By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
Of his 15 years in the NFL, Steve Christie spent nine of them with the Buffalo Bills.
When it was all said and done, Christie became the team’s all-time leading scorer (1,108), still holds an NFL record for longer kick in the Super Bowl (Super Bowl XXVIII – 54 yards) as a Bill, earned the nickname “Mr. Clutch,” and probably hit the biggest kick in team history, a 32 yarder ending the biggest comeback in NFL history against the Oilers in 1993.
It wasn’t always roses, though.
Scott Norwood, not Christie, had the Bills’ all-time biggest miss. Wide right. It needs no further explanation. Despite the miss, Bills fans always rallied around Norwood, and still do, to show an appreciation for his efforts.
Still, then-general manager Bill Polian picked up the phone in 1992 and brought in Christie to battle it out with Norwood. As history wrote it, Christie was in Buffalo for nearly the next decade.
But before earning his nickname, Christie recently discussed his arrival in western New York with The Athletic. As a Hamilton, ONT., native, Christie was excited to play closer to home having started his career in Tampa Bay.
“Bill Polian called and that was pretty much the end of the story,” Christie said.
According to Christie, Bills fan were none to welcoming, though.
“I was on the plane the next day. Got to Buffalo with my agent and my parents in a limo, and there were about 1,500 Scott Norwood fans protesting my arrival,” Christie said.
But don’t get Christie wrong, he knew that just meant he was in the right kind of place.
“I said, ‘Well, I respect that.’ And I realized quickly how loyal the fans were in Buffalo,” he said.
In the ensuing training camp, Christie beat out Norwood for the job. The 51-year-old said he’s still friends to this day with Norwood.
Christie’s career in Buffalo spanned 144 regular season games and a 78.3 success rate on field goals. After leaving the Bills after the 2000 season, Christie played with the Chargers and Giants and also spent a brief time with the Jaguars.
And despite his arrival in 1992, his entire career ended on a high note with Buffalo. After kicking with Toronto in the CFL in 2007, he officially retired from football and did so as a Bill, signing a one-day deal in March 2008.
“Regardless of where I ended up playing following my career in Buffalo, I knew that I wanted to retire a Bill,” Christie said in 2008. “My best years and really the bulk of my career was in Buffalo. So to retire here was not only closure, for me it was a necessity.”
“And the fans have been extremely loyal,” Christie added. “Retiring with the Bills, is absolutely a nod to the fans and a thank you.”
A true lesson about sticking it out with Bills fans.