ESPN: Greatest Highlight

[nebraskapit]

Looking for something to do? Just found this ESPN Sportsnation poll:

 

http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation...mp;lid=tab2pos1

 

A few Husker highlights make the list..

[papersun87]

Surprised I didn't see the kick-catch on there.

 

Or was it and I just didn't see it?

[Drowning_in_the_Sea_of_Red]

Surprised I didn't see the kick-catch on there.

 

Or was it and I just didn't see it?

Yeah, it wasn't there.

 

Johnny Rogers' punt return, Going for 2 against Miami, and Tommy Frazier's run against Florida were the only ones I saw.

 

It was hard to pick just 10. There's a lot of good plays they have listed there.

 

I'm sure at least one of those will make it if enough people vote. After all, we own at ESPN polls...

[EbylHusker]

What?? Just a few are Husker highlights? They should all be Husker highlights! ESPN hates our guts!1!!eleven

[BeachBuffs]

I guess the plays have to result in a score, for me it should be John Elway's "Helicopter" scramble against the Packers in the Superbowl.

[knapplc]

Much as I love Touchdown Tommie that run against Florida has no business being up there. UF was flat-out tired and had no fight left in them, and if I remember right I think a fair portion of those guys figured they had him wrapped up and the play was over, so they basically let go.

 

The kick-pass was easily the most amazing play of 1997, and should really be on that list. Just more nonsense from ESPN.

 

The Play from Cal/Stanford will win this, though. I can't think of a more famous play from the last 40 years.

 

 

EDIT - oops. Thought this was only a college football thingy at first. Seeing all those highlights, there's no way that Tommie Frazier run should be on that list.

[Cy the Cyclone]

Where's Roger the Dodger's Hail Mary pass to Drew Pearson in the 1975 NFL playoffs against the Vikings? Hell...the throw of the beer bottle from the stands that conked the line judge directly in the center of the forehead after the play was a highlight in itself...the accuracy of that throw was astounding!

[knapplc]

Hail Mary passes should NEVER be counted in "great play" conversations. I know this is not a popular opinion, but there's no skill involved in it, just luck.

 

Of the 32 starting NFL QBs every year, there aren't three of them who can't chuck the ball 50 yards downfield. Of the 119 college football QBs, there aren't 20 who can't do it. So big whoop - they snap the ball, wait seven seconds, then throw the ball to a ten-yard-deep area and HOPE that one of the four or five WR's they ran down there can get under the ball.

 

No skill. Just luck.

 

How is that a "great play?"

[jdinger23]

I agree that it takes no little skill to have a hail mary be a success because its not like a hail mary is a very indepth thought out play. But, it is for the greatest highlight, not greatest play. Hail mary's that are a success are usually a pretty good highlight because it means that it is a close game and it usually determines the outcome of that game.

[Cy the Cyclone]

Hail Mary passes should NEVER be counted in "great play" conversations. I know this is not a popular opinion, but there's no skill involved in it, just luck.

 

Of the 32 starting NFL QBs every year, there aren't three of them who can't chuck the ball 50 yards downfield. Of the 119 college football QBs, there aren't 20 who can't do it. So big whoop - they snap the ball, wait seven seconds, then throw the ball to a ten-yard-deep area and HOPE that one of the four or five WR's they ran down there can get under the ball.

 

No skill. Just luck.

 

How is that a "great play?"

 

Not "a" Hail Mary..."THE" Hail Mary.

 

The Dallas Cowboys started with the ball on its own 15-yard line, losing 14-10, with one minute and fifty-one seconds left in the fourth quarter. Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach managed a nine play drive to midfield against the Minnesota Vikings defense. From midfield, with 24 seconds now remaining, Staubach lined up in the shotgun formation, took the snap, pump-faked left, then turned to his right and threw a desperation pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson, who was being covered by Minnesota Vikings cornerback Nate Wright. As the ball decended downward, Pearson caught the ball by trapping it against his right hip at the 5-yard line and ran into the end zone to make the score 16-14 in favor of Dallas, and what would eventually be the winning touchdown. Wright was unable to defend the pass, as he had tripped over Pearson's leg just as the ball came down.

