Deciding to completely ignore my plea, Doug Flutie has called it a career. They list him at 5-foot-10, but there's no way he's that tall. 5-feet-8 would probably be closer to the truth. What he lacked in stature he more than made up for in heart. The highlights break nicely into three categories.
The Magic Flutie
In 1984, at the Orange Bowl, his Hail Mary pass to Gerry Phelan won it for Boston College. He won the Heisman that year, and was already a legend.
O Canada!
Here in Canada, Flutie became an honourary Canuck when he played eight years for the BC Lions, Calgary Stampeders and Toronto Argonauts. It was only eight years, but he made the most of it, winning the league's outstanding player award six times and capturing three Grey Cup rings. He didn't just win three Grey Cups, he won three Grey Cup MVP awards.
The Bill
In 1998, Flutie signed with my favourite NFL team, the Buffalo Bills. During that first season, he went 8-3 as a starter and followed that up by going 10-5 in 1999. All Flutie did was win, but Wade Phillips made the call that took my love for NFL football and all but destroyed it. He started Rob Johnson ahead of Flutie for the opening round playoff game against the Tennessee Titans. I've written in the past about how this Johnson over Flutie decision affected me. Rob Johnson looked the part but Doug Flutie was the part. Anyone who chooses to cut Flutie and go with Johnson as their starter has absolutley no soul, brains or a snowball's chance in hell of winning anything. History has proven me right.
Farewell, Dougie.
