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By Bill Contz
For the Mirror
Various oddities and strange occurrences are often associated with Friday the 13th, and a quick glance at the final tallies on the NFL scoreboard last weekend proved to be no exception.
Four of the six wild-card matchups featured teams that generated exactly 31 points -- the most creative of which being the Dallas Cowboys' and their normally reliable kicker, Brett Maher, who managed to botch an incredible four extra point attempts (that's two pushes, a hook and a doink if you're scoring at home).
There is no truth to the rumor that his teammates made him fly back to Texas in the overhead luggage compartment.
A total of 271 NFL regular season games were played in 2022.
Exactly 15 involved a team scoring 31 points. Do the math, and that's a paltry 5.5% compared to the 67% we witnessed last weekend.
In this era of 2-point conversions, overtime and 15-yard extra points, it appears that this previously common score count is anything but.
There has to be some connection here other than the obvious being the number 31 is the inverse of 13.
As such, I'll decide to waste the reader's time by devoting the rest of this column to the often neglected, strangely underrated number 31.
First off, 31 is a prime number -- meaning it is indivisible by any whole number other than itself. So there's that.
Multiple numerology websites tell us the number 31 is associated with creativity, change and progress.
An example of a sentence using each of these terms would be "I envision next year's Steeler offense with its seasoned second-year quarterback at the helm demonstrating more creativity as long as there is a radical change in either the scheme or playcalling, otherwise fans will see little, if any, real progress."
Baskin-Robbins once prided itself on offering its customers 31 varieties, which originally represented a different ice cream flavor for each day of the month, meaning we all got stiffed a few flavors in February as well as the other months which lacked a 31st day.
Overlooked fact: The first four odd-numbered months of the calendar year all have 31 days.
Back in 1968, Detroit Tiger Denny McLain was credited with an incredible 31 wins against just six losses, becoming the last Major League Baseball pitcher to win 30 or more games during a season.
Multiple MLB Hall of Famers including Bob Gibson, Fergie Jenkins, Mike Piazza, Dave Winfield and Greg Maddox all wore number 31.
Ditto NBA Hall of Fame enshrines Zelmo Beaty, Spencer Haywood, Reggie Miller and Jack Twyman.
Shane Conlan, Andre Collins and Paul Posluszny each earned All-American honors while wearing that jersey number at Penn State.
Hockey goalie Grant Fuhr also wore 31 while winning five Stanley Cups during his decorated career.
Fuhr later became the first Black player ever inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Speaking of hockey, until the Seattle Kraken joined the NHL prior to the 2021-22 season, scheduling had to be an absolute nightmare for a 31-team league.
To date, 15 PGA players have won at least 31 professional events. Unless you include the injury-plagued Tiger Woods, none of the 15 are current members of the PGA Tour.
Lastly, I celebrate my wedding anniversary every May 31. Shockingly, 2023 represents the 37th straight year my wife, Melanie, puts up with my nonsense.
Contz was a starting offensive tackle on Penn State's first national championship team in 1982 and played six NFL seasons with New Orleans and Cleveland. He published a book in 2017, "When the Lions Roared: Joe Paterno and One of College Football's Greatest Teams." He resides in Pittsburgh.