 

As Pearson strode into the end zone for the score, free safety Paul Krause complained to field judge Armen Terzian that an interference penalty on Pearson should had been called. An orange, thrown by a spectator in the stands, whizzed by Pearson at the goal line. The orange is visible on NFL Films footage of the play and was initially confused by some as a penalty flag. More debris was thrown from the stands by angry Vikings fans, enraged that no penalty was called on Dallas.

 

Defensive tackle Alan Page argued with officials and was assessed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the ensuing kickoff. On Minnesota's next possession with 14 seconds left to play, a whiskey bottle was thrown by a spectator, striking Armen Terzian in the head at Minnesota's own 10-yard line, creating a large forehead gash and rendering him unconscious. (This is known by many Vikings fans as the real Hail Mary.) Terzian had to wear a bandage, later requiring 11 stitches, as he walked off the field and was replaced by substitute official Charley Musser for the final two plays.

 

A popular misconception among Viking fans is that Armen Terzian was solely responsible for judging the legality of the Hail Mary play. Head linesman Jerry Bergman was actually the responsible official on the play and ruled the play legal. Terzian was standing about 15 yards away from the catch, and agreed with Bergman's non-interference call, saying, "Both men were going for the ball. It's just one of those plays."

 

The term "Hail Mary pass" is believed to been used for the first time by Roger Staubach following the game in a post-game interview. Previous to this play, a last-second desperation pass had been called several names, most notably the "Alley-Oop". As Staubach, who had been hit immediately after throwing the ball and didn't see its ending, was asked about the play and he said, "You mean [Pearson] caught the ball and ran in for the touchdown? It was just a Hail Mary pass; a very, very lucky play." Staubach told reporters that he closed his eyes, threw the ball as hard as he could, and said a Hail Mary prayer.

 

[T_O_Bull]

I guess the plays have to result in a score, for me it should be John Ekway's "Helicopter" scramble against the Packers in the Superbowl.

 

 

Better be careful BB mis spelling/typo Elway"s name is a mortal sin in Colorado.

 

>>>T_O_B

 

[bethelbacker]

Yea, I'm surprised Davidson's catch didn't make it, particularly considering it enabled us to win a national title. Also, had we gone on to win the title that year, I think Crouch's catch vs. OU in 2001 is an incredible play. But still, it's tough to bitch and moan when there are only 100 plays in the history of all of sports to pick from. Having three of them isn't so bad when you think about it that way.

[sCrUmptious!]

Hail Mary passes should NEVER be counted in "great play" conversations. I know this is not a popular opinion, but there's no skill involved in it, just luck.

 

Of the 32 starting NFL QBs every year, there aren't three of them who can't chuck the ball 50 yards downfield. Of the 119 college football QBs, there aren't 20 who can't do it. So big whoop - they snap the ball, wait seven seconds, then throw the ball to a ten-yard-deep area and HOPE that one of the four or five WR's they ran down there can get under the ball.

 

No skill. Just luck.

 

How is that a "great play?"

 

Uhh... do you honestly believe there's no skill involved in throwing a ball 75 YARDS DOWNFIELD? If it's all luck, anyone should be able to do it (like win at roulette, that certainly requires "all luck"). I'd like to see you give this one a shot:

 

[BeachBuffs]

I guess the plays have to result in a score, for me it should be John Ekway's "Helicopter" scramble against the Packers in the Superbowl.

 

 

Better be careful BB mis spelling/typo Elway"s name is a mortal sin in Colorado.

 

>>>T_O_B

 

 

OMG what a typo, do you know how many Hail Mary's I will have to do now????????

[BeachBuffs]

I get what knapplc is saying, it is more a thing of odds rather then actual skill, that is why John Elway's play means so much to me. If you watch that play you just get a sense of what determination and physical ability can overcome. It gives me chills to think about it even now.