1995 AFC Championship Game
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1995 AFC Championship Game
The 1995 AFC Championship Game was the championship game for the American Football Conference for the 1995 season. The game was played on January 14, 1996, at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who hosted the Indianapolis Colts for the chance to play the winner of the National Football Conference in Super Bowl XXX in Tempe, Arizona. While it was considered a mismatch between an expected Super Bowl contender (Pittsburgh) and a Cinderella team (Indianapolis) in the week leading up to the game, it turned out to be very competitive, going down to the last play of the game when Colts quarterback Jim Harbaugh threw a Hail Mary pass that was ruled a dropped pass by officials in the end zone by the intended receiver, Aaron Bailey. The dropped pass gave the Steelers a 20–16 victory and sent them to Super Bowl XXX, the team's first Super Bowl appearance since Super Bowl XIV sixteen years earlier. The game would mark a turning point for both franchise ...
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1995 Indianapolis Colts Season
The 1995 Indianapolis Colts season was the 43rd season for the team in the National Football League and 12th in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Colts finished the National Football League's 1995 season with a record of 9 wins and 7 losses, and finished tied for second in the AFC East division with the Miami Dolphins. However, the Colts finished ahead of Miami based on head-to-head sweep (2–0). The Colts' 9–7 record was good enough to get them into the playoffs for the first time since 1987, largely due to the insertion of Jim Harbaugh into the starting quarterback role. They defeated the defending conference champion San Diego Chargers in their first playoff game, then upset the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Playoffs. The Colts would fall short in the AFC Championship Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in a game that came down to the final play. Offseason 1995 Expansion Draft NFL draft Undrafted free agents Transactions *July 29: The ...
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American Football Conference
The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference (NFC), each contain 16 teams with 4 divisions. Both conferences were created as part of the 1970 merger between the National Football League, and the American Football League (AFL). All ten of the AFL teams, and three NFL teams, became members of the new AFC, with the remaining thirteen NFL teams forming the NFC. A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total of 16 teams in each conference. The current AFC champions are the Cincinnati Bengals, who defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in the 2022 AFC Championship Game for their third conference championship, and their first since 1988. Teams Like the NFC, the conference has 16 teams organized into four divisions each wit ...
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AFC Championship Game
The AFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the American Football Conference (AFC) and one of the two semi-final playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional American football league in the world. The game is played on the last Sunday in January by the two remaining playoff teams, following the AFC postseason's first two rounds. The AFC champion then advances to face the winner of the NFC Championship Game in the Super Bowl. The game was established as part of the 1970 merger between the NFL and the American Football League (AFL), with the merged league realigning into two conferences. Since 1984, each winner of the AFC Championship Game has also received the Lamar Hunt Trophy, named after the founder of both the AFL and the Kansas City Chiefs, Lamar Hunt. History The first AFC Championship Game was played following the 1970 regular season after the merger between the NFL and the American Football League. The game is considered t ...
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Super Bowl XIV
Super Bowl XIV was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Los Angeles Rams and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1979 season. The Steelers defeated the Rams by the score of 31–19, becoming the first team to win four Super Bowls. The game was played on January 20, 1980, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and was attended by a Super Bowl record 103,985 spectators. It was also the first Super Bowl where the game was played in the home market of one of the participants, as Pasadena is northeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The Rams became the first team to reach the Super Bowl after posting nine wins or fewer during the regular season since the NFL season expanded to 16 games in 1978. Their 9–7 regular season record was followed by postseason wins over the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Steelers were the defendi ...
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Aaron Bailey (American Football)
Aaron Bailey (born October 24, 1971) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for five seasons with the Indianapolis Colts in the National Football League (NFL). Bailey will be best remembered for what happened in the 1995 AFC Championship Game. Trailing the Pittsburgh Steelers 20–16 with time for one last play, quarterback Jim Harbaugh threw a Hail Mary pass that was tipped by #40 strong safety for Pittsburgh, Myron Bell. As Bailey was falling to the ground, the ball ended up in his arms but was knocked free by #29 Pittsburgh's cornerback, Randy Fuller, but for one brief moment, the ball still ended up on the chest of Aaron Bailey, but officials ruled that Bailey dropped the ball and the Steelers advanced to Super Bowl XXX. Bailey attended the same high school as Harbaugh's brother and future Baltimore Ravens head coach, John Harbaugh. Bailey played for the Chicago Enforcers of the XFL in 2001 and in the Arena Football League (2001–2006). ...
