Not really. To go on with the story, there were 20 stadiums across the country with the whole setup (remote control PCs, SGI Octanes, etc) so every day we worked hard to either correct bugs or implement required features (because we were so late), then I proceeded to push the new program to the central server.

Usually every day, before the match the guy in charge of the setup at the stadium would call me to ask if there was any changes to the setup, programs, etc. One day in Lyon there was to be the first match that could end with extra time. We implemented the required functionality in the remote program during the previous night, so I was home a few minutes before the match was about to begin when I realized that Carlos (the guy in charge) hadn't called me. Uh oh... So while the broadcast began, I called him "hey Carlos, you didn't call! -Yeah, no worry, I know how tired you are I didn't want to bother you, I can manage it... - Sure, but did you install the new version, the one that support extended time? -Uh, no... -Well, let's pray..."

You should know that the program was several tens of megabytes large, and had to be downloaded through an ISDN line (64k). The very same line had to stay free during the match to transmit statistics data to the central server, so it was absolutely necessary to download the installer at least a full hour before the match...

What do you think happened? I watched the match in anguish. Half-time, still 0-0. 89 minutes, 0-0. God hates us... End of regular time, 0-0, extra time!

Carlos calls back: "- what should I do now? - just reset the counter and run the extra time like a regular new match."

The problem was that the program didn't manage the final score display, with the scores for the two half-times and two extra time periods...

So when the match ended, I told Carlos: "-OK, so you have to run the final score card manually. As the program can't send the correct data to fill in the screen, you must enter the data manually"

Fortunately I had sweated long nights on these screens, I knew precisely how many fields there were ... So I said: "-go to the Octane keyboard. On the keypad, press 1001 + enter. Press Tab 4 times. Press 0. Press tab twice. Press 0. Press Tab 3 times. Press 2. Press Tab twice. Press 1. Press ctrl + "+" on the Keypad. Press Ctrl+Enter. Say "On air!" to the director through the intercom".

I was watching my TV, like 1 billion other people. The score card appeared, with the correct values. I can't overstate how relieved I was.

So during the finals, for the very first time, the program was complete. Nothing was missing. Everything went on perfectly smoothly. So sitting next to the Octanes, I spent the whole match playing Unreal on a spare PC. I didn't watch a single second of the finals. I was done with football once and for all. I've never watch a single match ever since.