Thursday we delivered another quality broadcast and included more pleas for the flag, but when the show ended there were still no quality leads. No brew and no booze at all until the flag surfaced.

That night I decided to levy some accountability against myself. The show ended and I had a real suspicion that this was going to go the same way the search for the original flag went. As the segments and hours passed without a solid lead, the list grew and so did my anxiety that it would not turn up. And so I mentioned it and offered a few items as a reward for its return and tried to genuinely convey how serious it was. I finally realized Wednesday, July 16th, that not bringing it up and having it remain missing would be a bigger crime against the Nation than losing two flags in four months. Shame would be too strong of a word, but not by much. I clearly have a flag losing problem and I've hit rock bottom. And oh yeah there were other times I had left the flag in peril only to have a national rescue it from the hands of misguided and angry listeners of a rival station. I had just done that back in March and there was not a positive ending to that one. And I didn't want to bring it up, not in the halls and not on air. I waited awkwardly at the end of conversations with each of my coworkers, hoping they would volunteer the information that they had picked up the flag. Asking myself 'how do you lose two hand made flags in four months'? I hoped a colleague from the station had picked it up. I'm not making excuses for neglecting the flag quickly paying my tab, saying my goodbyes, and jumping in Walt the Barber's Nissan for the drive back to Dallas. A missed opportunity is a historical event. Some would argue it's worse in the World Cup because there are only three games in group play and the tournament comes every four years. What had been a moment of complete patriotic sports jubilation quickly turned to stunned silence. Until late in the match when Portugal equalized 2-2 - a mere 30 seconds from time. It was the.OK my bad back to the story.ДЇor 95 minutes that afternoon the flag in it's black, red, and white, and the lads in their red, white, and blue, had a strong run. The flag ensured you could see through the soccer-mania that had whipped people into a blind frenzy of believing that we would win. Three months later, it's time for a big Fan World Cup viewing party in Fort Worth and it was important the flag came along. The flag serves a very important role as a rallying point for nationals looking to fellowship and as a beacon to help forge contact with people unfamiliar with the popular local broadcast.

105.3 sausage fest