The Legend of Doug Flutie: 25 Years (and One Day) Later

• Author: Min-Q Kim
• Posted on: Tuesday November 24, 2009 at 7:00 AM
• Filed under: sports, doug flutie, boston college, hail mary, exclusive, flutie effect

The date was November 23, 1984. It was the day after Thanksgiving, and there was only one game on TV that night: upstart Boston College vs. defending national champion Miami, both ranked, both featuring premiere quarterbacks. The game more than lived up to its prime-time billing. Down 41-45 with only 6 seconds remaining, Boston College QB Doug Flutie would launch himself into the annals of sports legend. Now known as 'The Miracle in Miami,' the improbable ending lives on to this day, and is widely considered the greatest single play in the history of College Football.

Forbes Magazine delves deeper into the aftermath of that game, that play, and that player:

But ask sports business consultant Marc Ganis--without provocation--who he sees as college football's single most important driving figure of the past 30 years, and you'll get a quick answer.

"Doug Flutie," flat out. His rise to the national stage "re-established the Northeast, that part of the country with the densest population and the highest concentration of media decision makers."

In the two years following this game, applications to attend Boston College would rise around 30%. THIRTY PERCENT! In essence, BC rose to national prominence almost overnight thanks to a diminutive local kid with a big heart, and his legendary exploits on the football field. This phenomenon became known as The Flutie Effect, and has influenced schools around the country -- for better or worse -- to invest millions in their athletic departments.

Doug Flutie graced the cover of Sports Illustrated following the Miracle in Miami. He also won the prestigious Heisman Trophy, awarded to college football's best player. Boston College applications would rise 30%. (Photo: Heinz Kluetmeier/SI, via SI.com)

As a Boston College alum, I can attest. Flutie's presence still looms large on campus -- not just at Alumni Stadium, where the Eagles play their homegames, and where a statue now stands in Flutie's honor. Here's a gem from my initial campus tour: The 'Dust Bowl' is flanked on its four sides by the school's main academic buildings: Devlin Hall, Fulton Hall, Lyons Hall, Gasson Hall. If you ever forget which building is which, just remember this simple mnemonic device: Doug Flutie Loves Girls. Now, I must admit to having missed a class or two during my BC tenure, but it wasn't 'cause I was lost.

So, 25 years (and one day) after this watershed moment, we salute Doug Flutie, and the Hail Mary pass that made him immortal.

Here's a great feature on the play and its participants.

Here's a great ESPN spot commemorating the play, in which Doug Flutie sits down with the man who saw it all from the booth, Play-by-play announcer Brent Musburger.

 

 

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