Dez Bryant Catch: Former teammate Danny Coale can relate to overturned catch

Danny Coale can relate to Dez Bryant’s belief that he made a game-changing catch

Dez Bryant’s catch has the eye of the national media after a game-changing review that overturned the catch and was a factor in the Dallas Cowboys’ loss.  Former Cowboys’ teammate Danny Coale knows how it feels to have a game-changing catch be overturned by review and costing his team the game.

Coale’s senior season at Virginia Tech ended in an overtime thriller in the Sugar Bowl against Michigan.  Coale caught a pass in overtime to give the Hokies the lead only to have the catch reviewed and overturned by video replay.  ESPN’s announcers believed that Coale caught the touchdown pass, but the controversial call cost the Hokies a program-changing win.

As Bleacher Report put it, you must have conclusive evidence to overturn a call.  Judging by how long it took the referees to come to a decision, their confidence in overturning the call may not have been 100 percent.  In addition to the ESPN crew agreeing that the call should stand, so did Yahoo Sports! writer Richard Deitsch.

Dez Bryant’s catch was originally ruled a catch on the field, like Coale’s.  Bryant’s catch was also overturned based on the merit that he did not maintain possession when he went to the ground, like Coale’s.  Bryant’s catch put the Cowboys in a position to take the lead against the Packers and win the game, like Coale’s.  The similarities are striking between the two plays.

Professional athletes across multiple sports took to Twitter to voice their opinion of the catch, and many their disapproval of the rule.  Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Brandon McCarthy may have said it best in 2013.

NFL fans across the country continue to debate whether Bryant’s play should have been ruled a catch or incomplete.  Lions fans and players in particular believe that the ruling is karma for the overturned pass interference call that cost the Lions an opportunity to beat the Cowboys during the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

Virginia Tech fans and Dallas Cowboys fans were left with the same bitter taste in their mouths and feeling like they have been punched in the gut.  However, Dez Bryant seems to be moving past the fact that he thought he caught the pass.  This will be a play that many will not forget, but everyone will move on, just like Virginia Tech and Hokies’ fans did after Coale’s controversial catch.

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