Super Bowl XXVII : THROUGH THE YEARS : Footnotes To History : XXV : MATT BAHR : NEW YORK GIANTS

When Scott Norwood lined up to attempt a game-winning field goal for the Buffalo Bills in the final moments of Super Bowl XXV, Matt Bahr wanted him to miss as badly as any other member of the New York Giants.

Except, Bahr prayed a little differently.

“I remember standing there wishing for everything bad to happen to him except a miss,” Bahr said. “I was hoping for a block, or a bad snap, or a fumble . . . anything but for him to just miss it.”

Moments later, Bahr became the answer to a trivia question. In the Super Bowl that ended with Norwood pushing the winning field-goal attempt wide right, who did kick the winning field goal?

It was Bahr’s 21-yard field goal with 7:40 remaining that gave the Giants a 20-19 victory--as if that will be the kick anyone remembers.

“My kick sure wasn’t as big of a deal as (Norwood’s) kick,” Bahr said. “About all that happened with my kick was Phil Simms coming up to me beforehand and saying, ‘These are big points.’ Turns out, he was right.”

Bahr will be better remembered for kicking five field goals in the NFC championship game against the 49ers, including a 42-yard game-winner in the final seconds.

However, he enjoyed his winning Super Bowl kick far more, and not only because it was the Super Bowl.

“I am leery of anybody who says they want the game to come down to them,” Bahr said.

Even if he did not know the outcome of the kick, Bahr said he would not have wanted to be in Norwood’s cleats in the final seconds.

“At that point of the game, I always want to be ahead three or four touchdowns,” Bahr said. “I never want it to come down to the wire like that.”

Bahr said he has talked to Norwood since then, but what they have shared most is a silent understanding.

‘I feel really badly for what has happened to him,” said Bahr, referring to Norwood’s ruined career. “But you know, it could happen to any of us, at any time. What happened to Scott is something a kicker lives with every day.”

* 1991 AT TAMPA

Buffalo 3 9 0 7 -- 19 N.Y. Giants 3 7 7 3 -- 20

NYG--FG Bahr 28

Buf--FG Norwood 23

Buf--D. Smith 1 run (Norwood kick)

Buf--Safety, B. Smith tackled Hostetler in end zone)

NYG--Baker 14 pass from Hostetler (Bahr kick)

NYG--Anderson 1 run (Bahr kick)

Buf--Thomas 31 run (Norwood kick)

NYG--FG Bahr 21

A--73,813

Winning Coach--Bill Parcells

MVP--Ottis Anderson.