This is the opposite of what I posted the other day. These plays are very memorable to me, but also painful. I almost think I can remember these plays more vividly than my favorite plays.
Obviously the most gut-wrenching is Neil O'Donnell's second interception in Super Bowl XXX. Down 3 and driving, I can still see our group of friends standing in front of the TV bouncing up and down with each successful play, anticipating pulling off maybe the biggest Super Bowl upset since the Jets. After the pick, I'm not sure I said 50 words the rest of the day.
Almost as bad, the last offensive play for us in the AFC Championship game in 1994 against San Diego. When I watch replays of that play, I still stand by my original assessment that had O'Donnell pulled the trigger a half second earlier - we would have been in back-to-back Super Bowls for the third time in history. The Chargers had no business at all being in that Super Bowl. If memory serves, a journeyman DB whose name escapes me completely blew a coverage and allowed SD to go up on us.
How about the "running into the kicker" play by Dewayne Washington that ended our playoff run in 2002.
What list would be complete without Kordell Stewart's interception against Denver in the playoffs in 2001...you know, the one where Bill Romanowski taunted him by pointing to his head and calling him "stupid". That play may have changed Korky's future as he never got his groove back.
Great, now I'm depressed on a Friday.
1 comment:
All true. But the one that was the straw that broke the camel's back for me was...
Cowher's decision to kick the FG down by 14, ball on the NE 1, 10:00 to go 4th Qtr, with the momentum, in the 2005 AFC Championship game.
It took the life out of the fans, the city of Pittsburgh, and the team. You could feel the life go out of that stadium when Jeff Reed ran onto the field... and I was watching on TV.
Most importantly, he didn't have Kordell, or Dwayne Washington or Neil O'Donnell to blame for that either.
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