25 years ago today ....

[Victor7]

You all know what happened.

Can't believe its been 25 long years already.

Where were you when that kick sailed w... r....

I refuse to type it.

[Mr. Miyagi]

Happy Scott Norwood Day!

[stuckincincy]

IIRC, Thomas was out in the open and should have juked for a few more yards. Or do I not correctly recall?

[Luisito23]

I was too small, so thankfully I don't really remember...

The Cowgirls' games where the ones when I started following Buffalo and football altogether.

[BLeonard]

IIRC, Thomas was out in the open and should have juked for a few more yards. Or do I not correctly recall?

Not on the final run before the spike and kick... Not much more Thurman could have done... Giants were on all sides of him.

OT: I was 12, in my mother's living room. So yeah, I remember it. Upset that he missed, but wasn't as into football back then, so it wasn't as big of a blow to me as it would be if it happened today.

One thing I always think about when watching that kick... Why was the ball spotted on the right hash? I would think that Kelly's spike would have centered the spot, but apparently not. If that ball is snapped from the left hash, it's good... Possibly even good if centered.

-Bill

[Dr. Lecter]

I was in college - year 2

The Mark Ingram play was worse and more maddening than that, as well as Hostelter holding onto the ball in the End Zone

[Joe Fo Sho]

One thing I always think about when watching that kick... Why was the ball spotted on the right hash? I would think that Kelly's spike would have centered the spot, but apparently not. If that ball is snapped from the left hash, it's good... Possibly even good if centered.

I don't remember what happened as I was too young, but if the ball was spotted on the right hash before Kelly spiked it, that's where it would be spotted for the next play. An incomplete pass doesn't change which hash the ball is on, only running plays and completed passes/sacks do that.

[Dr. Lecter]

And it's entirely possible that Norwood wanted to kick from the hash - some kickers prefer to do that

[pmoon6]

Bill Parcells paid the Navy chopper pilot to come in closer during the kick. Where do you think Belichick got his bag of tricks?

Kidding aside, Reich didn't turn the laces forward. There was also an explanation on 30 for 30. Norwood was hooking the ball in practice, but when he had to make the boot from that far away, he gave it everything he had so it didn't draw back in.

I also think they could have run another play with 8 seconds.

Hindsight is 20/20.

[BLeonard]

I don't remember what happened as I was too young, but if the ball was spotted on the right hash before Kelly spiked it, that's where it would be spotted for the next play. An incomplete pass doesn't change which hash the ball is on, only running plays and completed passes/sacks do that.

Yeah, Thurman's run prior to the spike was to the right.


And it's entirely possible that Norwood wanted to kick from the hash - some kickers prefer to do that

Thought of that as well... But, I'm guessing Joe is correct. For whatever reason, I was under the impression that a QB spike would, in effect, "center" the spot for the next play.

-Bill

[Albany,n.y.]

I was there sitting in the endzone. Sec FF, Aisle 62, Row 44, Seat 16.

[pmoon6]

Yeah, Thurman's run prior to the spike was to the right.



Thought of that as well... But, I'm guessing Joe is correct. For whatever reason, I was under the impression that a QB spike would, in effect, "center" the spot for the next play.

-BillNo. The ball is placed in the same position as when he spiked it which was on the hashmark. If you want to center it, you have to run a play.

Nowadays, it depends on who the team is and who the NFL wants to hoist the trophy.

New England would get the ball placed in the middle of the field in the same situation.

[DetDannyWilliams]

I've heard rumors that the Giants were offsides on the kick

[YardRat]

I was on my hands and knees in my living room about 5 feet from the TV silently repeating 'One time...one time...'

[Ginger Vitis]

1) On the Thurman run before the spike and kick... if Al Edwards holds his block a bit longer the eventual tackler would not have caught Thurman and Thurman very likely gets another 7 to 10 yards..

