The Greatest Redemption Show on Turf
The Greatest Redemption Show on Turf
February 3, 2002, was the day most people would remember as the start of what is now the greatest modern dynasty in sports.
But for me, it was the beginning of the end of my childhood heroes and a long, long, long seventeen years.
On February 3, 2002, the New England Patriots shocked the world by upsetting Kurt Warner and the “Greatest Show on Turf” St. Louis Rams by a score of 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI.
That Patriot team was led by second-year pro quarterback Tom Brady (pick #199, barely started at Michigan, blah blah blah.. You know the story), and former Cleveland Browns castoff coach Bill Belichick. The game was sealed by an iconic forty-eight yard field goal by kicker Adam Vinatieri, as the clock expired.
As Vinatieri’s kick soared through the uprights at the Louisiana Superdome, I was at a loss of words but overthrown with sadness and sorrow. How could this have happened?
The Rams were an overwhelming favorite by fourteen points, which is tied for the third highest point differential in super bowl history still to this day.
Seventeen years later, Belichick, Brady, and Vinatieri are arguably the greatest players in NFL history at their positions. All three will be sure to hear their name immortalized in Canton, Ohio five years after they file their retirement papers.
For me, the anger eventually subsided as I had high hopes for Warner, Marshall Faulk and the future of my favorite team.
That, of course, was a ten-year old’s misguided fantasy of longevity in a sport built around brutality and free agency, severely shortening any sustained window of success.
It didn’t take long for it all to fall apart. Warner had about a hundred concussions. Faulk and Bruce got old. Lovie Smith left for Chicago, and Mike Martz led the team straight into mediocrity.
The fan never dies inside, but losing became far too regular. After a while, it was second nature. Winning was a memory, always seeming to be such a foreign notion.
Flash forward until two Sundays ago, where like usual, I sat there hoping for a return to glory... hoping that the “Greatest Show” was on the cusp of a very delayed encore.
The only team that stood in front of a super bowl return, was a future hall of fame quarterback Drew Brees and the home team New Orleans Saints.
After the Rams faced a 13-0 hole, they fought back to take the game in overtime, with a final of 26-23. The title game had its fair share of drama, missed calls, questionable clock management, and ended with an improbable fifty-seven yard game winner by Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein.
As Zuerlein split the uprights, that feeling of childhood joy encapsulated by mind and spirit. I looked up and for the first time since I was ten, the Rams were relevant again.
I took a moment, stepped back and enjoyed what this moment represented. It had been a long season up until that point. I had heard many critics sharing skepticism over the Rams chances to legitimately contend for the Lombardi trophy.... but that no longer mattered. The Rams were headed to the dance with a chance to dethrone the same quarterback and head coach that had ended the “Greatest Show on Turf” those many years ago.
Unfortunately for me, however, Twitter, Facebook, and ESPN had quickly changed my emotions for the much worse.
Of course, this story was centered around the controversy of the no call decision for Rams Nickell Robey-Coleman’s interference on Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis, on a key third down play with only 1:45 left in a 20-20 contest.
If the penalty was called, the New Orleans Saints would have been granted a first down, allowing for them to bleed the clock down almost the rest of the way, setting up a game-winning chip shot by kicker Will Lutz.
Of course, everyone knows what happened after the play. The Rams were able to march down to secure a big kick by Greg Zuerlein to take the game to overtime tied at twenty-three. The Saints had seemed to capture some of the momentum back, winning the coin toss to begin overtime (obviously choosing to take the ball in hopes of ending it quickly in the session with a touchdown).
And we all know how this story ends… Brees hit, throws and intercepted by Rams safety John Johnson. A couple plays, including two off-balance throws by Jared Goff and… the 57-yard game winner again by Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein. Final 26-23. Rams capture their first super bowl appearance since the Patriots dynasty began.
You would think that this huge victory in the Sean McVay era would be filled with nothing but joy… 32 year old star coach, the youngest quarterback to ever win a NFC Championship (Jared Goff, 24), and a chance to take down one of the greatest dynasty in sports history.
But it is not. All I hear about is that controversial non call on Nickell Robey-Coleman. All I hear is about the “tainted victory”. Poor Saints fans are even petitioning the NFL to have the game replayed.
Give me a break.
Who wants to see 1:45 seconds of a game replayed? What incredible action it would be to see professional athletes force themselves into the mindset to play less than two minutes of the pinnacle of importance in their profession. That is surely fair right? Yes, let us supplement real emotion and game fatigue for the betterment of Saints fans who feel they have been cheated of something.
Again… Give me a break.
For the people who have played the game, we know that no game is decided on one play. Was it a bad call? Of course, it was. Does it stink for Saints players, coaches, fans and supporters? Of course it does.
But that was not the only bad missed call or missed opportunity of the game.
On the drive before the missed call against Robey-Coleman, the Rams faced a 2nd and goal from about the six-yard line. As Jared Goff was scrambling to his left attempting to find somewhere to throw the ball, he tucked it and headed towards the end zone. As defenders had over pursued to his upfield shoulder, Goff turned back inside nearly making it to the end zone.
What stopped his momentum you ask? A tug of the facemask. If called, this penalty would have set the Rams up with a first and goal from the one-yard line. Does this necessarily mean the Rams would have scored?
No, of course not, but I would take my chances in that situation. Let’s just say the Rams are able to punch it in; not only did you change the whole complexion of the game making the score 24-20, but you have also drained more of the clock.
It is now a much different game. That bad no call wouldn’t even matter anymore.
We can even go further back in the third quarter. The Saints were currently sitting with a 13-10 lead and facing a second and goal from the two-yard line. As the candance was being called out by quarterback Taysom Hill, the play clock had run down to zero. No call on the field, and just one play later… touchdown Taysom Hill on a wide receiver screen.
If called correctly, the Saints would have been forced to a very different red zone situation from the seven-yard line, compared to the two. May this has not mattered? Could the Saints have still punched it in from the seven? Of course but it clearly changes the sequence of play calling in an important spot on the field. Not to mention the Rams had already proved more than capable of holding the Saints offense to field goals.
Football is a game of momentum, seeming to turn with every dramatic play call and missed opportunity. Lost in the shuffle of that last Saints possession in the fourth quarter, is how poorly coached that drive was. The game was in hand after that long 50/50 reception by Saints wide receiver Ted Ginn Jr. Momentum was captured. The game was over.
All the Saints needed was to run the ball three times, and have Will Lutz capture the final lead with barely any time left on the clock. So what was the first play call? Incomplete pass play, saving the Rams their last remaining time out.
Instead, head coach Sean Payton went for the win. This thought process proved to be costly in the end. After the controversial incomplete pass described above, the Rams were left with a healthy 1:45 remaining and one time out.
But no one wants to talk about these moments. For the casual football fan, that game came down to one play. The other one-hundred plus did not matter. One play signified some travesty that clouded what otherwise was an amazing game between two of the best teams in the NFL. A shame it is that we will forever be forced to second guess this outcome and wonder about the motives of the officiating crew.
For a life long Rams fan like myself, it does not matter what the outside perception is. That moment that was captured nineteen years ago is still there. With one more game left, one more battle, the return to glory is in sight.
Only Brady and Belichick stand in the way. It is time for the Rams to rewrite history where glory was interrupted. Sixty minutes remain to take back what was lost just over seventeen years ago.
-By: Ryan Roberts