Super Bowl XXVII : THROUGH THE YEARS : Footnotes To History : XXVI : ALVOID MAYS : WASHINGTON REDSKINS

In 1988, Alvoid Mays recorded “Mountaineer Rap,” a rap song with West Virginia teammate-

roommate Major Harris.

Two years later, the rap on Mays was that he couldn’t get a football job. He was packing boxes of orange juice in Palmetto, Fla.

But two years after that, he got his five seconds of fame in Super Bowl XXVI with the Redskins.

What happened? Face to face with his Super Bowl moment, Mays squeezed it.

This was the scene at the Metrodome in Minneapolis: The Redskins led the Bills in the third quarter, 31-10, but the Bills had scored on their last two possessions and were finally starting to get their offense on track. (Check with the Houston Oilers to see if this should be treated as a viable threat).

Mays, a 5-foot-9 cornerback drafted and released by the Houston Oilers and signed as a free agent by the Redskins, was normally used in nickel coverage. But he played most of the game because of injuries to Darrell Green and AJ Johnson.

Jim Kelly of the Bills dropped back to pass and Mays surprised him with a blitz. Actually, Mays sort of caught everyone off guard because there wasn’t a blitz called and he went on his own.

“What happened, he was cocking his arm back to throw and I went for his arm,” Mays said. “I grabbed the side of his shoulder pad and the ball got loose.”

Washington defensive end Fred Stokes recovered the fumble, Mays wound up being credited with a sack as well as a forced fumble, and the Redskins went on to a 37-24 victory.

“It wasn’t a devastating hit, but it was a devastating play,” Mays said.

And he decided to use his time in the spotlight wisely. So he began dancing.

“I pointed up in the stands at my mother and father and was yelling, ‘Look at me! Look at me!’ Hey, I was hyped. Why not? It was an exciting play and I think I enjoyed it.”

* 1992 AT MINNEAPOLIS

Washington 0 17 14 6 -- 37 Buffalo 0 0 10 14 -- 24

Wash--FG Lohmiller 34

Wash--Byner 10 pass from Rypien (Lohmiller kick)

Wash--Riggs 1 run (Lohmiller kick)

Wash--Riggs 2 run (Lohmiller kick)

Buf--FG Norwood 21

Buf--Thomas 1 run (Norwood kick)

Wash--Clark 30 pass from Rypien (Lohmiller kick)

Wash--FG Lohmiller 25

Wash--FG Lohmiller 39

Buf--Metzelaars 2 pass from Kelly (Norwood kick)

Buf--Beebe 4 pass from Kelly (Norwood kick)

A--63,130

Winning Coach--Joe Gibbs

MVP--Mark Rypien