1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,440 Speaker 1: If you're a football fan, or I guess even if 2 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:05,280 Speaker 1: you're not, you can get really sucked into a game 3 00:00:05,320 --> 00:00:08,959 Speaker 1: where something odd happens that throws you off the actual 4 00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:12,240 Speaker 1: game itself. Right. How about your team is playing so 5 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:15,760 Speaker 1: badly you leave the stadium early, and minutes later a 6 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: plane crashes into the seats you were sitting in. I'm 7 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:24,080 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. The unbelievable touchdown and more. Next on the backstory. 8 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:31,480 Speaker 1: The backstory is back. You may have crashed a party 9 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:34,000 Speaker 1: or two, but have you ever crashed a football game. 10 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:36,960 Speaker 1: We've seen all kinds of crazy events at games over 11 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:39,960 Speaker 1: the years. There was the time Miami and Seattle were 12 00:00:40,000 --> 00:00:43,199 Speaker 1: playing in the Dolphins stadium in twenty twelve, but some 13 00:00:43,360 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: genius had left the sprinkler system on the Saturday schedule 14 00:00:46,920 --> 00:00:50,760 Speaker 1: for Sunday's game. In the third quarter, it started raining 15 00:00:50,800 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: from the ground up. The players were actually delighted, though 16 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: Miami won by the way. And in December of nineteen 17 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,280 Speaker 1: eighty two, there was yet another game involving the Dolphin fans, 18 00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:03,680 Speaker 1: this time facing off against the Patriots in a very 19 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 1: different climate. It happened in Boston. It's forever dubbed the 20 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: snowplow game. It seems that before the game there had 21 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:15,520 Speaker 1: been a driving rainstorm. Then temperatures dropped like crazy and 22 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,479 Speaker 1: the turf froze solid. Finally, just before the game got underway, 23 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,479 Speaker 1: a massive blizzard moved in, and throughout the game they 24 00:01:23,520 --> 00:01:27,480 Speaker 1: had to pause periodically to run a snowplow across the field. 25 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: At Super Bowl forty seven in twenty twelve, just after 26 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,880 Speaker 1: Beyonce's halftime show, the New Orleans super Dome lost power. 27 00:01:35,319 --> 00:01:38,760 Speaker 1: Stadium went completely dark for over half an hour, making 28 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: it the longest Super Bowl in history at four hours 29 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:44,839 Speaker 1: and fourteen minutes. They never did figure out why both 30 00:01:44,880 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: electrical feeders providing power to the stadium failed at the 31 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:52,040 Speaker 1: same time. Ultimately, the Ravens beat the forty nine Ers, 32 00:01:52,040 --> 00:01:56,440 Speaker 1: but some conspiracy types still think it was sabotaged. Now, 33 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:00,120 Speaker 1: when it comes to what they call spectator interference, we've 34 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,240 Speaker 1: seen plenty of that, guys with too much to drink 35 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:06,560 Speaker 1: rushing the field, grabbing the ball, trying to run for 36 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,839 Speaker 1: a personal touchdown. And we've seen overserved nude fans run 37 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,680 Speaker 1: out on the field just to show off their stuff. 38 00:02:14,160 --> 00:02:16,679 Speaker 1: But one of the weirdest moments involved what must have 39 00:02:16,760 --> 00:02:20,920 Speaker 1: been really lacked security. Following a game between the Steelers 40 00:02:20,919 --> 00:02:24,200 Speaker 1: and the Cowboys, the teams head to their locker rooms, 41 00:02:24,600 --> 00:02:27,359 Speaker 1: only so did a fan. But he doesn't just hit 42 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,240 Speaker 1: players up for autographs. This guy proceeds to get undressed 43 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,079 Speaker 1: and get in the shower with him, and it doesn't 44 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:37,160 Speaker 1: end there. One of the reporters says he was interviewing 45 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,280 Speaker 1: a star defensive tackle when this guy comes out of 46 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: the shower and starts taking questions from other reporters as 47 00:02:43,800 --> 00:02:46,640 Speaker 1: though he was part of the team. They finally realize 48 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:49,560 Speaker 1: he's an outsider and lose interest. So the guy just 49 00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: starts getting dressed and he leaves the locker room. The 50 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:54,799 Speaker 1: reporter says he and the tackle he was talking to 51 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:57,640 Speaker 1: looked at each other and both said, who was that guy? 52 00:02:58,160 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: To this day, no one ever figured out who he was. Then, 53 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:08,880 Speaker 1: there are other things that happened to games that were 54 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:13,400 Speaker 1: near disasters that turned into more like distractions. In a 55 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,040 Speaker 1: game between the Vikings and the forty nine Ers, a 56 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:18,160 Speaker 1: hot air balloon was supposed to be part of a 57 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: halftime show, lifting two hundred feet off the ground. Now 58 00:03:22,200 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: the problem is in freezing weather, they couldn't get the 59 