January 1980 Replay
JANUARY 1980
(A parenthetic addition to the introduction. I plan, at this time, to restrict myself to major championships and league or tournament championships. I reserve the right to take detours into things like Red Sox Opening Day in April, maybe, or Jerry Reuss' no hitter in June, or the Bruins or Celtics' playoff runs, or George Brett trying to bat .400. if the mood strikes. I had originally planned to simulate all the regular season contests of the four Boston teams that happened in 1980, but I quickly thought better of it. I also may, if something proves to be too hard to do, make some adjustments or other changes to the replay as I see fit.)
WORLD EVENTS
Number 1 film, domestic box office: "Kramer Vs. Kramer"
Number 1 song, US Top 40: "Please Don't Go," KC and the Sunshine Band
Number 1 TV show: "The Dukes of Hazzard"
The Americans taken hostage in Tehran at the American embassy were entering their second month of being held.
President Jimmy Carter announced a grain embargo against the Soviet Union and signed a loan agreement to help Chrysler.
The United Nations tried and failed to act in order to oppose the Soviet Union's ongoing invasion of Afghanistan.
Lin Manuel Miranda and Albert Pujols were born.
The Rubik's Cube made its debut.
BET began broadcasting.
SPORTS:
SUPER BOWL XIV: Actual result- Pittsburgh 31, LA 19, thanks to two fourth quarter scores by the Steelers.
REPLAY RESULT:
(The replay, of course, is with Second Season Football, using the original Plaay book and home brewed teams and defense chart. I always play SS offense against offense when I play solo, so that's how I played this one. I guess that sort of tilts the realism, because it's sort of me against me. But that's the way it is.)
BACK TO BACK FADES TO BLACK
Steel Curtain fails to close deal on repeat bid
PASADENA- After storming out to a 14-0 advantage in the first quarter, the Steelers seemed to be making room on the shelf for another Lombardi Trophy. After a strong kickoff return to open the contest by Larry Andersen, Franco Harris blasted through a huge hole opened by C Mike Webster to rack up a 44 yard gain on the game's opening play. After Terry Bradshaw found Lynn Swann at the back of the end zone to make the score 7-0, Pittsburgh's Mel Blount burst on a seam route and grabbed an interception to give Pittsburgh the ball again, and Bradshaw found John Stallworth for another score and a quick 14-0 lead.
LA's Frank Corral kicked a 35 yard field goal to put the Rams on the board, and then disaster struck for Pittsburgh. Their first play of their next possession was a swing pass to Rocky Bleier, but the running back was stripped of the ball by a pursuing Fred Dwyer. LA fell on it, and then cashed in the gift when Wendell Tyler converted a fourth down chance to cut the lead to 14-10. The two teams traded scores before the half, Franco Harris plunging in from the one, followed by LA's Vince Ferragamo finding Billy Waddy down the sideline to go into the locker room down only 21-17.
LA took the ball to start the third, and drove all the way down to the 2. Rather than kick the field goal, the Rams tried to punch it in for the score on 4th down. It seemed that Wendell Tyler had been stopped, but there was a flag on the Steelers for holding that saved the Rams, who went ahead and ran it in to give LA the lead. Pittsburgh was pinned deep in their own zone on the ensuing drive after a penalty and a sack, but Bradshaw converted a 3rd and 27 to get them out of the hole. Pittsburgh got to the Rams' 20, but after a Dryer sack pushed them back, they did not trust kicker Matt Bahr from that distance, so an artful punt pinned the Rams at the 10.
Helped by two pass interference penalties, LA went the length of the field, Ferragamo throwing a strike to Preston Dennard to give the Rams a 10 point lead early in the 4th quarter. Bradshaw gave the ball back with an interception, but the defense stood up with a stop, and Bradshaw didn't miss the second time, finding Franco Harris underneath for a score that brought the Steelers within 3. The Rams couldn't do much with the ball, giving Bradshaw another chance. but his second fourth quarter pick gave the ball to the Rams again inside of two minutes.
The Rams' offense squandered the chance, surrendering the ball to the Steelers one last time. With 45 seconds to play and no time outs left, Bradshaw found Lynn Swann, who darted out of bounds at the LA 30 with only 30 seconds on the clock. A game tying field goal from there was again a bridge too far, so the Steelers went out and tried for the winning touchdown. In a brilliant display of coverage, Bradshaw couldn't find a receiver, and before he could toss the Hail Mary, LA's Jack Youngblood hauled him down to end the game and Pittsburgh's bid to repeat as champions.
Next month is February, and on the replay schedule is the Daytona 500.