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Oiler Buffalo Choke ... 20 years ago today

Hookem Horns

Texans Talk Bartender
Staff member
They keep talking about this on 610 sports radio. Supposedly ESPN keeps showing it. I have been working so haven't seen that.

Hard to believe it's been 20 years.
 
I had the good fortune of being there in person.

Rest assured that Bills fans knew how to pour salt in my wounds, and were as cruel as the game itself.

The extra bonus was the awful cold I caught. Was out of commission all week.

Easily my worst feeling as a sports fan. The closest hurts I ever had?

Elway's comeback
Dyson at the 1
Mets break my heart in '86 (Mike Scott wins game 7)
Dodgers '81
Padres beat stacked Astros in '98
Cards beat Stros in 7 in '04 and waste Beltran's unreal post-season, and Kent's walkoff in game 5
Leafs lose to Canes in East final in 2002
Leafs lose to Kings in West Final in 1993

All of this without hitting google. Every one hurts and feels like yesterday.

God give me one lousy fkn ring. Any sport. I don't care.
 
Hands down the worst football moment of my life.

I've said this many times, and I'll continue to say it, because I firmly believe it. That game, that one game, planted the seed that led to the Oilers leaving. If it hadn't been for that game, the Oilers would still be here, and the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans would not even exist.
 
Hookem, I can leave my house, drive to your house, smash your windshield, and be back in bed in a little over an hour.
 
That day was the day my parents stopped caring about sports. Even now my old man might have a game on when i'm over there, but I know it's because there's either nothing else on tv or because he knows i'm a football fan. As a teenager at the time, I remember the house being very cold, all of the lights were off with just the overcast sky creeping through windows, and you could hear...no you could feel silence. Football died a miserable death in Houston for a lot of people that day.
 
They keep talking about this on 610 sports radio. Supposedly ESPN keeps showing it. I have been working so haven't seen that.

Hard to believe it's been 20 years.

Hard to believe, I've tried for yrs to supress that game from my memory. Hopefully the Texans dont turn into the modern version of the Oilers. This season they've looked very Oileresque. Hopefully they dont pull a 13-3 Oliers/12-4 Texans lose in the 1st rd.
 
I had the good fortune of being there in person.

Rest assured that Bills fans knew how to pour salt in my wounds, and were as cruel as the game itself.

The extra bonus was the awful cold I caught. Was out of commission all week.

Easily my worst feeling as a sports fan. The closest hurts I ever had?

Elway's comeback
Dyson at the 1
Mets break my heart in '86 (Mike Scott wins game 7)
Dodgers '81
Padres beat stacked Astros in '98
Cards beat Stros in 7 in '04 and waste Beltran's unreal post-season, and Kent's walkoff in game 5
Leafs lose to Canes in East final in 2002
Leafs lose to Kings in West Final in 1993

All of this without hitting google. Every one hurts and feels like yesterday.

God give me one lousy fkn ring. Any sport. I don't care.

Funny how the Oilers/Buffalo game is my worst yet the Dyson stopped at the one is one of my absolute favorite sports moments.
 
I had the good fortune of being there in person.

Rest assured that Bills fans knew how to pour salt in my wounds, and were as cruel as the game itself.

The extra bonus was the awful cold I caught. Was out of commission all week.

Easily my worst feeling as a sports fan. The closest hurts I ever had?

Elway's comeback
Dyson at the 1
Mets break my heart in '86 (Mike Scott wins game 7)
Dodgers '81
Padres beat stacked Astros in '98
Cards beat Stros in 7 in '04 and waste Beltran's unreal post-season, and Kent's walkoff in game 5
Leafs lose to Canes in East final in 2002
Leafs lose to Kings in West Final in 1993

All of this without hitting google. Every one hurts and feels like yesterday.

God give me one lousy fkn ring. Any sport. I don't care.

That Elway comeback really hit me hard. I thought it couldn't get worse than that until .. you know, the next season.

The '81 Dodgers was the first "ring" I ever received as a fan. I loved the Dodgers as a kid. I remember them being down in that WS to the Yankees and my Astros fan buddies were giving me all kinds of crap.

Actually I have been fortunate to see all of my teams (outside of the NFL) win a championship with the NY Rangers being the best one in 1994.

In the NFL the Bucs were always my other favorite team and they finally won a SB in 2002. I have also been a quasi fan of the Giants having lived up there during the 80s and they have won several since I started liking them.

The Oilers were the only ones that never did anything. Hopefully the Texans don't continue where they left off.
 
