...DARRELL RAY GREEN WAS A "5'9 DYNAMO" WHO BECAME THE ENERGY AND HEART OF THE TEAM'S DEFENSE FROM 1983 TO 2002...FOR THE SMALLEST GUY ON THE FIELD, HE WOULD MAKE THE BIGGEST PLAYS ON DEFENSE...HAILING FROM THE RELATIVELY UNKNOWN, DIVISION II, TEXAS A&I, HEAD COACH, JOE GIBBS USED HIS GREAT PERSONNEL AND SCOUTING EXPERIENCE TO TAP THE RELATIVELY UNKNOWN GREEN...AKA, "LITTLE BITTY KID", HE WAS THE FASTEST PLAYER IN THE LEAGUE FOR MANY YEARS WHO WOULD GO TOE TO TOE WITH THE OPPOSITIONS BEST PASS CATCHER...AND IT HAPPENED ALMOST IMMEDIATELY...
...SEPTEMBER 5, 1983, HIS DEBUT IS HOLLYWOOD WORTHY, FABLED AND CELEBRATED...PIGSKIN STARS AND HALL OF FAMERS COULD BE SEEN ON THE "RED CARPET", SIDELINE TO SIDELINE..THEIR ARCH DIVISION RIVAL, DALLAS COWBOYS DARED ENTER RFK FOR AN OLD FASHION "PLAINS WAR" ..IT WAS A SEASON OPENING, PRIME TIME, ABC (FREE), MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL AFFAIR...PIGSKIN STARVED FANS FROM EVERYWHERE HAD WAITED SIX MONTHS AND WOULD BE CHOMPIN' FOR A MATCHUP THE LIKES OF THIS ONE, AND.ALL THE NATION WOULD TUNE IN...
...STARTING IN PLACE OF A VETERAN "HOLDOUT", GREEN WANTED TO SHOW HE BELONGED IN THE BIG LEAGUES, STANDING IN HIS LEFT CORNERBACK POSITION IN THE FOREST AMONGST ALL OF THE SEQUOIAS...AND IF ANYBODY WOULD GIVE HIM THE CHANCE TO BE INITIATED TO THE NOTORIOUS "NFL FRATERNITY", DC'S, DREADED COWBOYS WOULD BE "PLEASED" TO PRESCRIBE THE AGENDA FOR THE"HAZING"...
...AHEAD (10-0) IN THE 2ND QUARTER, THE "YOUNGBLOOD" HAD HELD HIS OWN, BUT THE OFFENSIVE WEAPONRY BOASTED BY THE "TEXAS WRANGLERS" WAS EXTREMELY POWERFUL, THE ENVY OF THE PENTAGON...ONE SUCH ARMAMENT, SIR, ANTHONY DORSETT, A HEISMAN WINNING, ALL PRO AND FUTURE HOF HAD YET TO WARM THE ENGINE OF HIS INFAMOUS "LANDSPEEDER" BEFORE GIVING THE GREEN, MR GREEN A DEMONSTRATION OF HIS SURFACE ATTACK...
...SO, LET "HELL NIGHT" BEGIN, WHEN A " "SHOOTING DART" WEARING "33" FROM THE DALLAS BACKFIELD WENT OFF TACKLE LEFT, FOUND MORE DAYLIGHT TO THE LEFT CURBSIDE, AND FOR ALL TRADITIONAL PURPOSES, WOULD NOT BE CAUGHT BY THE TRAILING DEFENSIVE ENTOURAGE IN PURSUIT DOWN THAT LEFT CORRIDOR...COWBOY AND WASHINGTON FANS HAD SEEN IT BEFORE, AND AS THAT DART CROSSED THE FIFTY YARD LINE, THEY WERE CALCULATING ANOTHER SCORE CHANGE...THAT WAS TOUCHDOWN TONY'S GROUND ASSAULT...NOBODY CATCHES TOUCHDOWN TONY IN FULL SPEED... NOT FROM BEHIND...NOBODY!
