Remembering ‘The Catch’

It’s hard to believe it has been 30 years since ‘The Catch,’ the play that really signalled the changing of the guard in the NFC.

The Dallas Cowboys, the NFC’s 'Team of the 70s’ took on the upstart San Francisco 49ers on January 10, 1982. The Niners’ win essentially ended the Cowboys’ run (at least in that era) and began an incredible run of its own - reeling off 5 Super Bowl wins over the next decade+.

I told you recently that the Raiders were my #1 team during that era; the Cowboys were a default #2. It seemed EVERYONE around our school liked Dallas (no doubt because of the incredible likeness of FHS football uniforms to those of  “America’s Team”).

The Niners…well…no one really knew much about them that year. They sort of came out of no where - blasting Dallas during the regular season (which, in essence, sewed up home field advantage for them in the re-match on January 10). It wasn’t that we disliked them, really. We just didn’t know them.

We got a thorough introduction that day.

Of course, if you are a sports fan, you can recite the details of the play as well as I can. If you want to relive it, click on the source link at the bottom of the blog.

What an amazing play. What an amazing moment. It’s one of a handful of famous plays (Music City Miracle, The Holy Roller, Sea of Hands, Immaculate Reception) that has a name.

San Fran won that game and, two weeks later, they also won Super Bowl XVI. The Cowboys began a long, downhill spiral. By the end of the decade, Jerry Jones bought the team and, unceremoniously fired venerable Coach Tom Landry. At that point, I became a NON Dallas Cowboys fan.

And…I started really rooting for the 49ers (along with the Raiders and, as of the mid 90s, of course, OUR Tennessee Titans).

So, now, when I watch a replay of “The Catch” (as I did today) a funny thing happens. I find myself ROOTING for San Fran to win the game. Back then, I would’ve been crushed by the outcome.

But, a bit of revisionist history is healthy now and then, isn’t it?

JG

(Source: youtube.com)

Originally posted 1/10/2012