A Story To Cheer Up Patriot Nation

[godef]

Great Question. I was in the Bay Area when The play happened and I was asked by several Raider fans what I thought.Many of them had forgotten the phantom "Roughing The Passer" call on Ray Hamilton so I reminded them.I viewed it as evening the scales. Ironically,Ken Stabler was interviewed on KNBR in San Francisco during the week after "The Tuck Rule Incident" and He was asked specifically about The Ray Hamilton Hit. He responded very matter of factly,"I was never roughed by Ray Hamilton,it was a bad call".

You can view this on the Super Bowl XXXVI DVD (or else the 3 Games to Glory DVD, but I think it's the former). There is a feature about the '76 Patriots which features this play, and it has what looks like a more recent interview (probably not the same inteview as you refer to) in which Stabler says this.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Great Question. I was in the Bay Area when The play happened and I was asked by several Raider fans what I thought.Many of them had forgotten the phantom "Roughing The Passer" call on Ray Hamilton so I reminded them.I viewed it as evening the scales. Ironically,Ken Stabler was interviewed on KNBR in San Francisco during the week after "The Tuck Rule Incident" and He was asked specifically about The Ray Hamilton Hit. He responded very matter of factly,"I was never roughed by Ray Hamilton,it was a bad call".

It will be interesting to see how TB answers a similar question 25 years later. Will he say, "Coleman made a great call that night?" or, "Tuck? Are you kidding, I fumbled?"

 

[PATSNUTme]

I wonder who downgraded the thread rating from 5 stars to 3? Someone must have given it only 1 star, which is a disgrace. This is the best Patriot fan related story I've read all year! A definite 5 star post!:rocker:

I hit the 5 star, probably along with others, but it looks like 4 stars will be the best it will get now.

I'd like to know who's lawn I pee on to get over this.

 

[3 to be 4]

What a great story. I remember before the snow game in 2001 Dennis and Callahan called Ben Dreith and he was an absolute horror of an old man. It was kind of funny what a jerk he was.
anyway, for me, all the old hurts were washed away the night of February 3,2002. Now i can look at these things as playoff games and Super Bowls i can enjoy that they were in instead of bitter that they lost them.
The same way I let 1975, 1978, and 1986 go when the Red Sox won the WS.

this loss this year? I cant get too upset, not after 3 SB wins. last night I watched SB 38. Brady still connects with Branch. Vinatieri still kicks it through. Bob Lobel still makes an idiot of himself trying to kiss Vinatieri's wife ( does anyone remember that on the post game show?? to me it was almost as bad as Joe Namath-Suzy Kolber)

 

[Krugman]

Great story,NoCal,thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[italian pat patriot]

Let me preface my remarks by letting You all know that I attended my first Patriots Game in 1970 at Harvard Stadium on the day that Bob Gladieux was called out of the crowd to The Patriots Locker Room and 10 minutes later made the tackle on the opening kickoff.Prior to that the only connection I had to the Patriots was that Babe Parillli's Dad was my barber.He gave Me team photos and autographs from everyone including Ron Burton,Gino Cappaletti,Tom Yewcic,so it's fair to say with the exception of a few on this board my relationship with The Patriots goes back as far as anyones.
There has been much written in the past few days that Sunday's was the toughest loss ever.Respectfully,I must disagree.We have won Three Super Bowls recently and that lifts a great burden off of Our shoulders.To Me Our worst loss was The 1976 Playoff loss against Oakland.The Football World in New England was far different back then.There weren't anywhere near as many Patriots Fans back then.Playoff berths were also tougher to secure.
The 1976 Patriots under Chuck Fairbanks were really our first chance to compete on the highest level of the NFL.Remember,We only joined The NFL six year previous.The joy that "The Patriots and their 40000 core base fans celebrated when the Patriots secured their first NFL Playoff Berth was a day no one who was there will ever forget.Remember those days at Foxboro were more like the "Old West" than the sanitized Gillette Stadium is now.The crowd was College Students,Truckers,Roofers,Painters,in other words, a crowd with a real edge to it.As bad as some Patriots Teams have been ,the early 1970's were a real low.Chuck Fairbanks gave Us the first signs of hope that led Us to the 1976 Playoffs.We had a young,good,exciting team.They had rolled The Raiders at Foxboro in Week 2.We knew We were better and The Raiders knew We were better.When The corrupt Ben Dreith STOLE that Playoff game from Us it ended Our first "Great Ride"with The Patriots.It was a bitter pill that was very hard to swallow.
I carried this loss with Me for several years and it wasn't until 1995 that I finally let it go.My friend and fellow Patriots Fan,Tom and I found ourselves in the Hometown of none other than Ben Dreith,which happens to be St.George,Utah.We drove over to his Home and We pissed on his front lawn.
He ran out screaming,"What the Hell are You guys doing?"I responded,"Giving You the business!"which happened to be the words He used to describe what Ray Hamilton did to Ken Stabler..He shook his head ,swore and said' "Damn Patriots Fans!" The coward never came any closer than 20 feet from Us.He clearly got the message.
Tom and I left St.George,Utah and drove to Colorado wher we stopped and drank well into the evening toasting The 1976 Patriots.It took 19 years but I finally let it go.It made the 3 Super Bowl victories much sweeter.As bad as it feels tonight,there is closure out there if You know where to find it!

sorry for delay but this is one of the best post ever made, imho. great !

 

[italian pat patriot]

The highlight of the year was the final game against The Minnesota Vikings when it snowed the night before the game and No one shoveled out Harvard Stadium.It led to one of the biggest snow ball fights in the History of The NFL.The Vikings were getting pummmeled by 15000 people throwing snow balls at their bench.The Public Address Announcer asked the stadium to refrain but all that announcement did was quadruple the velocity of Snow Balls!That is how our first year in The NFL ended! By the way that first season for Me ,season Tickets cost $ 60.00 .

great story too

 

[italian pat patriot]

I hit the 5 star, probably along with others, but it looks like 4 stars will be the best it will get now.

I'd like to know who's lawn I pee on to get over this.

this is a real 5 stars thread, no doubt

 

[captain stone]

Nope, just the Steelers just prior to the game in which we pounded the Raiders. The Steelers missed a 30 yeard field goal in the final seconds which would have tied the game.

It would be years before we ever beat the Cowboys, not until 1999.

Was that at Pittsburgh, and was that the game during which the pats went for the 1st down on 4th and < 1 yard, in Steelers territory, in the 2nd half, and Grogan faked the handoff and threw to a wide-open Francis for a big gain? I remember watching that play on TV and absolutely loving the call and execution.

 

[NoCal Patriot]

Was that at Pittsburgh, and was that the game during which the pats went for the 1st down on 4th and < 1 yard, in Steelers territory, in the 2nd half, and Grogan faked the handoff and threw to a wide-open Francis for a big gain? I remember watching that play on TV and absolutely loving the call and execution.

If You watch that play closely,The Steelers "Double Covered "Pete Brock who was being used as a second tight end and left "All World " Tight End Russ Francis uncovered for The Game Winning Touchdown.

 

[captain stone]

If You watch that play closely,The Steelers "Double Covered "Pete Brock who was being used as a second tight end and left "All World " Tight End Russ Francis uncovered for The Game Winning Touchdown.

I wish I could watch that play closely, again.

The NFL, along with the networks, should open up their vaults and make available for sale, all of their original network game tapes, with original audio. The closest thing I have is an LP titled "The Spirited Patriots of '76", narrated by Gil Santos. (Actually, my brother in Quincy has it still, I hope.)