Happy Comeback Day!

[Just Jack]

31 years ago today

 

Full game at YT

Edited January 3 by Just Jack

[co_springs_billsfan]

Watching this game on live TV was the origin of my Bills fandom.  

[Ben]

If I remember correctly the game was blacked out locally for not selling out and we had to listen on the radio 

[KDIGGZ]

14 minutes ago, co_springs_billsfan said:

Watching this game on live TV was the origin of my Bills fandom.  

It wasn't on live TV locally. Wasn't a sell out. We had to listen on the radio

[BuffaloBillyG]

Ahh, the game that 725,000 Buffalo Bills fans attended. And NONE left early. 

[Gregg]

16 minutes ago, Ben said:

If I remember correctly the game was blacked out locally for not selling out and we had to listen on the radio 

 

The place was still packed. The attendance was 75,141 that day. Back then Rich Stadium held 80,020. If it wasn't the largest stadium capacity wise in the league it was damn close.

[SoonerBillsFan]

32 minutes ago, co_springs_billsfan said:

Watching this game on live TV was the origin of my Bills fandom.  

My little brother and cousin were giving me **** saying the only way Kelly was gonna see the superbowl was if he bought a ticket.  You should have seen their faces as we kept scoring, went to OT and won.

 

 

[mushypeaches]

I still keep the ticket stub in my pocket to prove that I was there

[boyst]

how many people will claim they were there? it's just funny to see how many people say they went to this game.

[Draconator]

I was in Buffalo, and I went to the All American Sports Bar and Grill which is now a Cracker Barrel on Transit near the 90 which had "full NFL Playoff coverage". There were over 500 people in the bar watching the game. Half the crowd left at half-time. By the end of the game, I'd say there were close to 1000 people inside that place. People were in the hotel lobby. People were standing in any available space. When Christie kicked the field goal, waitresses were dancing on tables and on the bar. Such a nutty but very memorable atmosphere.

[Zag20]

49 minutes ago, co_springs_billsfan said:

Watching this game on live TV was the origin of my Bills fandom.  

Same. I was 10. Had no idea it was on because it was the dark ages. My dad called me from his friend’s house and said your team is on, but they’re down 35-3. Flipped the tv on and watched the greatest comeback ever.

Edited January 3 by Zag20
Sp

[Draconator]

35 minutes ago, KDIGGZ said:

It wasn't on live TV locally. Wasn't a sell out. We had to listen on the radio

With a name like @co_springs_billsfan, something tells me he wasn't in Buffalo at the time of the game...

[Just Jack]

I was able to get the game on TV from the Watertown station.  Towards the end of the first half, I started turning the TV off, then decided to turn it back on.  See the Oilers score, turn it back off, rinse, repeat.  At some point after the Bills first score in the 3rd quarter, I left it on for the rest of the game.  I wish they had showed the people trying to get back in the stadium, since the announcers were saying that they were climbing the fences.  

[HOUSE]

32 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Ahh, the game that 725,000 Buffalo Bills fans attended. And NONE left early. 

So true 👍 

[Chandler#81]

I was living in Dansville, NY at the time, well within the 90 mile radius for Bills to black out the game. But the small cable service available in that podunk town was privately owned and the guy was a huge Bills fan. As far as I know, he was never ‘caught’ pirating the feeds and we could always watch blackout games. The star on the top of this was the games never had any commercials! The feed would stay on with announcers rewinding plays to pinpoint aspects they’d talk about when the broadcast resumed OR just stay locked on the Jills fidgeting with their suits (😲)! I had the game being recorded and at halftime my son & I went out to play some street hockey in the driveway. He went back in and yelled out the game resumed and should he kill the VCR? I said “Nah, we deserve this from our 51-3 pasting of the Raiders.”

Well, the rest is history. Everyone I know from WNY wanted a copy of the game for posterity! I was cranking out copies for weeks after!

[Albany,n.y.]