...THAT WAS BEFORE SEPTEMBER 5, 1983, A DAY THAT WILL GO DOWN IN THE HALLOWED HALLS OF SPORTS HISTORY... THUS, A STREAKING OBJECT CAME ZOOMING ACROSS THE FIELD, WHICH SEEMED TO COME FROM OBLIVION OR EVEN SPROUT UP AS A BLADE OF TURF FROM RFK. IT DESCENDED ON TONY TO HIS FRIGHT, TO COME REELING, CATCHING, LASSOEING, AND WRESTLING "TD" AT THE FIVE YARD LINE ELIMINATING ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL END ZONE STRIKE.... AND FORGET THE SPIKE ...DISBELIEF...SHOCK...AMAZEMENT... ANY ADJECTIVE THAT CAN DESCRIBE THE IMPOSSIBLE WOULD APPLY... HELL NIGHT HAD OFFERED THE GREEN, MR GREEN IT'S BEST SWIPE AT PADDLE WHUPPIN' AND "DG" GRABBED THE PADDLE AND GOT HIS OWN LICKS...THE DEFENSE ULTIMATELY FORCED A FIELD GOAL...
THERE HAVE BEEN DIFFERING ACCOUNTS OF WHAT OCCURRED OR WAS WITNESSED THAT NIGHT, THANK GOD POSTERITY HAS YOUTUBE TO DIAL UP FOR ITS OWN ACCOUNT. AND EVALUATION...BUT SOME WHO WERE THERE, BELIEVED WASHINGTON HAD GONE OVER AND BORROWED A SURFACE-TO-SURFACE MISSILE FROM THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF AND DISGUISED IT AS #28. OTHERS, SAW A CAPED CRUSADER FLY FROM HIS LEFT CORNER POSITION WHERE GREEN HAD BEEN PLAYING...
...THEN, THERE WERE MANY OTHERS WHO DOCUMENTED AN ALIEN, UFO, HEAVENLY COMET OR METEOR THAT SWOOPED DOWN FROM ABOVE, KNOCKING THE SPEEDING RUSHER OUT OF BOUNDS AND DOWNING HIM...FOR THEY BELIEVED, NO MERE MORTAL POSSESSED SUCH ABILITY AND IT JUST COULDN'T HAVE BEEN THAT FRESH ROOKIE TRIPPING THAT HOF VET. AGAIN, ACCOUNTS ARE VARIED, WATCH THE VIDEO FROM ALL ANGLES TO DETERMINE WHO MADE THE CORRECT OBSERVATION...
...IT WOULD BE 2002 AND THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON FOR WASHINGTON PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL.... MR GREEN HAD PERFORMED SUPREME, HE WAS ABOUT READY TO SPLIT THE SCENE...HE HAD PUNCHED THE CLOCK FOR (20) YEARS AND WAS MAKING HIS FAREWELL TO FOOTBALL...HE COULD WATCH THE VIDEO OF HIS CAREER AND THAT VERY FIRST PERFORMANCE AND MANY OTHERS LIKE IT, AS HE WAITED A FEW YEARS FOR ENSHRINEMENT...THE HALL OF FAME COMMITTEE WOULD TOO, WATCH THE VIDEO AND DECLARE THAT IT WAS INDEED HE, STREAMIN' IN THAT #28 IN HIS DEBUT, AND MANY OF HIS OTHER (295) PERFORMANCES INCLUDING A CONSECUTIVE (112), ALL CAPTURED IN BURGUNDY AND GOLD...THEY WOULD GATHER TOGETHER IN CANTON IN 2008 AS HIS NEW "FRAT BROTHERS" WOULD WELCOME HIM TO THE ELITES OF GRIDIRON GREATNESS, PRESENT HIM WITH A BUST OF HONOR, AND A COAT OF GOLDEN COLOR...
...(2) SUPER BOWL RINGS, (4) TIME, ALL PRO, (7) TIME, PRO BOWLER...1996 WALTER PAYTON NFL MAN OF THE YEAR, 1997 BART STARR AWARD, 1990s ALL-DECADE TEAM, 70 GREATEST WASHINGTON TEAM, WASHINGTON TEAM RING OF FAME AND THE NFL 100TH ANNIVERSARY ALL-TIME TEAM....THAT FEW SECONDS OF FOOTAGE IS A JOY TO WATCH, BUT WITH A "RAP SHEET" LIKE THAT OF THE LITTLE BITTY KID, WHO NEEDS TO WATCH THE VIDEO TO CONFIRM THAT PROJECTILE AND IT'S GREATNESS?