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Hail Mary Pass
A Hail Mary pass is a very long forward pass in American football, typically made in desperation, with an exceptionally small chance of achieving a completion. Due to the difficulty of a completion with this pass, it makes reference to the Catholic "Hail Mary" prayer for strength and help. The expression goes back at least to the 1930s, when it was used publicly by Elmer Layden and Jim Crowley, two former members of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's Four Horsemen. Originally meaning any sort of desperation play, a Hail Mary pass gradually came to denote a long, low-probability pass, typically of the "alley-oop" variety, attempted at the end of a half when a team is too far from the end zone to execute a more conventional play, implying that it would take a miracle for the play to succeed. For more than 40 years, use of the term was largely confined to Notre Dame and other Catholic universities. The term became widespread after an NFL playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and th ...
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Jim Harbaugh
James Joseph Harbaugh (; born December 23, 1963) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current and 20th head football coach of the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1983 to 1986. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons from 1987 to 2000 with his longest tenure as a player with the Chicago Bears. He served as the head coach of the San Diego Toreros (2004–2006), the Stanford Cardinal (2007–2010), and the NFL's San Francisco 49ers (2011–2014).The Detroit Free Press, "Preparing To Be A-Maized", by Mark Snyder and David Jesse, December 29, 2014, page B1 In 2015, Harbaugh returned to his alma mater, the University of Michigan. Harbaugh was born in Toledo, Ohio. His father, Jack Harbaugh, was a football coach, and the family lived in Ohio, Kentucky, Iowa, Michigan, and California. He attended high school in Ann Arbor, Michigan and Palo Alto, California, when his father was an assistant coach at Michi ...
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Cinderella (sports)
In sports, the terms Cinderella, "Cinderella story", and Cinderella team are used to refer to situations in which competitors achieve far greater success than would reasonably have been best expected. Cinderella stories tend to gain much media and fan attention as they move closer to the tournament final game. The term comes from the well-known European folk tale of '' Cinderella'', which embodies a myth-element of unjust oppression and triumphant reward, when the title character's life of poverty is suddenly changed to one of remarkable fortune. In a sporting context the term has been used at least since 1939, but came into widespread usage in 1950, when the Disney movie was released that year, and in reference to City College of New York, the unexpected winners of the NCAA Men's Basketball championship also that year. The term was used by Bill Murray in the 1980 movie '' Caddyshack'' where he pretends as the announcer to his own golf fantasy: "Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A f ...
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Tempe, Arizona
, settlement_type = City , named_for = Vale of Tempe , image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg , imagesize = 260px , image_caption = Tempe skyline as seen from Papago Park , image_flag = Tempe, Arizona official flag.png , seal_size = , image_map = File:Maricopa County Arizona Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Tempe Highlighted 0473000.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location of Tempe in Maricopa County, Arizona , image_map1 = , mapsize1 = , map_caption1 = , pushpin_map = Arizona#USA , pushpin_map_caption = Location in Arizona##Location in the United States , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates = , subdivision_type = L ...
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Super Bowl XXX
Super Bowl XXX was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1995 season. The Cowboys defeated the Steelers by the score of 27–17, winning their fifth Super Bowl in team history and their most recent as of 2022. The game was played on January 28, 1996, at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, the first time the Super Bowl was played in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Both teams entered the game trying to tie the San Francisco 49ers for the record for most Super Bowl wins by a franchise (5). The Cowboys, who posted a 12–4 regular season record, were making their eighth Super Bowl appearance, while the Steelers, who recorded an 11–5 regular season record, were making their fifth appearance. This game was also the fifth rematch between Super Bowl teams. Moreover, it was the third meeting ...
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National Football Conference
The National Football Conference (NFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The NFC and its counterpart, the American Football Conference (AFC), each contain 16 teams organized into 4 divisions. Both conferences were created as part of the 1970 NFL merger with the rival American Football League (AFL), with all ten of the former AFL teams and three NFL teams forming the AFC while the remaining thirteen NFL clubs formed the NFC. A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the total of 16 clubs in each conference. The defending NFC champions are the Los Angeles Rams, who defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the 2021 NFC Championship Game for their fifth conference championship. Teams Since 2002, like the AFC, the NFC has 16 teams that organized into four divisions each with four teams: East, North, South, and West. ...
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Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 season, the Colts have played their games in Lucas Oil Stadium. Previously, the team had played for over two decades (1984–2007) at the RCA Dome. Since 1987, the Colts have served as the host team for the NFL Scouting Combine. The Colts have competed as a member club of the NFL since their founding in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1953, after then-owner Carroll Rosenbloom purchased the assets of the NFL's last founding Ohio League member Dayton Triangles-Dallas Texans franchise. They were one of three NFL teams to join those of the American Football League (AFL) to form the AFC, following the 1970 merger. While in Baltimore, the team advanced to the playoffs ten times and won three NFL Championship games in 1958, 1959, and 1968. The B ...
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