33 minutes ago, mushypeaches said:

I still keep the ticket stub in my pocket to prove that I was there

I have the program & ticket stub. I have them in a plastic cover like the ones you get at memorabilia stores.  Back then I used to buy the program before I went into the stadium either by getting it through the fence before the gates opened when the program vendors were within shouting distance of the gate, or I would pick it up at the Bills store.  I would leave it in my car before going into the stadium, so most of my programs are in pretty good condition.  Back then the program cost $3 for a full sized playoff program.  

[Freddie's Dead]

1 hour ago, Ben said:

If I remember correctly the game was blacked out locally for not selling out and we had to listen on the radio 

 

I drove to Chittenango and watched the game at my sister's place.  It was epic.

[Albany,n.y.]

21 minutes ago, Chandler#81 said:

I was living in Dansville, NY at the time, well within the 90 mile radius for Bills to black out the game. But the small cable service available in that podunk town was privately owned and the guy was a huge Bills fan. As far as I know, he was never ‘caught’ pirating the feeds and we could always watch blackout games. The star on the top of this was the games never had any commercials! The feed would stay on with announcers rewinding plays to pinpoint aspects they’d talk about when the broadcast resumed OR just stay locked on the Jills fidgeting with their suits (😲)! I had the game being recorded and at halftime my son & I went out to play some street hockey in the driveway. He went back in and yelled out the game resumed and should he kill the VCR? I said “Nah, we deserve this from our 51-3 pasting of the Raiders.”

Well, the rest is history. Everyone I know from WNY wanted a copy of the game for posterity! I was cranking out copies for weeks after!

I used to record all playoff games.  When I got back to Albany after the game, I had requests from people at work & in Buffalo.  I had 2 VCRs at the time, so I was able to make copies locally, then I sent the tape to a friend who had the AV expert at St. Francis HS make tapes for anyone who couldn't see the game due to the blackout. 

[Einstein]

1 hour ago, KDIGGZ said:

It wasn't on live TV locally. Wasn't a sell out. We had to listen on the radio

 

Depends what you mean by "local". It was on TV in much of NY (Cuse, Southern Tier, etc) just not Buffalo and part of Rochester.

[chongli]

Awesome video! It given me chills whenever I re-watch it.

 

 

[PonyBoy]

Living in the Falls at the time. I was listening on the radio & reading. My newly wed wife at the said about half time, let's go see my family in Canada for a visit. I said no way, it's a playoff game!

She said they're getting killed. I said I'm staying here waiting for the comeback. 😀

I just didn't want to go to my mother in laws, but boy that comeback covered my butt! 

[Tim Tindale]

I think we got pasted by the Oilers in a Sunday night game the week before in the Astrodome. It’s party why so many people threw in the towel by halftime (e.g. “another pasting”). 

[Augie]

I was at a friend’s house in Hilton Head while the kids had a play date. We had a FIRM understanding that the Bills game would be on TV, the entire time. When things were looking dark he changed the channel to the Kentucky basketball game. He thought I wouldn’t care. He was wrong. I went ballistic and sent him to his bedroom to watch UK on that TV. He went like a puppy with his tail between his legs.  😂 

 

What a memorable event.  I could only act that way with a good friend. 

[Fan in Chicago]

2 hours ago, Ben said:

If I remember correctly the game was blacked out locally for not selling out and we had to listen on the radio 

That is correct. I was studying in UB at the time and we listened to the game while sitting in a cheap breakfast cafe in Amherst ($1.65 bought us 2 eggs, toast, one piece of bacon and coffee). We were going to leave, but the comeback started and we kept drinking their coffee till the game ended. 

[eball]

1 hour ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

Ahh, the game that 725,000 Buffalo Bills fans attended. And NONE left early. 

 

1 hour ago, boyst said:

how many people will claim they were there? it's just funny to see how many people say they went to this game.