Can't believe that it's been 20 years. Mid 20's at the time, won't say what I was doing, but someone needed some accommodations, and while I was checking this person in it was half time. Made a comment to a coworker about how good the Oilers were, what a blowout yada yada. Went back out to do my thing, and by the time I was on my way home I heard the news.
Only the Oilers could torture us that way.
Maybe I'll live long enough to see a Houston team win a Super Bowl, maybe not.
 
That Elway comeback really hit me hard. I thought it couldn't get worse than that until .. you know, the next season.

The '81 Dodgers was the first "ring" I ever received as a fan. I loved the Dodgers as a kid. I remember them being down in that WS to the Yankees and my Astros fan buddies were giving me all kinds of crap.

Actually I have been fortunate to see all of my teams (outside of the NFL) win a championship with the NY Rangers being the best one in 1994.

In the NFL the Bucs were always my other favorite team and they finally won a SB in 2002. I have also been a quasi fan of the Giants having lived up there during the 80s and they have won several since I started liking them.

The Oilers were the only ones that never did anything. Hopefully the Texans don't continue where they left off.

I was at game 6 of the East Final between the Leafs and Canes. I will tell you that when Mats Sundin scored with under a minute left to send it to OT, I have never heard anything like it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ1e1270vrk

Then when Martin Gelinas scored in OT, I heard every last shout on the ice from the Canes. It was surreal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjUYvngLZTg - go to 2;20 for my heartbreak...
 
That Elway comeback really hit me hard. I thought it couldn't get worse than that until .. you know, the next season.

The '81 Dodgers was the first "ring" I ever received as a fan. I loved the Dodgers as a kid. I remember them being down in that WS to the Yankees and my Astros fan buddies were giving me all kinds of crap.

Actually I have been fortunate to see all of my teams (outside of the NFL) win a championship with the NY Rangers being the best one in 1994.

In the NFL the Bucs were always my other favorite team and they finally won a SB in 2002. I have also been a quasi fan of the Giants having lived up there during the 80s and they have won several since I started liking them.

The Oilers were the only ones that never did anything. Hopefully the Texans don't continue where they left off.

The Elway comeback bothered me more than the Buffalo comeback. Buffalo just cemented my belief that the Oilers would never win a SB with Moon as QB. Kinda like the Texans with the Kubiak/Schaub combo. (Hopefully I'm wrong, my feelings are still hurt by blowing HFA, very Oileresque) The playoff loss to the Chiefs further cemented the paper champion title for the Oilers.

Does this yrs Texans team remind anybody of those Oiler teams and if so when will BoB start to be held accountable like Bud was? (Yes I know Bud was a pud and ruined the Astrodome, but he was right and new stadiums did get built. Just not for him because he left the taxpayers holding a debt and most importantly his teams had the uncanny ability to choke in big games. Does this remind anybody of the current day Texans?
 
God yes. Sheesh, now I'm even more depressed. I will say BoB is head and shoulders above goof ball Bud in the overall likeability factor.
I guess we'll see if BoB really wants a Super Bowl team in the near future, or just sold out season tickets?
 
The Elway comeback bothered me more than the Buffalo comeback. Buffalo just cemented my belief that the Oilers would never win a SB with Moon as QB. Kinda like the Texans with the Kubiak/Schaub combo. (Hopefully I'm wrong, my feelings are still hurt by blowing HFA, very Oileresque) The playoff loss to the Chiefs further cemented the paper champion title for the Oilers.

Does this yrs Texans team remind anybody of those Oiler teams and if so when will BoB start to be held accountable like Bud was? (Yes I know Bud was a pud and ruined the Astrodome, but he was right and new stadiums did get built. Just not for him because he left the taxpayers holding a debt and most importantly his teams had the uncanny ability to choke in big games. Does this remind anybody of the current day Texans?

The Elway comeback was brutal. We had them on what, 4th and 12 and he scrambles for the 1st? And we blew homefield and the bye when we lost to the Giants if I remember correct and forced a trip to that graveyard where homefield meant everything.
 
The Elway comeback was brutal. We had them on what, 4th and 12 and he scrambles for the 1st? And we blew homefield and the bye when we lost to the Giants if I remember correct and forced a trip to that graveyard where homefield meant everything.

Yep

I'm afraid the Texans are going to be in the same boat after blowing HFA.
 
Some memories suck. This is most certainly one of them. Horrible horrible moment in Houston sports history.
 
