ESPN.com - NFL/PLAYOFFS04 - Clayton: Rocky debut

STILLERS WIN, STILLERS WIN, STILLERS WIN
In the most amazing game I have ever witnessed live, the journeyman kicker of the Jets Doug Brien had two opportunities to end the Stillers season with a high percentage fieldgoal but came up AN INCH short on one and shanked the easier of the two as time was expiring
but you already know that
Heres from the different perspectives I witnessed the game unfold
Watching a television in the scarcely populated main concourse, I witnessed the first field goal fall short, a grown women that was biting a terrible towel to stop herself from shaking collapsed to the ground and began crying, a rush of fans rushed past me high fives and carrying people around because their Stillers were still alive
I then found myself in the warmth of the bathroom during the break
before I could return to the game Roethlisberger threw a pick and the radio broadcast it to everyone in the bathroom, after a few profanitys everything became quiet in the bathroom, so I ventured out to the field
On the fifty yard line level, directly along the railing behind the seats that I sold for 360 each I watched as the Jets marched down the field but then halt themselves and settle for a 40yarder, there was only 4 seconds left so it was out of the Stillers hand and the entire game rest on Doug Briens foot, which gave many of us plenty of confidence, although it was such a helpless feelings for all the fans in the field
and with one shank of a kickers foot the entire stadium rose to life, shirtless men were hoisting women up in tank tops, terrible towels consumed entire sightlines around the stands
The Stillers were still alive
Every Stiller just lost two years off their lives and after losing the opening coin toss things did not get any easier
The chants of defense as requested by the Stillers sideline returned and the Steel Curtain took advantage of conservative play calling to get the ball back to their offense
Big Ben just showed the entire nation in four quarters that he indeed was a rookie and then it took him one drive in overtime to show the entire nation that he was now a seasoned veteran
Clutch decisions and key passes got the Stillers were they wanted and Duce and Veron Hayes did the rest, the emotions of all the Stiller fans just did a complete 180 and now they were in the same fortunate position that the Jets fans were the past 10 minutes of the game
Jeff Reed was summoned onto the field, and the aisles were now jampacked, it appeared as not a single fan had left the stadium
We all knelt down clutching arms, doing whatever we could to bring luck to Skippy Reeds foot, a jets fan knelt in silence behind us, unable to even watch the kick
After icing Reed with a timeout it was time for the Stillers chance to win the game
Whether the snap or hold was good I will never know I was blinded by thousands of flashbulbs until I finally discovered the ball floating through the air, it just hung up there, I had no idea if it was wide or not, I just knew it was not going to fall short,
The Stiller nation collectively held their breath and and one by one, beginning with the people sitting directly behind the fieldgoal posts and on and on each one exhaled and pumped their terrible towel through the air without even fully grasping what had just occurred
Don da Don da na
HEY
Don da Don da na
HEY
and with every hey terrible towels and Stiller fans were flung through the air
The Stillers had escaped, an incredible escape


-n