Very few people will ever forget it.
It made nearly every kid in Buffalo cry, and we were not even ashamed to tell our friends the next day.
The words still echo through Buffalo - WIDE RIGHT!
Scott Norwood's kick not only lost a Super Bowl, it doomed the Buffalo Bills to three more losses in the NFL's title game. Lives were changed and children all over Buffalo wept because of one missed kick.
With that kind of pressure, and those kind of consequences, who would want the kicking job on any football team?
For UB, the duty falls to Mike Baker, who as a junior has taken over the majority of the kicking duties.
Now studying as a history major, Baker was attracted here by UB's academics as well as its budding Division I athletic program. He has shown his dedication to his studies, being named a UB Scholar-Athlete.
"UB has great people, great academics, and an athletic program on the rise," Baker said.
Besides volunteering for potentially the most stressful position in sports, Baker has volunteered his time in the community, helping out with the Special Olympics and doing work for the American Red Cross.
In the summer you might find Baker floating on a boat somewhere out on Chautauqua Lake, trying his luck with the summer smallmouth bass.
On any given day around 7:30 p.m., you may find him intently answering some questions from Alex Trebek.
However, most of the time you will find him with the other Bulls players out on "The Pasture" of UB Stadium, practicing for when a defining moment comes in his football career.
In practice and in games, UB's holder, Randall Secky, always puts the ball "laces out," helping Baker to get a good solid strike on the ball. At times in practice Secky helps Baker gets close to sixty-yard kicks.
"People laugh about the 'Ace Ventura, Pet Detective' thing of 'laces out.'" said Baker. "But it really is something that greatly affects the kick."
Although the Bulls have had marginal success so far this season, Baker has seen his share of success in the first two weeks of 2004. In last week's game against perennial powerhouse Syracuse, Baker hit a 36-yard field goal, keeping his team in the game. The Orangemen proved too strong, his field goal helped to keep the teams close at the beginning.
"I though our defense played really well overall. The punt team will need to shore some things up, as will the kickoff team," said Baker. "But we've been working really hard in practice this week to correct the mistakes we made against Syracuse."
This weekend, Baker will join the Bulls out West as they head to Nevada to face the Wolf Pack.
The trip out west might call for a competition of a different sort: A chess match between Baker and another premier UB player.
Like his teammate Aaron Sanders, Baker is a chess fan. He said has also has also put some opponents into checkmate. But he has not yet met Sanders head to head on the chessboard, however.
"I've never played Aaron in chess, so I don't know what kind of style he uses," Baker said. "But I'm sure I could give him a run for his money."
