Did Bills Fans Protest The Steve Christie Signing In 1992?

[Canadian Bills Fan]

6 hours ago, stevewin said:

It was probably because he was Canadian

 

 

Hey now

 

lol

[dlonce]

I don’t remember 1500 people but Norwood and Reich’s bible thumping groupies were there.

Signing Christie was a great move,one year too late.

 

Norwood was a terrible kicker and he made a pro bowl because of points scored.

That guy had a difficult time making any kick on grass.

Norwood is to Buffalo as Buckner is to Boston.

Edited December 12, 2018 by dlonce

[Livinginthepast]

The story about 1500 fans showing up to argue on Norwood's behalf is complete BS. By that time Norwood was the scapegoat for not only the wide right SB miss but for his very shaky 1991 season. As others have posted it was the LA Raiders game in December of 1991 that finished Norwood off in the eyes of the Bills management and also the fans. In that game the Bills were in tough against a pretty solid Raiders team.   All the hype the commentators were spewing was on the Raiders to win easily but it was the Bills who ended up winning on a Norwood FG right at the end of the game. The problem was that before that kick Norwood appeared to have cracked mentally and completely lost his kicking mojo. He had missed a PAT and 3 FGs. In many ways the game should have been a comfortable Bills win but Norwood's ineptness had kept it close. I can remember watching the game on TV and becoming livid with each Norwood miss. It was a small miracle that he hit the winner at the end! The writing was on the wall though after that game and a few months later he was gone for good.

[Albany,n.y.]

The only protest I remember came from Sam Wyche in Tampa.  Christie signed as a plan B free agent.  Back in those days teams would put their kickers & punters into the plan B pool in order to save roster spots of regular positional players.  Christie signed with the Bills after he had promised Sam Wyche that he wouldn't be leaving Tampa.  There was no Buffalo exemption in Christie's promise as was stated above-if that was the case Tampa would have protected Christie.  Wyche was PO'd saying Christie lied to him.  

 

I'm close to 300 miles away, so I can't say for certain that there weren't protesters, but I used to read the Buffalo News every day (we used to get it in Albany in the days before papers  were available on the internet) and there was nothing I read in the paper about pro Norwood protests.  I'm calling BS on the 1,500 protesters.  I do recall some wiseguy writing a letter that was published in the Sunday News sports section where he joked that Norwood was asked about his time in Buffalo & replied "I can't kick".  

[row_33]

1 hour ago, Phil The Thrill said:

 

That’s why I asked the question.  I’m not sure where Christie is getting this story from.

 

i hope this wasn't the case, sure wasn't when they saw him kick

 

they had a gameworn jersey in a store a few years ago, it was incredibly small

 

(i'm more o-line sized)

 

[Beast]

I’ve heard of some big families but  Norwood’s takes the cake. 1500 people in his family?

Edited December 12, 2018 by Binghamton Beast

[/dev/null]

#notmykicker

[May Day 10]

2 hours ago, Livinginthepast said:

The story about 1500 fans showing up to argue on Norwood's behalf is complete BS. By that time Norwood was the scapegoat for not only the wide right SB miss but for his very shaky 1991 season. As others have posted it was the LA Raiders game in December of 1991 that finished Norwood off in the eyes of the Bills management and also the fans. In that game the Bills were in tough against a pretty solid Raiders team.   All the hype the commentators were spewing was on the Raiders to win easily but it was the Bills who ended up winning on a Norwood FG right at the end of the game. The problem was that before that kick Norwood appeared to have cracked mentally and completely lost his kicking mojo. He had missed a PAT and 3 FGs. In many ways the game should have been a comfortable Bills win but Norwood's ineptness had kept it close. I can remember watching the game on TV and becoming livid with each Norwood miss. It was a small miracle that he hit the winner at the end! The writing was on the wall though after that game and a few months later he was gone for good.

 

That Raiders game comes to mind as my main vivid norwood memory post xxv.  I remember flipping to the sabres game immediately after the game and that was when they had the near bench clear vs calgary.

 

And no.  I remember no protests against moving on to christie.  In fact, i used to listen to talk radio daily and dont remember this being a thing at all.  

