When it comes to the greatest moments in Atlanta sports history, The Kick may be second only to Sid Bream’s dramatic slide for the Braves at home plate in the seventh game of the 1992 National League Championship Series.
The Kick took place Jan. 17, 1999 in the NFC Championship game, when Morten Andersen’s 39-yard field goal from the left hash at the Metrodome sent the Falcons to what is still their only Super Bowl appearance.
It never was supposed to happen though, as the Vikings should have beaten the Falcons behind kicker Gary Anderson, who’s only missed field-goal attempt of the season, from 38 yards with 2:18 left to play, would have put away the game. Anderson hadn’t missed in his previous 35 attempts, but it opened up the door for the Falcons to tie the score in regulation and win on Andersen’s kick in overtime. Interestingly, on the Falcons’ game-tying touchdown with 49 seconds left, Andersen had to kick the extra point twice to tie the score because of a penalty.
“The night before I visualized a 39-yard kick from the left hash,’’ Andersen said. “I had been keeping logs for years on all my kicks and would go through them visually to prepare. To me the kick was a forgone conclusion. It was in my wheelhouse, and I had great trust in my holder and protection. I saw everyone on the sidelines holding hands as they had a great deal of anxiety because they were not in control of the situation.’’
With 3:01 left in OT, the Falcons lined up for the kick, with punter Dan Stryzinski as the holder. Just before Andersen was about to kick, Vikings coach Dennis Green called timeout.
“I knew that was going to happen,’’ Andersen said. “So I did my usual thing and walked back 15 yards and swung my left (foot) and got into deep rhythmic breathing. Then I went through my pre-kick routine and calculated the number of steps like I always did, which never changed. I aimed at the middle because as I tell young kickers today, the middle never changes.’’
The snap was perfect, and so was the hold, as Andersen’s kick split the uprights. The call from Falcons radio voice Jeff Hullinger said it all: “The kick is up. He knows it. They know it. And The Falcons are going to the Super Bowl!”
Said Andersen, “I never saw the ball go through. I started running because I knew everyone on the sideline was going to be running at me, and I was going to be on the bottom of the pile. It’s called self-preservation.’’
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