Kansas City Chiefs classic: Stoyanovich beats the Broncos

YouTube might be the greatest invention of all-time with regards to the internet. Sure, Facebook is cool and Twitter is fun, but YouTube brings back the past. When you are a Kansas City Chiefs fan, that can mean some pretty sweet old games and frantic finishes.

I happened to be surfing around on Monday and ran into a personal favorite of mine. Back in 1997, the Chiefs were hosting the Denver Broncos. Denver was leading the AFC West with a 9-1 record while Kansas City lagged behind at 7-3 coming into the Week 12 showdown.

With Rich Gannon at the helm, the Chiefs mustered almost no offense throughout the day. All told, Kansas City gained 202 yards while taking 11 penalties for 120 yards. Meanwhile, the Broncos amassed 329 yards and six sacks, along with a 13-0 lead in the second quarter.

The Chiefs erased the deficit with 21 straight points before allowing three Jason Elam field goals. On the final drive, Kansas City desperately drove to Denver’s 37-yard line with four seconds remaining. In front of a capacity crowd at Arrowhead Stadium, Pete Stoyanovich took aim…

Being a New Yorker, it was rare to see the Chiefs on television unless it was a primetime game. However, this contest was nationally televised, allowing me to enjoy bedlam in live color. Stoyanovich’s kick remains one of the top two or three moments of my Kansas City fandom. I remember being a 9-year-old kid trying to see if the ball cleared the crossbar, only realizing glory when I saw KC Wolf dancing in ecstasy.

Here’s to another great finish (or two) like that in 2015.