That Catch

[Jeremy Crowhurst]

Montana has said he was throwing the ball away. He didn't find Clark, Clark found the ball and, from seemingly out of nowhere, plucked it for the TD. Extremely dramatic, and a great play, but the catch itself?

[Ronfitch]

And therein lies the rub. You would have to "guess" but no one will ever know for sure - nor do we need to know.

You mentioned that McGee's catch was made in a far more stressful circumstance than Clark's...I think a 3rd down TD catch while down 27-21 with under 1 minute left is more stressful than a TD catch in the first quarter of a scoreless game. Thats all I was trying say. The circumstance was more important than my prediction.

But did Clark do it on no sleep the night before, lipstick still smeared on his cheek and possibly still a bit drunk? No, first quarter ... good chance Max was still "relaxed."

Print the legend.

[BD Sullivan]

And therein lies the rub. You would have to "guess" but no one will ever know for sure - nor do we need to know.

You mentioned that McGee's catch was made in a far more stressful circumstance than Clark's...I think a 3rd down TD catch while down 27-21 with under 1 minute left is more stressful than a TD catch in the first quarter of a scoreless game. Thats all I was trying say. The circumstance was more important than my prediction.

But did Clark do it on no sleep the night before, lipstick still smeared on his cheek and possibly still a bit drunk? No, first quarter ... good chance Max was still "relaxed."

Print the legend.

Wasn't the reason that he went out the night before because he didn't expect to play?

[rhickok1109]

If Bucky Pope (the Catawba Claw) had had those gloves, he would have made catches with one finger.

[JKelly]

If Bucky Pope (the Catawba Claw) had had those gloves, he would have made catches with one finger.

in a driving snowstorm running uphill with no shoes.

[oldecapecod11]

Bucky Pope...
I wonder how he slipped through the Rooney net?
Pittsburgh boy, Religious college (OK, so it wasn't ND,) in addition to his obvious skills...
(There's sumthin else I wanna add but I forget?)

[Ben]

[quote="oldecapecod 11"]No doubt this can go into the "What a catch" category


This was just another meaningless LOSS in a season the Giants and their fans would rather forget.

Speaking as a Giants fan, that is exactly why this catch was so great.

Now, instead of just hoping to forget this lousy, depressing season, I really can forget it. Years from now, when I remember the 2014 New York Giants, I'll remember this catch.

It didn't save a game, or a season, but it did save the memory of a season, and that is a rare and beautiful thing.

[oldecapecod11]

Ben » Tue Nov 25, 2014 9:31 pm
"Speaking as a Giants fan, that is exactly why this catch was so great.
Now, instead of just hoping to forget this lousy, depressing season, I really can forget it. Years from now, when I remember the 2014 New York Giants, I'll remember this catch.
It didn't save a game, or a season, but it did save the memory of a season, and that is a rare and beautiful thing."

Then, indeed, that will be a wonderful thing for you.
I, too, am a Giants fan - from the days I watched them trot down those wooden steps a few years before Willie's catch.
As a 6th-grader, my Father took me and two friends to a baseball game in that very park. It was a Wednesday, and we all did "double homework" the night before and got 100 on the morning quiz so Sister Antoine let us go. A guy named Bobby Thomson played for the baseball Giants that day. He replicated a feat by our Minutemen about 175 years earlier.
(I must admit; at the time, I had no clue as to the "legend" I had just witnessed except that it was exciting.)
In the 63-odd years that followed, my beloved New York Football Giants, New York Yankees, and the Knicks, Rangers, and Celtics too have given me many days and events to remember - some of which, admittedly, took place via the miracle that is television but far more caused me to leap from my seat and cheer.
A cousin called us the weekend following the Thomson "shot" - after he had called his Mom and Dad and a couple of other Uncles and their homes as well. That was the the first game ever telecast nationally and it was also heard on the radio in a place far, far away called Korea. He was thrilled that he heard the Giants beat the Dodgers and we were thrilled to hear his voice. We never heard it again.
So, enjoy your catch.
But, I do hope that, in the years ahead you continue to watch sports, your teams give you a little more than a catch to remember and that, whatever it may be, it has a tad more significance.
If you are lucky, those seemingly lesser events that you actually see in person will live with you forever and take precedence over the electronic replays.
I wish you: Fair winds and tight lines...

[Ronfitch]

But did Clark do it on no sleep the night before, lipstick still smeared on his cheek and possibly still a bit drunk? No, first quarter ... good chance Max was still "relaxed."

Print the legend.

Wasn't the reason that he went out the night before because he didn't expect to play?

Yes. He had not been a big part of the offense for the '66 season and Boyd Dowler was ahead of him on the depth chart. From the StarTribune story reporting McGee's death in 2007 (http://web.archive.org/web/200710221100 ... 98184.html):

"McGee had only four receptions for 91 yards during the 1966 regular season. He didn't plan to play in the title game against the Chiefs because he violated the team curfew and spent the night before partying. The next morning he reportedly told Dowler: "I hope you don't get hurt. I'm not in very good shape."

Dowler separated a shoulder on the Packers' second drive, and Lombardi summoned McGee. He had to borrow a helmet because he left his in the locker room. A few plays later, McGee made a one-handed snare of a pass from Bart Starr and ran 37 yards to score."

Dowler had hurt his shoulder two weeks earlier when hit in the end zone after scoring a touchdown in the NFL Championship game against Dallas. He re-injured it on a block against the Chiefs in SB I:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk1_DlMapLo (jump the the 13:35 mark)

[BD Sullivan]

But did Clark do it on no sleep the night before, lipstick still smeared on his cheek and possibly still a bit drunk? No, first quarter ... good chance Max was still "relaxed."

Print the legend.

Wasn't the reason that he went out the night before because he didn't expect to play?

Yes. He had not been a big part of the offense for the '66 season and Boyd Dowler was ahead of him on the depth chart. From the StarTribune story reporting McGee's death in 2007 (http://web.archive.org/web/200710221100 ... 98184.html):

"McGee had only four receptions for 91 yards during the 1966 regular season. He didn't plan to play in the title game against the Chiefs because he violated the team curfew and spent the night before partying. The next morning he reportedly told Dowler: "I hope you don't get hurt. I'm not in very good shape."

Dowler separated a shoulder on the Packers' second drive, and Lombardi summoned McGee. He had to borrow a helmet because he left his in the locker room. A few plays later, McGee made a one-handed snare of a pass from Bart Starr and ran 37 yards to score."

Dowler had hurt his shoulder two weeks earlier when hit in the end zone after scoring a touchdown in the NFL Championship game against Dallas. He re-injured it on a block against the Chiefs in SB I:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk1_DlMapLo (jump the the 13:35 mark)

Dowler's injury against Dallas came when the Cowboys' Mike Gaechter hit him low causing him to flip over onto his shoulder. In the Super Bowl, the re-injury came on the third play of the game when he tried to block Johnny Robinson--a 3rd-and-1 where Jim Taylor got the first down.

McGee had also scored what turned out to be the winning touchdown in the Dallas game.