Monday, May 15, 2006

Bye, bye Flutie

One of the highlights of college football in 1984 was the victory of Boston College, with quarterback Doug Flutie, over Miami in a regular season game. Today, almost 22 years later, Flutie announced his retirement from professional football at the age of 43.

He will not go down in any NFL record books, or even be remembered as one of that League's heroes. His comparatively short stature and proclivity towards a wide-open, scrambling game made him better suited for Canadian football, and a large, and by far the most active, part of his pro career was spent in the CFL. He spent his last season back at home with the New England Patriots and, on his last play, used a drop kick for a TD conversion. This hadn't been done in the NFL since 1941.

I'll look forward to his next career as a college football analyst and commentator.