 

I'm sure I've told this story here before, but that game was while I was in grad school at UB.  I had a pair of season tix in the 330s, and for this game I let my mom and sister sit there.  Me, my (now departed) dad, a buddy from school and his brother got four seats in the nosebleeds on the visitors' side of the stadium.  I don't remember if we were actually in the last row, but we were very close to the top.  The game wasn't a sellout because the Bills had been thrashed by Houston the week prior, when Kelly was hurt.  We lost the division and even though this game was at home nobody thought the Bills would win.  The WGR cardboard handouts proclaimed "Drill The Oilers."  The Jerry Sullivans of the world gleefully predicted the end of the Bills' run...and it looked like they were right when Bubba McDowell returned a deflected pass for a TD early in the 3rd to put the Oilers up 35-3.

 

The four of us looked at each other and said "one more drive" -- we all wanted to see the Bills at least give it an effort and couldn't make ourselves leave because it had been such a great run.  Needless to say, folks were leaving all around us.  What happened afterwards will remain the greatest sporting memory of my life (until the Bills win a SB).  We scored...then we got the onside kick and scored again.  The crowd came to life.  After the TD that brought us to 35-31 we looked out over the back of the stadium and saw fans streaming BACK IN.  This was unheard of at the time -- once you left a game you were out -- but, the story is that Bill Polian famously ordered security to "let 'em back in."  I believe the crowd was larger at the end of the game than it was at the beginning.

 

Christie's FG to win the game was almost anti-climactic...we were exhausted.  Everyone was high-fiving and hugging one another in the stands; a scene I have not witnessed at a sporting event before or since.

 

And yes, I still have my ticket stub.

 

[BADOLBILZ]

1 hour ago, Gregg said:

 

The place was still packed. The attendance was 75,141 that day. Back then Rich Stadium held 80,020. If it wasn't the largest stadium capacity wise in the league it was damn close.

 

I believe the games usually had to be sold out at some point on Thursdays to prevent a blackout.    That was especially difficult with short notice determined wild card games like that one.........but especially since the Bills just got destroyed and battered with injuries in the finale against the same Houston team the week before.  

 

Back then you had to call or line up at the ticket office to buy the tickets.   If you called you had a lot less control over where you'd sit.   Blacked out games were often near full capacity because there were always thousands who wouldn't buy tickets if they could watch from home.   I think they extended the blackout date to Friday for this game but still didn't sell out.   

 

After Houston jumped out to that lead they had outscored Buffalo 62-6 over 6 quarters of football. 

[co_springs_billsfan]

1 hour ago, Draconator said:

With a name like @co_springs_billsfan, something tells me he wasn't in Buffalo at the time of the game...

I'm in the Springs now.  Lived in northeastern PA back then

[dock581]

My family and I had gone out west to ski and it was a perfect ski day. Everybody but me decided to ski.I stubbornly said, I’m watching the game. At halftime I wavered, said I’ll watch one more drive. As I recall Reich threw a pick six and I slammed the door, went to rent some skis, found the lifts were closing, went back, turned on the Tv…and heard, folks you have just witnessed the greatest comeback in the history of professional football!! When we got back to Buffalo, I bought two of Osgood’s tee shirts, one of which I still wear on game days.

[Chicken Boo]

9 year old me turned the game off and walked out of the house in disgust at 21-3.  My cousin, an Eagles fan who lived right next to me, was adamant the entire time that Buffalo would come back.  

 

My story would last several paragraphs, but you get it. I had never prayed so hard in my life.  

[chongli]

This is an 18-minute video of full highlights from the NFL (good quality) for those not wanting to watch the full game.

 

 

[notwoz]

Gotta give props to Frank Reich for that win!

[JohnNord]

9 hours ago, Just Jack said:

31 years ago today

 

Full game at YT

Some many Bills fans lie and pretend they were at the game.  The game was blacked out which seems unheard of for a playoff game.  I thinks fans began to suffer from fatigue and IIRC the Bills got destroyed by Houston the previous week and most thought would lose again.  
 

