Thanks to an Idaho man who creates Lego animations as a hobby, Brigham Young fans can relive the glory and Nebraska fans the misery of the "Hail Mary" that ended the Cougars' victory over the Cornhuskers last year.
Same with the Michigan State and Michigan fans who saw the Wolverines' botched punt decide that game.
The plays are captured in stunning detail with those classic plastic toy building pieces, and the videos have generated a buzz among fans.
Jared Jacobs, a 38-year-old marketing specialist in Boise, said Wednesday he re-created each play on the kitchen table in the apartment he shares with his wife and three children.
It took 30 hours to make the Lego video of BYU's Mitch Mathews catching Tanner Mangum's 42-yard pass with no time left to beat Nebraska 33-28 in Lincoln. Jacobs said the play was a memorable start to the 2015 season, and he was encouraged to make the animation by a friend who works at BYU.
Jacobs said he spent considerably more time re-creating the scene of Michigan punter Blake O'Neill bobbling a low snap, fumbling the ball away, and Jalen Watts-Jackson running it back to give Michigan State a 27-23 victory. Jacobs said the Big Ten Network asked him to make that one, but a licensing issue with Legos prevented the network from using it.
Jacobs said he started messing around with Legos a few years ago when he re-created a scene from the AMC show Breaking Bad. He put the animation on Instagram, and one of the show's actors, Daniel Moncada, shared it.
"All of a sudden, I got a cult following from people who were fans of Breaking Bad," Jacobs said. "I felt I had to keep making more. Had he not shared that and reached out, I probably wouldn't be doing this."
High-dollar tickets
Seattle Seahawks fans are known for their loud support of their team, which enjoys a distinct advantage at CenturyLink Field. It turns out that the "12s" (not to be confused with Texas A&M's proprietary "12th Man") are also putting their money where their roaring mouths are.
At an average of $466, prices for Seahawks tickets are the NFL's highest on the secondary market, edging out the Patriots ($461) and Broncos ($454). This information comes to us from TicketIQ, which claims to "provide consumers with the most comprehensive set of secondary market options" and put together a report on "the state of the NFL ticket market heading into the 2016 season."
The next 10 teams after the top three in terms of average ticket price rank as follows: Bears ($377), Packers ($372), Steelers ($339), Giants ($321), Vikings ($315), Cowboys ($303), Rams ($284), Eagles ($247), Redskins ($238) and 49ers ($238). In the case of San Francisco, which went 5-11 last season, that represents a 40 percent decline from 2014, its first at brand-new Levi's Stadium.
The Jaguars were at the bottom in average secondary-market ticket price at $141, followed by the Chiefs ($143), Browns ($145), Colts ($152) and Lions ($154).
If Cowboys fans are disappointed to see their beloved squad rank just ninth in highest ticket price, they'll be happy to know that Dallas checked in as the most coveted road draw, at an average of $363 for its games away from AT&T Stadium. The next five most-attractive visiting teams were the Packers ($349), Patriots ($300), Bears ($280), Seahawks ($277) and Panthers ($274).
A beer run
From Dwight Perry of The Seattle Times:
"Some jilted Rams fans won't be crying in their beer this season.
"Hotshots Sports Bar & Grill, with 10 locations in Missouri, plans to lampoon the NFL team's move from St. Louis to L.A. by lowering the price of domestic draft pitchers on game days by $1 for each TD scored against the Rams."
Sports quiz
Who are the only two Major League players to hit a grand slam in extra innings of a postseason game?
Sports answer
The Mets' Robin Ventura vs. Atlanta on Oct. 11, 1999, (15th inning) and the Rangers' Nelson Cruz vs. Detroit on Oct. 10, 2011 (11th inning).
Sports on 08/25/2016