[BobbyC81]

10 hours ago, Ned Flanders said:

I remember Bill Polian saying he was running down the hall at OBD screaming with joy when the Bills signed Christie.  I believe the fan base was equally as enthused.  I don't recall any backlash...at all.  

 

Norwood was beloved after SB XXV, but the next season proved his undoing.  Remember the Raiders game in LA?  Thurman offered to throw him off the plane on the ride back if he missed the game-winning chip shot.  By 1991, anything over 40 yards was considered iffy, at best.

 

I remember that he was excited to see that Christie was on the list of available free agents.

[Phil The Thrill]

I went back and listened again.  Below is the exact quote.  I also updated the original post.

 

 

Christie:  Bill Polian called and said ‘look you’re coming up.’ I said ‘well I kind of got this weird deal with Tampa and the whole Plan B thing,’and he just started laughing.  And I said ‘ok I guess that means I’m coming up there.’

 

Patrick Moran:  laughter

 

Here’s the thing, I meet my parents up there and my agent from Toronto at the time, Gill Scott.    He picked me up in a limo and that.  And we get to the stadium thinking ‘oh yeah this is fantastic’ you know, I’m signing with the perfect team for me.  1,500 Scott Norwood fans were out there, protesting my arrival!  

 

Patrick Moran:  WOW!

 

Christie:  Which was a testament to not only Scott Norwood, but to the fans of Buffalo.

1 hour ago, May Day 10 said:

 

That Raiders game comes to mind as my main vivid norwood memory post xxv.  I remember flipping to the sabres game immediately after the game and that was when they had the near bench clear vs calgary.

 

And no.  I remember no protests against moving on to christie.  In fact, i used to listen to talk radio daily and dont remember this being a thing at all.  

 

I don’t know why he would say that.  I also don’t remember any backlash.  Seemed like Christie was a welcomed addition in 1992.

[row_33]

1 hour ago, Phil The Thrill said:

I went back and listened again.  Below is the exact quote.  I also updated the original post.

 

 

Christie:  Bill Polian called and said ‘look you’re coming up.’ I said ‘well I kind of got this weird deal with Tampa and the whole Plan B thing,’and he just started laughing.  And I said ‘ok I guess that means I’m coming up there.’

 

Patrick Moran:  laughter

 

Here’s the thing, I meet my parents up there and my agent from Toronto at the time, Gill Scott.    He picked me up in a limo and that.  And we get to the stadium thinking ‘oh yeah this is fantastic’ you know, I’m signing with the perfect team for me.  1,500 Scott Norwood fans were out there, protesting my arrival!  

 

Patrick Moran:  WOW!

 

Christie:  Which was a testament to not only Scott Norwood, but to the fans of Buffalo.

 

I don’t know why he would say that.  I also don’t remember any backlash.  Seemed like Christie was a welcomed addition in 1992.

 

He has his experiences, imagine if some of the kooks on here had social media back then and could bother him at home and a restaurant 

[Phil The Thrill]

9 minutes ago, row_33 said:

 

He has his experiences, imagine if some of the kooks on here had social media back then and could bother him at home and a restaurant 

 

Oh I’m sure....but 1,500 fans protesting?  

Edited December 13, 2018 by Phil The Thrill

[Ned Flanders]

On 12/12/2018 at 11:15 AM, dave mcbride said:

I strongly remember it being Bruce being the one who threatened to throw him off the plane. My wife went to that game (we lived in LA at the time) and said it's the only time she has feared for her bodily safety. 

 

"If he would have missed that field goal I'd have dropped him from the plane in Minnesota or North Dakota," Buffalo tailback Thurman Thomas said.

http://articles.latimes.com/1991-12-09/sports/sp-262_1_extra-point

 

[row_33]

Mike-Mayer told the story of missing a late FG that cost the Bills the game or the point spread cover, and he was on his front lawn and a fan came up and punched him in the face.

 

 

[dave mcbride]

32 minutes ago, Ned Flanders said:

 

"If he would have missed that field goal I'd have dropped him from the plane in Minnesota or North Dakota," Buffalo tailback Thurman Thomas said.

http://articles.latimes.com/1991-12-09/sports/sp-262_1_extra-point

 

That story is incredible. What a debacle for Norwood that day.

[row_33]

i had blessedly forgotten Norwood's fiasco game....

 

thanks....