The man, the myth and the receiver
Do you remember when Reagan was in office and Back to the Future was in theaters? Well if you do, then you might remember the last time Jerry Rice failed to catch a ball in a game.
That all ended Sunday when Rice was unable to hold onto a Rich Gannon pass, the only one thrown his was all game.
Rice, who turns 42 next month, hung his head on the field late in the Raiders' 13-10 win over Buffalo as his run of 274 straight games with a reception came to an end.
His tantrum during the final minutes of the game showed exactly what kind of competitor Rice is as he threw his helmet to the ground, causing it to bounce over a metal bench, hollered to himself, and paced the sideline for several minutes.
Let us not, however, let that shadow the magnitude of such a monumental feat, one that most probably will never be touched.
For you freshman, Jerry Rice has been hauling in passes before your parents were buying you diapers -- 19 years, that is.
To put the record into perspective Art Monk, who went 183 straight games with a catch from 1983-95, the second-longest streak behind Rice, would have had to catch a ball in five more years of games to catch Rice. Randy Moss talks, Terrell Owens complains, Jerry Rice just catches balls.
He is the best of all time, unquestionably. He sits atop every important statistic in football, but this record was his bread and butter, the one that defined him as "Jerry Rice, the best football player of all time."
So what if he threw a temper? Why shouldn't he show some emotion if he just had the one thing that represented all his years superiority come to an end?
Rice is a football god among men, so why not another 274?
*Ã Ã Contact Adam Harper at aharper@scu.edu.