Tonight the Houston Dynamo travel to Seattle as the Sounders’ first-ever MLS playoff opponent. This battle will stretch out over the next two weeks, for the MLS quarterfinals are a home-and-home affair. The Sounders face Houston again one week from Sunday. Will this battle be as epic as the three Houston/Seattle postseason matchups that have preceded it?
To wit:
–The 1988 Wild Card Playoff, a.k.a. the Fredd Young phantom interception game.
–The 1993 NBA Western Conference semifinals, which stretched to seven games.
–The 1996 “Houston You Have a Problem” Western Conference semifinals sweep.
Let’s take each in turn, shall we? Today’s edition…
Houston 23, Seattle 20 (OT), January 3, 1988. [box]
The 9-7 Seahawks finished 2nd in the AFC West, and had to travel to Houston’s Astrodome for this Wild Card game. Husky legend Warren Moon led the Oilers’ run-and-shoot attack, predicated on short passing. But he heaved a deep one early that the Seahawks’ Melvin Jenkins intercepted. Dave Krieg hit Steve Largent with a 20-yard TD pass and the good guys led 7-0. From there, Houston’s offense dominated, rolling up 437 yards and four scoring drives. The Seahawks got just two field goals, and the game stood 20-13 with less than two minutes left.
But the Hawks managed an 80-yard, 10-play touchdown drive, with Krieg connecting with Largent on another TD pass with just 26 seconds left.
The Seahawks got the ball first in overtime, but their drive stalled.
NOTE: The Seahawks have been involved in three sudden death overtime playoff games. They have won the coin toss and received the ball first all three times — yet they’ve LOST ALL THREE GAMES! HOW THE HELL IS THAT POSSIBLE! /endrant
Houston got the ball back. On the third play of their drive, Seahawks linebacker Fredd Young dove for a batted pass and appeared to catch it before it hit the ground. The refs said no. Replay, then in its first halting incarnation, did not show conclusive evidence. The Oilers kept the ball and marched down the field for the winning score.
Seahawks coach Chuck Knox told the P-I after the game: “”I was proud the way our players battled. We just weren’t good enough to win today. It was that simple.”
The Oilers lost to Denver 34-10 one week later, with the Broncos advancing to the Super Bowl. The Seahawks got a rematch with the Oilers the next year at the Kingdome with the Hawks getting the winning field goal this time — Norm Johnson hit a 46-yarder with one second left for the win.
