A Canadian football fan missed out on $1 million jackpot because of a penalty many felt was a bad call
Kuldys had the chance to win the grand prize in the "Safeway/Sobeys $1,000,000 Touchdown To Win" contest. One lucky shopper a week is selected to win $1 million if two kickoffs are returned for touchdowns in the same game.
During Thursday's battle between the Argonauts and Blue Bombers, Winnipeg receiver Ryan Lankford took the opening kickoff 105 yards to the house, meaning Kudlys had the rest of the game to get a second kickoff returned for a touchdown and cash in her winnings.
Her big opportunity came in the second quarter, when Martese Jackson, who had already taken a punt return in for a touchdown earlier in the game, broke free on a kickoff return and escaped the last of his potential tacklers and crossed into the end zone.
Unfortunately for Kuldys, the referees threw what many felt was a brutal flag for an illegal block, a block that was irrelevant to the outcome of the play. That flag cost Kuldys and her family $1 million.
You can watch the play below and judge the call for yourself.
After the game, Kuldys was in disbelief, and disappointed as you might expect.
"My heart just sank and I thought, 'Oh my God, how close could I get to $1 million,'" Kuldys told CBC Sports. "You got to be kidding me. My stomach is in knots just thinking about it right now."
Kuldys' husband, a diehard CFL fan, was also furious with the result, faulting the referees for making a bad call on the field. "That should have been a touchdown," he said. "I need to get in touch with the CFL. The guy was eight yards behind the guy running into the end zone. And the Bomber guy fell on his own."
The commentators handling the postgame analysis of the game seemed to agree.
As a consolation, the Kuldys did receive a $25,000 entertainment system through the contest, but it's a hard prize to be thrilled with when you know just how close you were to becoming a millionaire.