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:28,240 Speaker 1: balloon to lift off with a woman inside, so she 60 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,120 Speaker 1: hops out and her eleven year old son pops in. 61 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: It took off all right, rows up and out of 62 00:03:34,320 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: the stadium when the tether ropes failed. It then went 63 00:03:37,720 --> 00:03:41,000 Speaker 1: on a three mile journey with the little boy still inside, 64 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,960 Speaker 1: finally landing in an icy river. The kid manages to 65 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,120 Speaker 1: swim to shore and was reunited with the team and 66 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: then later his frantic parents. Later that same season, another 67 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,119 Speaker 1: hot air balloon at the same stadium failed to take 68 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:58,760 Speaker 1: off and fell onto the crowd sixty thousand strong in 69 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: the bleachers razingly. Nobody was hurt, but maybe that was 70 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:05,160 Speaker 1: the end of hot air balloon entertainment for the Vikings, 71 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:08,480 Speaker 1: at least finally. One of the craziest events at a 72 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: stadium involved a disgruntled fan of the then Baltimore Colts 73 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:16,760 Speaker 1: back in nineteen seventy six. Now, imagine the Colts are 74 00:04:16,800 --> 00:04:20,360 Speaker 1: your team and they're playing really badly against the Steelers. 75 00:04:21,000 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: You decide to vacate your seats in the top deck 76 00:04:23,760 --> 00:04:27,240 Speaker 1: of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium and hit the road just before 77 00:04:27,279 --> 00:04:29,960 Speaker 1: the game ends, like a flood of other disappointed fans. 78 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: In fact, so many fans have left. Now the upper 79 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,919 Speaker 1: decks are pretty much empty. Moments after the game ends, 80 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 1: a small plane flies low into the stadium, cruising just 81 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:44,799 Speaker 1: over the scoreboard and the north goal post. It looks 82 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,040 Speaker 1: like the plane is trying to land on the field, 83 00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:50,119 Speaker 1: but then it tries to climb, only to fall into 84 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,960 Speaker 1: the now empty seats in the upper deck Miraculously. While 85 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 1: three police officers were injured, only one of them fairly seriously. 86 00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:02,040 Speaker 1: Nobody died, including the pilot, Donald Kroner, who was pulled 87 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:05,480 Speaker 1: from the wreckage mostly unhurt. Seems he had some mental 88 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: health issues, had his pilot's license suspended, and just the 89 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:12,160 Speaker 1: day before had been fired from his bus driving job. 90 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,680 Speaker 1: He was also angry about being ejected from a restaurant 91 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 1: owned by a former player for the Colts, which led 92 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: to him trying to buzz the stadium. Ultimately, Kroner served 93 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:26,200 Speaker 1: three months of a two year sentence for malicious destruction 94 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:30,960 Speaker 1: of property and violation of aviation ordinances. The next day, 95 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,200 Speaker 1: the Colt's coach said the crash saved him the embarrassment 96 00:05:34,200 --> 00:05:36,880 Speaker 1: of having to answer to the press about the team's loss, 97 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:39,520 Speaker 1: since the crash was all they actually wanted to talk about. 98 00:05:40,200 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: So the question is, what is it about being a 99 00:05:42,560 --> 00:05:46,280 Speaker 1: sports fan that gets folks so riled up they sometimes 100 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:50,240 Speaker 1: totally lose self control. Well, maybe it's the desire a 101 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:53,760 Speaker 1: lot of us have to try to prove ourselves against 102 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: all odds. I want to give a shout out to 103 00:05:59,400 --> 00:06:02,800 Speaker 1: Dana August, a terrific listener who suggested we take a 104 00:06:02,839 --> 00:06:05,960 Speaker 1: bit of a dive into the stadium plane crash story. 105 00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:09,720 Speaker 1: By the way, Dana also does a podcast called Historically 106 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,560 Speaker 1: Speaking Sports. I love that much. Appreciated, Dana. If you 107 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: have an idea for a story you'd like me to share, 108 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:19,120 Speaker 1: feel free to dm me on Facebook at Patty Steele 109 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:29,440 Speaker 1: or on Instagram at Real Patty Steele. I'm Patty Steele. 110 00:06:29,680 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: The Backstories a production of iHeartMedia, Premiere Networks, the Elvis 111 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: Durand Group and Steel Trap Productions. Our producer is Doug Fraser. 112 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:42,080 Speaker 1: Our writer Jake Kushner. We have new episodes every Tuesday 113 00:06:42,120 --> 00:06:44,640 Speaker 1: and Friday. Feel free to reach out to me with 114 00:06:44,720 --> 00:06:48,680 Speaker 1: comments and even story suggestions on Instagram at Real Patty 115 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:52,160 Speaker 1: Steele and on Facebook at Patty Steele. Thanks for listening 116 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,480 Speaker 1: to the Backstory with Patty Steele. The Pieces of History 117 00:06:55,640 --> 00:06:57,360 Speaker 1: you didn't know, you needed to know.