Sudden Death
On this day, the 40th anniversary of the death of John Lennon, I thought I’d write a poem about it.
Those watching the fourth quarter of the nationally broadcast Monday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and the Miami Dolphins were the first Americans to know. With the game near the end of regulation, the announcement came sometime before midnight, Eastern Standard Time.
The score was tied at 13, three seconds remained, and the Patriots were going to attempt a field goal for the win. Their place-kicker John Smith, a UK citizen who found himself playing American football for a paycheck, came out to kick the potential winning score. Smith also was a huge Beatles fan. His teammates would often get him to sing at meals, and he’d regale them with Beatles tunes.
If Smith missed the attempt, the game would go into overtime. The NFL had recently added overtime for regular season games, previously reserved only for the playoffs, as ties were not popular with fans. The rules were the first team to score in an extra period of 15 minutes would win the game. The popular term for this was “Sudden Death.”
There was a timeout called before the play, and ABC broadcaster Howard Cosell had ample time to make the short, yet tragic announcement. He begins as the cameras show Smith warming up on the New England sideline for the kick. Smith comes onto the field and the teams prepare for what could be the game’s deciding play. Cosell made the announcement with his trademark flair and phrasing.
And I watched it live.
It was the first time I had experienced a death of a cultural icon/hero. I was too young for Brian Jones, Jimi, and Janis, and I hadn’t discovered T. Rex/Marc Bolan yet. Well… there was Bon Scott (AC/DC), but I don’t think he’s in the same league.
SUDDEN DEATH
It’s now up to John Smith.
Wearing Number 1 for New England,
his left leg swishes once
on the sideline,
sending an imaginary ball to
victory.
With three seconds left,
game tied at 13, Smith,
an Englishman, who stumbled into
an American pro football career,
trots onto the Miami grass
on a December Monday night
leading the league in scoring.
Howard tells America, “Remember,
this is just
a
football
game…”
Smith’s stats for the game
appear on screen:
2/2, with a long of 33.
If it’s good, the Patriots win.
If not, Sudden Death.
An unspeakable tragedy
Is spoken.
“Shot twice in the back
… dead
on
arrival …”
The snap,
the hold,
the kick gets blocked
and now,
twice in short succession,
Sudden Death.
Smith’s life goes
on
while his
hero’s ends.
In Miami.
Outside the Dakota.
Sudden Death.
