Give Tyler Bass (and Yourself) a Break
Today I feel for Tyler Bass, the Buffalo Bills kicker who missed a game-tying field goal in the final moments of last night's game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
And now he will forever be linked with Scott Norwood, who I also still feel for. Norwood, you'll recall, missed what would have been a game-winning field goal in Super Bow 25. That wide-right miss remains a wound that at least had crusted over but is now raw once again.
Here's why it's personal ...
Just months after graduating from Northeastern University in 1991 with my journalism degree, I found myself in Buffalo (I lived in a small town called Marilla, about half an hour outside of Buffalo). I was working at The Associated Press on what's called "sports relief." With the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills deep into their seasons, I would assist the one-man sports department in covering games or writing features. (I should note, my first day on the job at the AP bureau, located in The Buffalo News building, someone was scraping off the United Press International sign off the door next to our office. An ominous sign).
Anyway, I remember interviewing the All-Pro kicker Scott Norwood for a feature leading up to the Bills second Super Bowl that would be in January 1992. Earlier that year, Scott had become the scapegoat for his infamous "wide right" missed 47-yard field goal that would be the first of four consecutive Super Bowl losses the Bills would suffer (and lead to the job, 'What's the area code in Buffalo? 0-4-4. Get it, 0-for- 4?). And I mean suffer. I remember watching that game as a co-op student working at the Boston Globe Media. I think I was down in the basement at the Globe getting printouts of the upcoming edition that copy editors would read before going to print. I saw that fateful kick on an old TV the printers had to watch the game. Fast-forward a few months and I'm interviewing THAT guy.
Scott was a classy person. I don't think I dwelled on the past in my interview and I know Scott didn't. But it's a question worth asking yourself: How do you keep a past failure from defining who you are today?
I think over time Bills fans have started to give Scott the respect her deserves. But today, Bills kicker Tyler Bass understands Scott Norwood like few could ever understand. People like the late Bill Buckner understood too. The weight of one mistake, miscue.
Even when my team wins, I hate when it comes down to one person's failure. To his credit, Tyler is owning the loss. But were there dozens or more missed opportunities that should have prevented the game coming down to a 44-yard field goal in frigid and breezy Buffalo conditions? I think so.
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We say football is a team sport. So you win as a team or lose as a team.
Yes, goalies (I played goalie in soccer as a kid) feel every score against them. And can feel responsible for every loss. The other team wouldn't have won if I hadn't let the goal in. And that is true.
In football, it is often the field goal kickers who experience the extreme highs and lows of their job, kicking the game-winning field goal or feeling the lowest depths if miss. Imagine the weight they feel as they see the clock ticking down and you know in that last minute or two that all eyes will be you. Yes, they get the big bucks for those moments but still, I can't even begin to imagine what that stress must be like.
Today, maybe give Tyler Bass a break. Maybe remember a blown presentation you gave, a job you may have flubbed somehow. Be happy millions didn't see your gaff.
If kicking field goals were easy, everyone would be doing it. But there were more missed opportunities than just that one.
That one just happens to be the most visible. And a bad reminder.
Senior Markets Correspondent at Sherwood Media
1 年Nice piece, Rick. We can all extend a little grace to others for screwups as we all need some once in a while.
Associate Professor of Economics at University of Connecticut
1 年Spoken like a lifelong true Bills fan, deja vu all over again!
Business Owner at East Greenbush Window Coverings
1 年As a long time Bills fan I need to point out that kick would have tied the game with about two minutes left. Based on Bills history it's fairly likely KC would have driven down the field and scored and won the game??
Account Manager, Bospar
1 年Well said! You have to feel for Tyler, we're all human! Also like you mentioned, what could have been done to make sure the game didn't get down to just one kick? We win as a team, we lose as a team. Maybe this will help set the Bills up to be stronger ahead of next season so it doesn't all come down to one instance....