The game of football has had so many great and not so great moments that it would take a month of Sundays to list even a fraction of them. So we're not even going to try here. And in case you're wondering, we're not even going to list the best of the best, since that would be a matter of opinion anyway. No, we're just going to present some classic and tragic moments in the game that, hopefully, will bring back a memory or two.



Probably one of the biggest disasters in football history was November 17, 1968, when the New York Jets were playing the Oakland Raiders. The Jets were leading 32-29 when the game went to commercial. It never came back on the air. Why? Because there was a scheduled movie by the name of Heidi that was to air next. So the network broke away from the game and showed the movie. Jet fans figured the Jets had won. Not quite. The Raiders scored, not once, but twice and won the game 43-32. Since that time, networks never broke into a game again because of public outrage. This game went down in history as "The Heidi Game".

An even more tragic moment in Football history, very recent in fact, was on June 23, 2004. On this day, Pat Tillman, who was a defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals, a man who gave up a multi million dollar contract playing football to join the military, was killed on this date in Afghanistan. Tillman was a testament to the integrity of the man himself. He will always be remembered more for the sacrifice he made off the field than for his play on it.

But not all football moments were bad. There were quite a few good ones as well. For example, on December 14, 2003, a New York Jets running back by the name of Curtis Martin racked up 174 yards running in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. He became only the second player in NFL history to gain 1,000 yards in his first 9 seasons. It may not seem like much, but it was quite a feat.

If you're a big New York Giants fan, there was probably no more tense a moment than in Super Bowl XXV. The Giants were leading 20-19 in the game against the Bills. It was the last seconds of the game. The Bills were setting up to kick what should have been the game winning field goal from 47 yards out. Not a sure thing but certainly makable. Well, the kick went wide right and the Giants hung on for the victory. It was one of the most nail biting finishes in NFL Super Bowl history.

And the list of moments goes on forever. Something about the game of football, especially with time being such a big factor, that makes the game so tense. The last minute drives, the last second field goal attempts, they're all such a big part of what makes this game so much fun to watch and so nerve wracking in the process.