3:14 PM Tue, Sep 19, 2006 | Permalink
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Who says a low scoring game can't be exciting. In a world where points are so tied with memorable moments, smash mouth football is over the top fun to watch. The defending champion Pittsburgh Steelers were on the road Monday night visiting the Jacksonville Jaguars where the Jags won 9-nothing. There were some tenacious hits!!!! What I saw last night brought back memories of a game I was involved in back in 1980 as the Houston Oilers hosted the Steelers in the Astrodome. I don't remember much about it other than it was a bloodbath, an old time knock down drag out battle. But I will never forget one play which indicated how physical it was. Terry Bradshaw was the quarterback for the Steelers and they had a talented wide receiver by the name of Lynn Swann. Swanny went across the middle for a pass thrown just a little bit high. He had tremendous jumping ability so up he went. While in the air, two of our safeties, one of which was Mike Reinfeldt, hit him so hard he was spinning like a top in the air. As Swann came down and hit the turf, he was disoriented. The fans in the Dome went crazy with the physical nature of the action. It was as loud as anytime I can ever remember playing football. (well maybe some of Earl Campbell's runs paralled it) Then I recall seeing something I have never seen before. After a few minutes of gathering himself, he got up and started to walk towards our bench. I was wondering what the heck was going on. He walked right past us, up the steps, through the fans, to the x-ray room. I couldn't believe it. Usually they take injured players off the field under an entrance to the stadium but not this time. The fans obviously were ranting and raving at him but he wanted to get the x-rays fast, I guess, and get back out on the field. Strange things happen in sports sometimes but that is a moment that remains fresh on my mind. The Oilers won 6-nothing in a tough physcial defensive gem and it was as exciting as scoring a bunch of points.
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