Kyle Brotzman: Why We Should All Pull for Boise State's Kicker in Las Vegas Bowl

Kyle Brotzman gets to kick the football one more time tonight when his Boise State team faces Utah in the Las Vegas Bowl.

We should all be pulling for this kid.

We should because he missed those two field goals that would have given his team a perfect 12-0 record and a BCS bowl berth.

We should because any of us who didn't come through at that moment that would have made us heroes know how he feels.

We should because those of us who made the last out with runners in position to lose the game that could have advanced us in the tournament that led to the Little League World Series know firsthand how Kyle Brotzman feels. He carries a burden that will spend a lifetime in his memory bank.

We should because so many who have played any sport know what it's like to miss the moment.

In case you were holed up in a secret bunker the past few months, Brotzman missed a 26-yard field goal with two seconds left that would have given his team a victory over Nevada and a perfect season. In case you pulled a Rip Van Winkle and slept through Boise State's season-long pursuit of the BCS title game, Brotzman then missed a 29-yarder in overtime that cost his team that perfect season, instead it was a 34-31 devastating loss.

We should pull for Brotzman because he's one of us, one of the little guys who fell off the stage when the spotlight blinded him, not once, but twice. That last out in the Little League tourney was almost 50 years ago, but I remember it like yesterday. The team needed a hit to win. With two outs, the ball sailed to right field, just not far enough, and the hopes of the kids from the Quantico Marine Base evaporated instantly.

Kyle's stage was a lot bigger, much brighter than that kid's baseball game. A possible shot at a national championship was on the line.

Brotzman found out so painfully that life happens.

He was threatened, harassed, and that's just plain rotten.

You have to root for him tonight and join forces with his old high school coach, Mike Virden, who offered the ultimate consolation in a situation where consolation seemed impossible.

"I love you man," is what Coach Virden texted to his guy Kyle.

Total class, just the right thing at the right time.

Unfortunately, Boise State is not in the Rose Bowl to make it's case, it is in just another one of these bowl games that simply mean nothing except to local economies. Fans still show up and spend money.

So wouldn't it be something if Kyle Brotzman kicked the winning field goal tonight?

Whether he does or whether he doesn't, we should pull for him.

We should because he's human and he's simply one of us.