On January 8th, 2000, the Tennessee Titans hosted the Buffalo Bills in an AFC wildcard playoff game. The Bills had just taken a 16-15 lead on Steve Chistie's 41 yard field goal with 16 seconds left. What transpired next was the most famous play in the history of the Titans franchise.
A description from wikipedia:
"Moments later, Christie kicked off, and Titans player Lorenzo Neal received. Neal handed the ball off to Titans tight end Frank Wycheck, who threw a lateral across the field to another Titans player, Kevin Dyson, who then ran down the sidelines for a 75-yard touchdown."
The Titans' official name for the play was "Home Run Throwback" but in Tennessee it will forever be known as the "The Music City Miracle."
The play catapulted the Titans' on a nice run through the playoffs and eventually into Super bowl XXXIV where they lost a heartbreaker to the St. Louis Rams, 23-16.
Some ten-plus years after this game, it's still celebrated by Titans' fans and is a source of pride and credited with putting the Titans on the map in Tennessee.
NFL Fanhouse writer and Titans' fan, Clay Travis, was in the stands that day with his father and got to witness it live. He shared his thoughts in an article he wrote last May to celebrate that great day: "I was in the crowd that day, the north end zone, a 20-year-old college student sitting alongside my dad, a 54-year-old state of Tennessee employee who was still amazed that his hometown, Nashville, had an actual NFL team playing inside an actual NFL stadium. Ten years after the fact, Nashville is a rabid NFL town. But then, after the team had played in Vanderbilt's mostly empty stadium, there was an uncertainty about whether the team would work in a college football crazy environment."
Travis went on to say this about how he felt during the game's closing moments: "As Steve Christie made his field goal to put the Buffalo Bills up by a point, I remember looking over at my dad and seeing how sad he looked. My dad was a bigger Titans fan than I was since I was away in college and couldn't see every game.
I remember looking at my dad for the first time and feeling like an adult. For the first time in my life as a sports fan, I wanted the team I was watching to win not for me, but for him. Just before the Bills kicked off I remember saying a silent prayer that the Titans would win for my dad."
After the play unfolded, there was jubilation in the stands and between Travis and his dad: "I climbed onto my seat and high-fived everyone in the vicinity. My dad grabbed me in a large hug. "Twenty years from now," he said, "a million people will claim they were here."
OK, so eleven years after this play, the Titans' and their fans still remember it fondly. It's something they'll always talk about. It put pro football on the map in that area according to people like Travis and the Titans' players who were involved in that play. It's their legacy. But what kind of legacy is it really? It's not like they went onto win the Super Bowl that year. The Rams hoisted the Lombardi trophy when it was all said and done.
It's certainly not up there with "The Immaculate Reception." "But how can you say that, Tony? The Steelers didn't win the Super Bowl in 1972."
That's true. But the Steelers did go on to win the Super Bowl 2 years later and they didn't stop winning championships until they had 4 in a 6 year span.
If the Steelers hadn't done anything in the years following Franco's famous play, it would probably just be looked at as a fluke play in the history of the league. Maybe something to talk about from time-to-time. A thing to celebrate in a "on this day in history" kind of way.
But "The Immaculate Reception" is credited by many as being the greatest play in the history of the NFL largely because it spawned not just any dynasty, but the greatest NFL dynasty of all time. Former head coach Chuck Noll, the architect of that dynasty, is regarded by many as the greatest talent evaluator of all time, drafting 9future hall of famers in a 6-year span.
It's not just "The Immaculate Reception." What about San Fransisco's "The Catch" or even New England's "The Tuck Rule."
Following Joe Montana to Dwight Clark, Montana became a star and went onto have a Hall of Fame career. Head coach Bill Walsh became an offensive mastermind, and the 49ers went on to become the team of the 80's, winning 4 Super Bowls.
After the controversial reversal of Tom Brady's fumble in the 2001 divisional playoff game against the Raiders, the Patriots won three out of four Super Bowls, Tom Brady would eventually become one of the top quarterbacks in the game, and Bill Belichick would be dubbed "a genius."
The Titans haven't done anything since that magical run in the 1999-2000 playoffs. They had their chances to build on the legacy of "The Miracle" but never did. The following year, they were the number 1 seed, but lost in the divisional round to quarterback Trent Dilfer and the wildcard Ravens.
Two years later, in the 2002 playoffs, they benefited from Joe Nedney's great acting job in the divisional round, but lost in the AFC Championship game to the Oakland Raiders.
And just two seasons ago, they were again the number 1 seed, but could not get the job done.
So, the Tennessee Titans have had a decade to build upon that great day on January 8th, 2000, but they haven't been able to do it, and in the meantime, have drafted guys like Vince Young and just recently fired head coach Jeff Fisher.
Therefore, in my opinion, "The Music City Miracle" was a nice play, but that's about it. Nice. Not worthy to even be mentioned in the same sentence as the "Immaculate Reception" or any of those signature plays that spawned great periods of success for their respective franchises.
If you want to put it in the same category as "The Miracle At the Meadlowlands" or, perhaps, "The Holy Roller," that's fine.
If the Titans' fans want to embrace that crazy play, it's their right. But please, do not soil the truly great plays in the history of the NFL by trying to put your play in the same category. It's simply not worthy.
The end.
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