There no way that many people were at the game.  Not sure why people lie

Edited January 3 by JohnNord

[Livinginthepast]

It always seemed weird to me that the game didn't sell out.  The Bills, despite two SB losses were a solid team in the 1992 season. The NFL blackout rules were ridiculous back then but even so, the game should have sold out. I'm also surprised that Ralph did not buy up the remaining tickets and donate them to charity (like he did on other occasions).  In any case I was forced to find a sports bar in St.Catharines where I was at university to watch the game. The worst thing about being a Bills fan in Southern Ontario back then was that for many local fans who loved the team, there were so many people who outright hated them. I knew many people who delighted in cheering against the Bills and didn't seem to have any fan affiliation with any other team.  My friend and I watched the game at Ricki Jo's sports bar in St.Catharines and it was filled with many of these aforementioned people. The bar was packed and as Houston ran up the score, these aholes were going nuts with glee. I remember at half time some half sauced old geezer screamed at one of the tvs, "bye, bye Marv"! mocking Levy.  When Reich threw the pick 6 in the 2nd half, the mob got louder.  Then the Bills started coming back. Every possible calamity happened to Houston after that and just as suddenly the idiots got quiet. By the time Christie kicked the FG to win it the same blowhards were in shock. Seeing the haters leave in the bar in disgust was awesome. I really thought that the fairytale comeback had lifted any curse and the Bills were destined to win the SB. Dallas soon crushed those dreams! In an odd footnote, My friend and I sat at Ricki Jo's for 3 and half hours that day and were never once approached by a waitress for any drink order. As we were both hung over from the previous night we ate and drank nothing and didn't spend a dime in that place! and I've never been back! Bizarre experience!

[GoBills!]

Still have my ticket stub from that game, also the only reason we stayed we my dad was too drunk to drive in those conditions back to rochester so he had to sober up for the second half...

[Mikie2times]

14 hours ago, co_springs_billsfan said:

Watching this game on live TV was the origin of my Bills fandom.  

Mine had already been going a couple years but unforgettable moment as a kid. Lot of life lessons from that one. 

[Ned Flanders]

22 hours ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

I believe the games usually had to be sold out at some point on Thursdays to prevent a blackout.    

 

Back then you had to call or line up at the ticket office to buy the tickets.   If you called you had a lot less control over where you'd sit.   Blacked out games were often near full capacity because there were always thousands who wouldn't buy tickets if they could watch from home.   I think they extended the blackout date to Friday for this game but still didn't sell out.   

The "policy" was a game needed to be sold out 72 hours before kickoff to be televised.  It was never a "rule" or even a league "bylaw."  Seemed the policy shifted week to week and team to team.  Teams (owners) often got "permission" from the league office to extend the deadline if a sellout was close.  

 

So glad the league has jettisoned this policy.

[Stranded in Boston]

I was living in Houston at the time and watched the game by myself in my crappy apartment near the old Astrodome (I hadn't yet learned about the Bills Backer bar owned by Niagara Falls native Sam Samsone). When the Bills won, I went out on my "balcony" in my Bills sweatshirt and screamed every insult I could think of at Houston for about 10 minutes (then thought better of it, LOL). So I tried to call home to gloat with my brothers -- and I got a recording saying that all the lines to Buffalo were JAMMED. What a day ... 😃

[Wacka]

Lived in Hartford, CT at the time and recored it while I was at the bar with the local Backers.  Boomer Esiason was on the halftime show since Cincy as not in the playoffs. They were talking about who the Oilers would play the next week.

 

Boomer says "Don't count out the Bills . Frank Reich was in for me at Maryland and had the greatest college comback ever ". They made fun of him. After the game, they said "Boomer, we will never doubt you again."

[CSBill]

Lived in Ohio at the time. The first half was miserable. So I switched chairs at halftime, and clearly that made the difference. 

[Bills fan since 87]

On 1/3/2024 at 11:58 AM, Tim Tindale said:

I think we got pasted by the Oilers in a Sunday night game the week before in the Astrodome. It’s party why so many people threw in the towel by halftime (e.g. “another pasting”). 

 

Yep, we could have won the division but lost like 27-3.  Setting up the rematch with Houston in the wild card round the next week.  Counting that game in the Astro down and the first half of the wild card  game (plus a minute or two) the Oilers had outscored us something like 62-6.

 

then we woke up.