I was at my then-girlfriend-future-ex-wife's house for that game. At some point in the 3rd quarter I told her with a face getting redder by the minute that for the sake of all things important in the world I must leave now, that I knew what was coming.

I went to San Gabreal Park in Georgetown, Tx. because my ears were glued to the radio - I didn't trust driving and listening - and just about freaking cried. I think a tear of sheer madness escpaped my eyes. Lawd was I pissed.

It's even more ridiculous to remember Al Del Greco had to kick a FG just to get to OT!
 
For me the Denver loss the year before was worse...took me to a very dark place. At the time I was let sports dominate my life to ...let's just say...an unhealthy level.

After the Elway comeback/Oiler chokejob I took some oil paints and let all my rage out on a piece of canvas. I got so violent in the process at some point I cut myself and drew blood. There ended up being blood splatters on the canvas in what turned out to be a picture that looked remarkably like an oil derrick. I called it Rage 92.

The next year's debacle in Buffalo was more silent pissedoffedness that lasted about 2 months.

Since the Oilers left, I have gotten married, had kids and have a much more balanced view of sports. I enjoy watching, but don't let the losses impact my everyday life.
 
Señor Stan;2096135 said:
After the Elway comeback/Oiler chokejob I took some oil paints and let all my rage out on a piece of canvas.
At first I read paints as pants, which changed the entire context of this post.
 
The Elway comeback was brutal. We had them on what, 4th and 12 and he scrambles for the 1st? And we blew homefield and the bye when we lost to the Giants if I remember correct and forced a trip to that graveyard where homefield meant everything.

Yes, they blew a first round bye and a homefield playoff game by losing to the 7-8 Giants at the Meadowlands.

I was at that game. I had good seats however while tailgating Allen Pinkett's family approached us and asked if we wanted to sit upstairs with the Oiler players families. We accepted and I ended up sitting next to All Del Greco's uncle and right in front of Pinkett's family.

The Giants had nothing to play for (reminds me of last Sunday).

Speaking of the 35-3 game, I am listening to Houston sports radio and one guy is saying this last month for the Texans is like 35-3 in slow motion. He said it's choking in slow motion.
 
For all the publicity this particular game gets I thought Joe Montana's last miracle was almost as bad, and the team was pretty much dismantled the very next offseason.

EDIT: KEEP THE CHANGE YOU FILTHY ANIMAL

EDIT2: 9 sacks with an O-line that had two HOF's on it. And Buddy Ryan was the D-co for the Oilers.
 
Hands down the worst football moment of my life.

I've said this many times, and I'll continue to say it, because I firmly believe it. That game, that one game, planted the seed that led to the Oilers leaving. If it hadn't been for that game, the Oilers would still be here, and the Houston Texans and the Tennessee Titans would not even exist.

I agree completely. People started to become emotionally numb and even detached after that game.

Heck, as mentioned in this thread by Powda, some folks just stopped caring about sports at all after that point. I still know people two decades later that no longer pay attention to football because of that game.

That game - I remember it vividly - certainly cemented my mindset about sports. The old Seinfeld joke about "we watch, they win" comes to mind, and my cynicism of not expecting anything great from the team I follow comes from that game and that franchise who always seemed to come up short.
 
For all the publicity this particular game gets I thought Joe Montana's last miracle was almost as bad, and the team was pretty much dismantled the very next offseason.

EDIT: KEEP THE CHANGE YOU FILTHY ANIMAL

EDIT2: 9 sacks with an O-line that had two HOF's on it. And Buddy Ryan was the D-co for the Oilers.

The 9 sacks was a huge part why the run n shoot died. No extra blocker or FB - deadly for QBs playing against teams with competent defensive coordinators. They blitzed the hell out of Moon and it worked like a charm. God I forgot about Lamar Lathon too. Could have been a beast.
 
I agree completely. People started to become emotionally numb and even detached after that game.

Heck, as mentioned in this thread by Powda, some folks just stopped caring about sports at all after that point. I still know people two decades later that no longer pay attention to football because of that game.

That game - I remember it vividly - certainly cemented my mindset about sports. The old Seinfeld joke about "we watch, they win" comes to mind, and my cynicism of not expecting anything great from the team I follow comes from that game and that franchise who always seemed to come up short.

One of those is my brother. To this very day, he refuses to watch football any football. Pro, college, it doesn't matter.
 
I agree completely. People started to become emotionally numb and even detached after that game.

Heck, as mentioned in this thread by Powda, some folks just stopped caring about sports at all after that point. I still know people two decades later that no longer pay attention to football because of that game.

