In Northern New Jersey, my buddy Ted, home on college break, had seen enough. He was ready to turn off the TV because the contest was clearly over in his eyes.

His dad cautioned him saying, “Not so fast. It ain’t over ’til it’s over,” breaking out the classic quote from legendary New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra.

This scene undoubtedly played out in households across the country and I’m certain many changed the channel or turned off the TV altogether.

How am I so sure?

Because at that very same moment, I was sitting in the end zone seats at then Rich Stadium in Orchard Park, New York, as the AFC Wild Card Playoff Game between the Houston Oilers and the Buffalo Bills reached halftime. The teams exited the field with the Oilers holding a commanding 28-3 lead. But the players weren’t the only ones leaving. Lots of fans were already heading for the parking lot.

I was with two of my best friends, Rob and Rob. We were all home on college break and they were itching to leave too, but I told them, “We don’t get to games very often so let’s just wait and see if the Bills can battle back in the second half.”

Truthfully, I really didn’t expect what was about to happened, but I was hopeful the home team and two-time defending AFC Champions could get themselves back into the game.

The date was January 3, 1993. This time of year in Buffalo is not for the faint of heart. It was very cold that day, with a freezing rain and snow mix in the air, along with a steady biting wind that chills you to your core. The cold metal seats didn’t help matters either.

The weather made the decision to stay tougher, but we stayed. We sat in Section A, Aisle 4, Row 20 trying to stay warm. I was in Seat 12, but the bench seats all ran together and even huddled up for warmth we were freezing.

At the start of the second half, I thought if the Bills could score first with a touchdown that maybe they could slowly chip away at the lead.

Then Houston scored again. Bubba McDowell intercepted a Frank Reich pass along the sideline and returned it 58 yards for the touchdown, extending the lead to 35-3.

It was now a 32-point deficit and all hope seemed lost.

The weather was getting worse, we were getting colder and another large contingent of fans retreated to the parking lot and to the warmth of their cars.

I told my buddies, let’s just give them one more possession and see what happens. This time I met greater resistance, but we stayed.

What happened next was miraculous. The Bills scored four, third-quarter touchdowns.

Bills backup running back Kenny Davis scored on a one-yard run. Then Reich threw three touchdown passes, one to Don Beebe for 38 yards and two to Andre Reed for 26- and 18-yard scores. When the third quarter ended, the Oilers lead was cut to just four points, 35-31.

The three of us were on our feet the whole time yelling and screaming and high-fiving 20 rows up in the end zone along with the faithful fans still remaining.

Suddenly, as the fourth quarter started, there was lots of football left. Plenty of time to pull out the improbable win.

At this point, at least one family room in New Jersey still had the TV on, and many of the fans that had left the stadium were now climbing the fences surrounding it to get back in. Those fair-weather Bills fans were listening to the game on their car radios while warming up and waiting to leave the parking lot, and many decided they had to get back in the stadium. There was a no re-entry rule, so all the gates were locked to fans once they left the stadium, but that didn’t matter. Droves of fans fought their way back in. It was reported some of the gates were opened by security guards for safety.

The Bills would get the next score, their fifth straight touchdown, this one a 17-yard Reich pass to Reed, giving the home team their first lead of the day. The Bills now had a 38-35 lead and a third consecutive trip to the Super Bowl remained alive.

The Oilers countered with a late 26-yard field goal from Al Del Greco to tie the game at 38-all to force overtime.

By now, nearly every fan in attendance for the opening kickoff was back in the stadium, and I don’t think you’ll find a single person to ever admit they left the game.

In overtime, Bills cornerback Nate Odomes intercepted a Warren Moon pass to set up Steve Christie’s game-winning 32-yard field goal. The Bills won, 41-38.

It was quite the celebration as that kick sailed through the uprights. Bills longtime radio announcer Van Miller famously said after the winning kick: “It is bedlam. It’s pandemonium. It is fan-demonium.”

This effort became the greatest comeback in NFL history and remains a record today for the largest playoff comeback. Overcoming the 32-point deficit stood as a regular-season record for 30 years until the Minnesota Vikings rallied from a 33-point deficit (33-0) to defeat the Indianapolis Colts 39-36 in overtime during the 2022 season.

What made the come-from-behind win even more stunning is the Bills were without starting quarterback Jim Kelly and standout linebacker Cornelius Bennett. Then starting running back Thurman Thomas left the game with an injury.

Ted’s dad was right.

He had probably seen a few comebacks in his day, which told him there was a chance. He may have remembered the Mets comeback during the 1973 season when they rallied from last place to win the division. It was during this season while Berra was manager of the Mets that he uttered that memorable line saying, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”

My innate, never-give-up spirit comes from my own battle to survive. At only six months old,
I was diagnosed with spinal meningitis and spent a solid 10 days in the hospital fighting off this illness. They tell me I was close to death, but my little body fought hard and never surrendered, and this was before I even knew what it meant to keep fighting.

That may be why I insisted to my friends that we stay and not give up on the team that day.

It may be why I always fought hard competing in sports till the very end. If there is time on the clock, I’ll keep pushing.

If you are still breathing, then you keep fighting. When you wake up each morning, that’s another opportunity to make the most of those next 24 hours in your life.

The will of the Buffalo Bills that day was astonishing, and their determination is what allowed that core group of players to persevere to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances. While they never won that final game, they won a lot of big games to get back to the championship game again and again and again.

The Bills have been a long-running punch line to jokes because they never won the Super Bowl after four consecutive tries in the 1990s. Those that joke about it are only looking at the result, and never stopped to consider how hard it is to get there in the first place. The tenacity of those teams during that era to never quit and fight on has become an inspiration for many.

I’ll never forget the events of that cold day in the end zone, and it’s why I often say when the score is a little lopsided or the odds are stacked against me, “You never know, there’s lots of football left.”

This line has almost become my catch phrase. I say it more than I realize, as family and friends almost expect me to say those words when the score is going the wrong way for the home team. My brother sarcastically calls me an eternal optimist.

I guess that’s probably true of me, but I believe this in life and in sports. The ball takes unexpected bounces and you never know when it’ll bounce back in your favor if you never give up.