Stoerner endures, enjoys turnabout

ROB KEYS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- Clint Stoerner has spent the better part of his four seasons at Arkansas poker-faced.
But for a few precious seconds Saturday afternoon, even the steely Stoerner couldn't mask his emotions.
Stoerner's 23-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Lucas late in the fourth quarter had given Arkansas a 28-24 upset of No. 3 Tennessee.
It also had allowed Stoerner to escape the demons that have followed him practically everywhere he's been since his infamous fumble 364 days ago in Knoxville.
And even on that day, Stoerner sat stone-faced, answering question after question after question.
But after retreating to a corner stall in Arkansas' locker room to do a radio interview, Stoerner let his emotions get the better of him -- if only for a few, fleeting seconds.
Stoerner stood, took a couple of steps, then stopped and put his head in his hands. When he looked up to answer the first of what must have seemed like a million questions, Stoerner's face was flush and tears welled in his eyes.
"It's tough," Stoerner said when asked to explain what he was feeling. "I hold a lot in, and this last year the way everybody talked about how good you handle things and how well you've handled yourself with the media and everything, the fumble and all that -- you keep telling yourself, 'It's just a game, it's just a game.'
"And you know, I've learned a lot since that deal and I've gone through a lot since then. This is just the icing on the cake."
And just like that, Stoerner was poker-faced again, fielding question after question after question -- this time about how he had won, not lost, the game.
But as usual, Stoerner didn't take much credit. He talked about how well the offensive line blocked, how hard the running backs ran, how the defense kept Arkansas in the game.
And of course, he talked again about how he has spent the past year dealing with a play some thought he'd never live down.
"I tried to do what everybody says is the manly thing to do, to just take it all in, to sit there and take it and take it and take it," Stoerner said. "But when you take it for a year, man, it's tough."
And make no mistake, Stoerner has heard more than his share of jokes, taunts and other assorted catcalls this season.
"I hear it every week on the road," Stoerner said. "Even at home I hear it sometimes. It doesn't matter where you're at, you hear it."
Saturday wasn't an exception. When he was introduced before the game with the rest of the Arkansas seniors, Stoerner got a derisive ovation from the Tennessee fans on hand.
Stoerner even got a reminder during a second-half timeout.
"One of their linebackers said he hoped I didn't fumble like I did last year, and I said, 'I was waiting to see how long it would take you to say something about that,' " Stoerner said.
"But that's part of it. That's what makes this so sweet. You put up with all that, and you hear it and hear it and hear it ... so to end it like this is great."
The game ended with the ball securely in Stoerner's hands. Taking three snaps as the final seconds ticked off the clock, then dropping to one knee each time, Stoerner secured a victory that prompted a delirious on-field celebration.
When asked what it felt like to cradle the football on that last play, knowing that there would be no fumble this time, Stoerner almost lost his poker face again.
"It felt good," Stoerner said with his mouth hinting at a smile. "It felt real good."

This article was published on Sunday, November 14, 1999

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