Today, in just his third game in a Vikings uniform, Brett Favre orchestrated the greatest comeback in Vikings history. The comeback victory was culminated by the greatest play in NFL regular season history.
It was a Favreian effort. My high school English teacher would berate me for using the root word to define the effort. So not to diminish the play, let us call it a Ruthian (hyperbole) display put up by Favre in today's game against the San Francisco 49ers.
After avoiding a would-be game ending tackler, Favre threw a 32 yard strike to wide receiver, Greg Lewis for the 27-24 lead (and win) with two seconds left on the clock. The play took 10 seconds to complete, which is an eternity in football time. If Will Ferrell's 'Old School' character, 'Frank The Tank' were a Viking, he would kick the field goal stand and then say something like, "That's how you play football!that is how you win a game!"
Ferrell would be correct. Certainly there is drama in a Vinateri game winning field goal or Scott Norwood missed field goal (in their respective Super Bowls). But it is Joe Montana to Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone that amaze us, right? Sports fans recognize that play as 'the catch.'
On 'The Catch' the 49ers were able to make the Super Bowl. Had that catch came in a regular season game it is doubtful that any of us would remember that play. Instead we have magical images of Montana throwing the ball off of his back foot and then a mythical belief that Clark soared high for the ball when in fact he got just a few inches off of the ground (camera angles can be fun).
That play on 3rd down floater from the 5 yard line is an extremely heralded to mythical proportions. The miraculous Favre/Lewis play from the 32 yard line required Favre to buy much more time and come much closer to being tackled. And on this catch Lewis really did have to majestically soar horizontally across the endzone in order to reach the frozen rope that Favre was able to unleash as he was hit behind the line of scrimmage.
It is actually tragic that more was not on the line for this play. It would have been great to have a Super Bowl on the line for that play if only to have such a high level play immortalized like it should be.
Nonetheless, it was a special play for Vikings fans as their team's perfect 3-0 record was saved. The ten play, 80 yard drive with no time-outs will give the Vikings much needed momentum as they head into next week's game against their arch rival, the Green Bay Packers.
It is an intense rivalry is much more intense this year with the belief of many that Favre and many of his supporters want vengeance against his former team that was unwilling to have him back after he led them to the 2007 NFC Championship Game. But we all know about that and any football fan that does not has been living under a rock (clique noted).
Today marked the first 300 yard passing game by a Viking in 63 games. It also marked the first catch by Greg Lewis as a Viking. Many Vikings fans did not like that it when the Vikings dropped last year's team receiving yards leader, Bobby Wade to pick up Lewis. This catch will certainly dissolve any bitter feelings that the fans may have had.
The Catch but not 'The Catch'
Greg Lewis's game winning catch was an amazing display. He extend his body reminiscent of a gymnast leaping across a mat at full speed. As he made the catch he barely landed inside the line with his left foot and then had the presence of mind to drag his right foot. To coordinate all of that in one motion while defenders tried to prevent him from making the catch was extremely difficult.
Brett Favre had made a brilliant throw but it would have been for naught had Greg Lewis not made a magnificent reception. Even after the catch, Minnesota fans were half way expecting an officials' video replay review to conclude that a foot was out of bounds or that Lewis did not completely have control of the ball.
Vikings fans had to await the result of the play even more nervously than they had on the actual drive. When the officials verified their original touch down call was correct, their joy was complete.
Foot note: A special no thanks goes to Major League Baseball for clearly ordering youtube to disallow commercial Derek Jeter videos (and undoubtedly many other videos) to be placed on youtube. Shots Heard finds that to be very fan unfriendly and no amount of hiding behind copyright laws is justifiable. Shots Heard did not use an intended Jeter analogy for this article when videos of Derek Jeter could not be found.
Related Video Links
Percy Harvin's kickoff TD return
No comments:
Post a Comment