Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 23, 1992 TAG: 9201230091
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: ST. PAUL, MINN. LENGTH: Medium
NORWOOD DONE KICKING HIMSELF ABOUT SUPER BOOT
Steve Tasker knows how the Buffalo Bills want Super Bowl XXVI to end Sunday night."We want it to come down to Scott Norwood making a field goal to win the game," said Tasker, the Bills' special-teams star. "If he does, it will be the greatest story ever."
And, if he doesn't . . . well, Norwood knows that feeling all too well.
Given a 47-yard opportunity to beat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXV a year ago in Tampa, Norwood's kick never hooked left as it sailed from his right instep into the night.
He has carried the burden of that miss for a year, and the former James Madison University kicker has been reminded too many times this week, he said, by questions about "one little blip in a career of more than 1,000 kicks."
Tasker said Norwood has gotten a bum rap about the miss. The Bills' booter never has had the range of, say, Washington's size 13 thunderfoot, Chip Lohmiller.
This season, Norwood is 9-of-15 from the 40 yards and beyond. He is 1-of-2 from 47. He has displayed more leg strength this season, although he's had his inconsistent moments - like the day in the Los Angeles Coliseum when he missed three tries for the first time in his career, also botched a conversion kick, then booted the winning field goal in overtime to beat the Raiders.
It is, however, as if Norwood had done nothing since his last Super foot fault. "It's been beaten to death," he said of the only game-deciding miss in Super Bowl history.
"I realized what was going to occur when it happened," Norwood said patiently over a table in the Bills' hotel Wednesday. "This is nothing I didn't anticipate.
"It's not important to me anymore. I know what I'm made of. I didn't try to sit back and analyze whether it was a positive or a negative. There are no guarantees for any athlete.
"If the situation presents itself again, I know the capabilities are there on my part."
Norwood, 31, said the memorable miss "was no different than any other kick." This season, particularly in the Bills' playoff win over Kansas City, Norwood has displayed more emotion than in the past.
"Every time I go onto a football field, it manifests itself in excitement," he said. "Every time I go out there, I'm very tense, no matter what the situation. Sometimes, it shows. That Kansas City game, well, they'd beaten us badly and done a lot of [tomahawk] chopping then. That's why I was chopping."
Norwood became a sympathetic figure after his Super miss, and when the Bills returned to Buffalo the following day, the fans' reception could have melted the snow at microwave speed.
Norwood took that home to Northern Virginia in the off-season and went through his normal routine once the weather warmed. His dad was his holder. The distances varied, but Norwood's confidence didn't waver.
"Every time you get a chance on a football field, it's going to be a positive or negative result, and the majority of the time it will be positive," he said. "It's the kind of thing, that experience, no matter what happens, that you carry with you.
"I can think back to times earlier in my career when I may have been kicking well, but I wasn't as sure of myself as I am at this point. I'm not one to get depressed, either. There will be ups and downs, no matter what you do."
Across the Mississippi River at the Metrodome on Sunday, Norwood says he won't flinch. His mind games aren't played in Super Bowls.
"To tell you the truth, I don't visualize `winning kick . . . winning kick . . .' I am kicking the ball well right now, and I like kicking indoors.
"I'll go in expecting great things to happen. There's no reason to expect great things not to happen. You expect to perform to the best of your capabilities.
"I'll give each kick my best, and I'll leave the field with my head held high. That's all you can do is do the best you can do."