Emmitt Smith
The Balance of Power in the NFC Shifts
This weekend the Arizona Cardinals and the Carolina Panthers will meet in the NFC Championship Game. Seems like a really good match-up and one I’m really looking forward to watching. I was thinking back to the other big Championship games and the one that comes to mind is from 1993.
I remember the 1993 game when Dallas traveled to San Francisco’s Candlestick Park to face the Niners. Dallas had gone 13-3 that year and had a really good season. But the 49ers were 14-2 and they were the 49ers. I honestly didn’t have much hope that Dallas would/could win, but hoped for the best and hoped they’d keep things interesting.
We were going to watch the game at Pearl’s like usual. Me, Eugene, Lydia, Brutus, Kevin Smith, and Tom and Michelle Baker. A big crowd for a big game. We all got there early, got our seats, got some beer and wings and we were ready. You showed up a little later, but I thought it was cool that you came to support the Boyz.
That game was close with Dallas up by 3 in the middle of the fourth quarter. The field was sloppy and it seemed like everyone had a hard time moving around when they were in the middle of the field where there was the most mud. I remember Aikman hitting Emmitt Smith on a short pass out of the backfield on which he scored. He broke a couple of tackles on his way to the end zone which didn’t surprise, but the fact that he was somehow able to run through the mud did. Anyway, it was at that point that I started to feel like Dallas could win the game.
With Dallas up 10 and not much time left San Francisco received the kickoff and marched right down the field. They scored a touchdown and used less than 2 minutes off the clock. Now things were getting tight. Dallas up 3 with just a couple minutes left. I was feeling the heat as San Francisco seemed to have the momentum. Dallas was on their own 19 yard line after a couple running plays and a couple of S.F. timeouts. Dallas was facing a 3rd and 11 and I was anticipating another run into the line, a punt and then really getting nervous hoping the defense could hold. Instead, Dallas passed! Norv Turner called a pass play! Apparently Jimmy Johnson wanted to end the game by getting the first down so they called a pass play. Aikman hit Alvin Harper on a short crossing route and he took the ball about 70 yards! Very similar to the play that Arizona executed against the Packers on Saturday night in overtime. The Cards used some misdirection to get Fitzgerald open and Dallas using a crossing route, but at the end of the day they were both long plays that more or less ended the games.
That play ended the game because with the 1st down Dallas could run out the clock.
The “Triplets” Emmitt, Michael and Troy
That was really something to me. Dallas hadn’t been to the Superbowl since 1977 and while they had some really good teams in the early 80s, they also had a 1-15 season in 1989 and they were just rising from the ashes. It was a time when I first heard the term “triplets” to describe a threesome of players which in this case was QB Troy Aikman, RB Emmitt Smith and WR Michael Irvin. All Hall of Famers.
To see them go on to win the Bowl 3 times in the next 4 years was truly something. I’m sure my Dad has his stories about the Packers winning as well. The Cowboys winning for me was right up there with the Badgers hockey team winning the National Championship game in 2006 at the Bradley Center and being there. Really cool.
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