The famous “wide right” field goal attempt happened 30 years ago today in Tampa, Florida.
The Buffalo Bills lost Super Bowl XXV to the New York Giants on Jan. 27, 1991, after a missed 47-yard kick by Scott Norwood in the closing seconds. The Giants won, 20-19, in the only game in Super Bowl history decided by a one-point margin.
“I remember it clear as day,” Bills fan Liam Delaney, who saw the game at a bar in Fulton, N.Y., told Bleacher Report on the 25th anniversary in 2016. “I was watching on a projector TV above a jukebox, leaning against a wall. And when the ball went up, it took forever. And he missed, and I went, ‘No, that’s not what’s supposed to happen’... I just remember bursting into tears and sobbing, and sobbing, and sobbing. And I remember people coming over and saying, ‘C’mon, man, it’s just a game.’ And I remember saying, ‘No, it’s not.’”
The unforgettable Super Bowl moment partly inspired the 1994 Jim Carrey movie, “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.” Fictional kicker Ray Finkle decided to kidnap Dan Marino and steal the Miami Dolphins’ mascot as part of an elaborate revenge plot after missing a field goal (”laces out!”) in the closing seconds of the ‘84 Super Bowl.
But Norwood didn’t become a pariah like Finkle or Bill Buckner did for the Boston Red Sox in the 1986 World Series. He retired after one more season with the Bills and moved to Virginia, but still participates in autograph shows and will even sign “wide right” on a photo of the missed kick if a fan asks for it.
“I’d be lying if I said that’s an enjoyable experience, but it’s part of the history of my career, and it’s clearly a historic moment in Bills history, so I’ve learned to cope with it as best I can,” he told the Rochester Business Journal last year. “I can’t deny that kick happened. And most people are good about it, not confrontational. So, I sign the photo and keep moving on.”
And Norwood was far from the only reason the Bills lost the game; he made a field goal in the first quarter and successfully kicked two extra points after touchdowns by Thurman Thomas and Don Smith. Hall of Famers Jim Kelly, Andre Reed, Bruce Smith and head coach Marv Levy struggled against the Giants, who were coached by Bill Parcells and then-assistant Bill Belichick. Buffalo relied on a no-huddle offense as New York controlled the clock, maintaining possession for a Super Bowl record 40 minutes and 33 seconds.
The 1991 NFL championship game was also memorable as it came shortly after the U.S. entered the Gulf War in the Middle East. Whitney Houston delivered an iconic performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before kickoff, while the halftime show by New Kids on the Block wasn’t aired until after the game because ABC aired a special Operation Desert Storm report by Peter Jennings during halftime.
The Buffalo Bills returned to the Super Bowl the following three years, but lost all four years in a row. Buffalo nearly returned to the Super Bowl this year, but lost in the AFC Championship to the Kansas City Chiefs.
The New York Giants, led that season by linebacker Lawrence Taylor and quarterbacks Phil Simms and Jeff Hostetler, have won four Super Bowls total, including two against Belichick and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI.
You can watch the entire Super Bowl XXV game on YouTube below; Norwood’s missed field goal begins at 1:58:30.
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