The Bengals must win against the Houston Texans in the NFL playoffs.  No more “oh-fers” for Marvin Lewis in the playoffs.  It’s been a long time since the Bengals last won a playoff game and that hovering cloud must be lifted from above the heads of Cincinnati sports fans.  We live for our teams.  We remember the highs, the lows, where we were and who we were with.  A sports team represents a life’s journey to many fans like us.

January 3, 2013 was the 20th anniversary of the greatest comeback game in NFL history.  The Houston Oilers were destroying the Buffalo Bills in the first round of the playoffs in 1993.  It was a miserable, cold, rainy January Sunday at Rich Stadium about 15 miles south of Buffalo.  The stadium wasn’t sold out.  The Bills were down 35-3 in the 3rd quarter.  The Houston play-by-play announcer became immortalized by saying "The lights are on here at Rich Stadium, they've been on since this morning, you could pretty much turn them off on the Bills right now.”  It was then the comeback began.

Here’s how that one game is important in my life’s journey. 

My first wife and I decided to split up and divorce.  We were living in Louisiana.  The previous weekend she and I went to visit her family in Houston.  The Oilers and Bills played at the Astrodome that Sunday and the group of us went to the game.  Final score Houston 27 - Buffalo 3.  It’s never a good idea to spend the weekend with the in-laws when they know you’re heading for divorce court.  Trust me on this one. 

Life brings emotional peaks and valleys and to me I was quickly heading for its depths.  On Sunday, January 3rd, the Bills and Oilers played again.  As the Bills were taking a beating by Houston in the first half of that famous playoff game, my ex-wife and I were taking down the Christmas tree for the last time and dividing up Christmas ornaments.  When you have a small child, believe me, it’s not a great moment in your life.  I don’t remember what was said, but we had an argument and she left the house with our son.  The Oilers kept scoring – repeatedly.  At halftime, Bob Costas, hosting the NBC studio show, began discussing how the Oilers would be playing Pittsburgh in the next round of the playoffs.  Emotionally, my life was getting very close to rock bottom.  I reached for the remote control to turn the TV off.  Then I thought, no.  This would be the last chance I get to watch my favorite team, the Bills, this season.  The second half began with Bills’ quarterback Frank Reich throwing a pick six.  Again, I reached for the remote.  Again I thought, no.  The score was 35-3.  This was the moment.  This was the emotional rock bottom in my life’s journey, with 13 minutes, 19 seconds remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Next on the screen appeared Oilers’ quarterback Warren Moon on the sideline.  He had this strange look on his face, a look that said, “Uh-oh.  We’ve pissed these guys off.”  The Buffalo Bills quickly scored 35 points to tie the game, eventually winning in overtime.  Bob Costas returned to the broadcast on the NBC postgame show, looked into the camera, somewhat bewildered and simply said, “You have just seen the greatest NFL game ever played." 

Me?  After cheering, screaming and saying a prayer or two, I simply sat down on the floor emotionally drained, exhausted and wiped tears from my eyes.  I remembered as a child listening to Bills' games on the radio with my grandfather, remembering how disgusted he’d become with their poor play.  I remembered going to games with him.  Now gone, I wished he could have been around to see this one day, a day that would become one of the greatest days for Bills’ fans.

It was then I realized my life was on an upswing and the worst of my marriage’s breakup was over.  A life’s journey lived through a Buffalo Bills game.

The Bengals must win against Houston.  Cincinnati sports fans remember the joy of the 1990 Reds.  The pain of the Bengals losing in two Super Bowls.  The time is now for a life’s journey to reach new peaks.