Did Mike Tirico "Noonan" the Bills?

[HD MM]

For those of you who watched last nights' Monday Night game between the Bills and Browns, Buffalo had a chance to win the game with time expiring when trailing Cleveland by a score of 29-27.

It was 4th down and as Rian Lindell got ready to attempt the game winning 47-yard field goal, Mike Tirico and the ESPN's broadcasting crew decided to remind viewers of the infamous Scott Norwood, "wide-right" miss during Super Bowl XXV. Coincidently, both were 47-yard field goals to win the game. And coincidently, both missed by going "wide-right"!

What are your feelings towards broadcasters jinxing teams or brining up bad karma before an important play? Are you superstistious about this sort of thing?

Was this jinx the biggest "Danny Noonan" moment in sports? (Caddyshack fans know this from when Danny is trying to putt to win the Bushwood golf contest and everyone is yelling Nooonan!). To me, ESPN pulled a "Noonan" to jinx the Bills.

 

[GRExpert]

Don't believe in superstistions like this. What the announcers said had nothing to do with the outcome of the play. The kicker wasn't listening to the broadcast in his helmet and suddenly remembered Norwood from 18 years ago. Just me, but I don't believe in these things ...

 

[HD MM]

A lot of sports fans are superstitious in their own way. I know fans for unlucky teams who point to any sign of a "jinx" as to why their team lost. As a Cleveland fan, personally I have a few superstitions that I hold when watching games.

Just wondering if Buffalo fans were pissed that Tirico brought up the Norwood kick as Lindell was lining up?

 

[GRExpert]

If I was a Buffalo fan I would most definately be pissed. I had some money on Cleveland so I wasn't disappointed ...

 

[cosmo_kramer]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBS9AdZlhxc]YouTube - Wide Right[/ame]

 

[meStevo]

Ya, but they do stuff like that before like every field goal in every single game 'he hasnt missed from this range in xx games' or 'he's x of x from this range this season' or 'this is x yards longer than his career long'. Bills just have a memorable failure to tie their FGs to.

 

[HD MM]

After Lindell missed, my wife screamed: "Laces out Finkle"!

 

[Jimbo]

I agree, superstitions have NOTHING to do with the outcome of a game, kick or otherwise and also has nothing to do with breaking up a No Hitter.

Jimbo

 

[dfergie]

It is remarkable how many times this happens though, where they are "jinxed" (makes you wonder if it is all scripted like wrasslin )

 

[HokieEngineer]

Maybe if they had THROWN the ball on at least one of the downs prior to the field goal, it would have been a shorter field goal attempt. The Bills took a page from Andy Reid's run it on 3rd and 4th down from last week. Horrible play calling.