straight title and completing the greatest season ever. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Lebron James and the Cavaliers completed the largest comeback in NBA Finals history, becoming the first team to win it all after trailing in the series, 3-1. Thus, the “insert team” blew a 3-1 lead jokes were born.
Well, here we are on March 1 — 3/1, coincidence? The NHL and NBA Playoffs haven’t even started yet, spring training in the MLB just got underway, yet the joke is rearing its ugly head once again.
What happened to “La La Land” on Sunday was almost too similar to what happened to the Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Indians and Golden State Warriors in their respective sports when the light shined brightest.
“La La Land” was about to claim the ultimate prize after a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations.
But, they just couldn’t get that one final vote.