That game - I remember it vividly - certainly cemented my mindset about sports. The old Seinfeld joke about "we watch, they win" comes to mind, and my cynicism of not expecting anything great from the team I follow comes from that game and that franchise who always seemed to come up short.
It was akin to having your significant other be unfaithful.
You may have forgiven, but you just never quite trusted them 100% again.
That bitter seed was planted.
 
When I bought a custom jersey, I had to have a number. Normally, I'd take "34" for obvious reasons (Earl).

But, I went with "42", the so-called "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything" (Douglas Adams fans get it).

Simply put, "42" is a meaningless answer in the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (because The Ultimate Question itself is unknown), and I liked the perspective of keeping my chosen entertainment to be a bit meaningless as it pertains to my real world life. I always want the perspective that it's just a game to me, as a fan, that my career does not depend on it and, win or lose, I still have to get up for work every Monday morning.

And this attitude, of being somewhat emotionally detached in fan perspective, comes directly from the result of this wretched, soul-crushing, heart-stomping 35-3 meltdown debacle.

Anyway, there's my completely random and irrelevant background to my jersey having "42" on it. :D
 
When I bought a custom jersey, I had to have a number. Normally, I'd take "34" for obvious reasons (Earl).

But, I went with "42", the so-called "Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything" (Douglas Adams fans get it).

Simply put, "42" is a meaningless answer in the The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (because The Ultimate Question itself is unknown), and I liked the perspective of keeping my chosen entertainment to be a bit meaningless as it pertains to my real world life. I always want the perspective that it's just a game to me, as a fan, that my career does not depend on it and, win or lose, I still have to get up for work every Monday morning.

And this attitude, of being somewhat emotionally detached in fan perspective, comes directly from the result of this wretched, soul-crushing, heart-stomping 35-3 meltdown debacle.

Anyway, there's my completely random and irrelevant background to my jersey having "42" on it. :D

My lucky lotto number will always be 34. Nolan Ryan, Campbell and Olajuwon all wore it. Just an awesome coincidence.
 
My lucky lotto number will always be 34. Nolan Ryan, Campbell and Olajuwon all wore it. Just an awesome coincidence.

To add one to your list, Houston native Kevin Schwantz was a GP world motorcycle champion who rode the number out of respect for Earl. They retired his number for him as well. Even in Europe in a way Earl gets respect.
 
Ah...the day I severed ties with the Houston Oilers. Never rooted for them again after that game. I like to convince myself it was a premonition of things to come. Wasn't upset at all to see them leave town 4 years later.

Of course, being a Cowboys fan and them winning a bunch of Super Bowls at the time, I didn't have a problem letting the Oilers go. Hell, it's because of the Oilers and their inability to beat the HATED HATED HATED Steelers that I became a Cowboys fan. Had the Oilers beaten Pittsburgh and played the Cowboys in the Super Bowl, my world would probably be totally different.
 
Yes, they blew a first round bye and a homefield playoff game by losing to the 7-8 Giants at the Meadowlands.

I was at that game. I had good seats however while tailgating Allen Pinkett's family approached us and asked if we wanted to sit upstairs with the Oiler players families. We accepted and I ended up sitting next to All Del Greco's uncle and right in front of Pinkett's family.

The Giants had nothing to play for (reminds me of last Sunday).

Speaking of the 35-3 game, I am listening to Houston sports radio and one guy is saying this last month for the Texans is like 35-3 in slow motion. He said it's choking in slow motion.

I feel the same way... probably a combination of those 2 years. Didn't we beat Denver earlier in the year? IIRC, they had an easy schedule & only had to beat Arizona the last game to finish ahead. Hope history doesn't repeat itself :headhurts:
 
Can't believe that it's been 20 years. Mid 20's at the time, won't say what I was doing, but someone needed some accommodations, and while I was checking this person in it was half time. Made a comment to a coworker about how good the Oilers were, what a blowout yada yada. Went back out to do my thing, and by the time I was on my way home I heard the news.
Only the Oilers could torture us that way.
Maybe I'll live long enough to see a Houston team win a Super Bowl, maybe not.

Haha....when I was 22, I was a front desk clerk at a Holiday Inn l watching the game. I was talking smack to the front-desk clerks at a Holiday Inn in Buffalo via Holiday Inn's reservation system "chat"...through the 3rd quarter. Then I stopped.

Since then, I have never talked smack to fans of any team that a Houston team is playing.
 
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