The 31-year-old place-kicker, who was the club's all-time leading scorer with
670 points, became expendable in February when Buffalo signed former Buccaneers
kicker Steve Christie. (Rich Cimini, 1991) Norwood's clutch kicking helped
establish the Bills as an AFC power in the late 1980s, but his early
accomplishments were overshadowed by his miss in the Super Bowl. With four
seconds left and the Bills trailing the Giants 20-19, Norwood missed wide right
on a 47-yard attempt, giving the Giants their second Super Bowl title in five
seasons. (Rich Cimini, 1991) Norwood never lived it down. In fact, during that
season's playoffs, he declined on occasion to discuss the kick. In his
seven-year NFL career, Norwood made 72 percent of his field goals, but his
percentage dropped steadily, from 86 percent in 1988 to 62 percent last season.
(Rich Cimini, 1991) Now there could be other reason for the decrease in
productivity and the releasing of the kicker. Free agency had been introduced
and they had signed a better kicker, Steve Christie, but you can defiantly
attribute this downfall to his career to the missed kick that he will forever be
known for. He had gone through allot in the past year. I have already told you
about the kicker position and what a kicker had to go through, but there is the
media and the fans. I think this article is suffice in proving my point as this
was written in the end of Scott Norwood’s last season as a kicker. Those close
to Norwood claim he hasn't been affected by the intense scrutiny. But make no
mistake, he hears the whispers around town and, who knows, maybe in his own
locker room.” (Rich Cimini, 1991) Scott Norwood was one of the best kickers in
the league until the kick. Now think to yourself “What if he would have made
it?” The answer would be that I wouldn’t have much a paper to write. I believe
that due to the stress of missing that kick, he was no longer able to be a the
kicker he once was. Now god knows that some players can bounce back from
something like this, but in the most case stuff like this can be as traumatic as
getting in a car accident and then developing a fear for driving.
The mind develops a kind of safety guard that helps protect us from that kind
of extreme stress again and it can dramatically affect the way the player
performs. Let’s take the next case for example, except let’s use a different
game. A closer in baseball is a relieve pitcher the comes in usually in the 8th
or 9th innings to keep the opponent from scoring to preserve the lead that
eventually leads to a win. This position doesn’t have as much pressure for the
player to perform as a kicker would. If a closer blows a save, he will not lose
his job, and their are 162 games in a season, so during a season it won’t mean
that much of a difference if the team loses a game. Although, in the case I will
give to you, this was no ordinary game. This was game six of the World Series.
It was the bottom of the 9th and The Philadelphia Phillies had a one run lead.
Just like Scott Norwood, Mitch Williams was having a great season and a
memorable career. He was affectionately known as “Wild Thing” by the
Philadelphia fans. “The best thing a closer can have is a short memory, he said.
It was in 1993 when he was Wild Thing, the untamed relief pitcher on the
dirty-shirt Phillies who shocked the Braves and went to Game 6 of the World
Series. There were John Kruk, Lenny Dykstra, Darren Daulton and the guys, and
Mitch - gypsies, tramps and thugs, he called them. Not a role model in the lot.
Philadelphia loved that team. I loved that team, Williams said. They were the
best people. I loved playing with them. When the season ended, we were spent.
(Steve Jacobson,1995) And devastated. Mitch Williams tried to come back with
Kansas City. The Royals were trying to find something among five non-roster
veteran left-handers here. A psychiatrist might say Williams is trying to find
himself, or lose himself.(Steve Jacobson,1995) What does a tightrope walker
remember when he falls, the times he went the distance, or the impact? There is
no safety net for the closer. Does he say, `Man, I don't ever want to work
without a net again'? said Royals manager Bob Boone, the resident
psychiatrist.(Steve Jacobson,1995) He took a two-run lead into the ninth inning
of the sixth game as the Phillies improbably were about to even the Series.
Williams got an out and the Blue Jays had two runners on, which was how he had
escaped late in the season, and Joe Carter pierced the Phillies' hearts with a
home run. Never has the World Series ended with a home run that reversed the
score, before or since.(Steve Jacobson,1995) He understands the mentality.