2) Kenneth Davis theory is the chopper above the stadium was close enough that the wind casue the ball to hook more than it should have

3) Everybody remembers the "Mark Ingram 3rd and 14" but earlier in the d rive when the Giants were on there 15 or 20 yard line on 3rd and 8 Dave Meggett caught a pass 5 yards short of the 1st down and broke 2 tackles to get the 1st down

4) Andre Reed dropped 2 catchable balls on 2 consecutive drives in the 2nd quarter when the Bills were ahead 12-3 that killed momentum

5) On the 61 yard pass to James Lofton I don't think Jim made a good throw .. If he leads James a a bit more Lofton scores a TD instead of settling for the FG.. On a drive in the 2nd quarter when the Bills were ahead 12-3 on a 2nd and 10 Jim missed a wide open Keith Mckellar down the seam that would have given the Bills a 1st down at there 45.. Jim was off in that game

If Trent Dilfer was the worst QB to win a Super Bowl in the last 25 years.. Then Jeff Hostetler is the 2nd worse although Brad Johnson may be a close 2nd

[OpIv37]

I was in the family room of the house I grew up in in the suburbs of Rochester. The room was covered with the full page posters of Bills players that the local paper had been printing for the last few weeks (can't believe my mom let me do that). I was 11 and just starting to understand the rules of the game.

When he missed, everyone was so upset. I thought the game wasn't over because there was still time on the clock, but I either didn't understand that the Giants could just kill the clock or I was too caught up in the moment to realize it. When someone explained it to me (I actually think it was more my dad yelling it to me, and I can't say I blame him), I just sat there stunned.

[pmoon6]

I was in the family room of the house I grew up in in the suburbs of Rochester. The room was covered with the full page posters of Bills players that the local paper had been printing for the last few weeks (can't believe my mom let me do that). I was 11 and just starting to understand the rules of the game.

When he missed, everyone was so upset. I thought the game wasn't over because there was still time on the clock, but I either didn't understand that the Giants could just kill the clock or I was too caught up in the moment to realize it. When someone explained it to me (I actually think it was more my dad yelling it to me, and I can't say I blame him), I just sat there stunned.Hmmmm. This explains a lot.

Dad yelling at you when the Bills lose. This would create a persona where you're mortified that if the Bills lose you'll get the same treatment.

So, you have built a defense mechanism that you never think that they will win so you can't get yelled at.

Now tell us about your mother.

[Night Train]

I was a Warrant Officer working at Naval Intel in Suitland Md.

Arrived back at my house in Bowie to catch kickoff, then basically cried at the ending. :(

[kscdogbillsfan1221]

i was 9 years old and in fourth grade i believe. I had essentially taught myself the rules of the game as my parents are naturalized americans who (at the time) didn't give a rats ass about football, and I had done something to piss my mom off a week before so i was grounded and not allowed to watch the game because she knew how that would be a pretty big punishment. That said, she let up and let me watch part of the third quarter before they sent me to bed.

The next morning, i woke up and ran downstairs to open the paper to see what happened, and the headlines from the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle were 'Bills just miss super win.'

[BillsImpossible]

It hurts just as much today as it did 25 years ago, if not more.

I was 11.

The older I get the more it hurts to watch or even think of it.

After he missed that kick, I knew I would be a Bills fan for the rest of my life.

[Mace]

I was in my living room, in my cozy little apartment, on my comfortable couch, watching my TV, with the lights off and the room filled with the color, on the phone with a female friend, a Buffalonian who had moved to NYC, and called so we could watch the end together. I wanted to watch it by myself and cherish it.

When they lined up for the kick, she said something like "it never goes well for Buffalo" and I knew she was right. He kicked it, and she said something like "that poor poor city", even as the ball was barely in the air, and I knew she was right. I think I said something like, "okay then, figures.", and I remember exhaling a deep breath.

It was ok. I was still young enough yet to have hopes and dreams, my career was going well, the future was bright, and there would be a next year for us. They amazed me by being that good to begin with, really that good. They'd continue to amaze me, and I'd continue to believe next year might just be the time Buffalo stopped being "that poor poor city."

Haha, go figure.

[imbondz]

I was a freshman at college watching it with people I barely knew. After they lost, I ran into my dorm room and sat in the middle of my room staring at the tv trying not to cry. I spent the next 2 weeks ridiculously depressed. Over it now tho. Phew!

[stuckincincy]

I was a Warrant Officer working at Naval Intel in Suitland Md.

Arrived back at my house in Bowie to catch kickoff, then basically cried at the ending. :(

Hello, Mister Night Train. Warrant Officer is a most interesting rank...