Dolphins punter Larry Seiple was a decent receiver–decent enough that he was listed as a receiver only on his very first card, back when double-duty kickers were the norm. But that’s not what he’s remembered for…but, then again, that leads exactly to what he’s remembered for.
The “Green Light”. And as an English teacher, you do not understand how insanely hard it is to not throw in repeated pretentious The Great Gatsby references. The “green light” was what coach Don Shula gave Seiple when he thought he could run a fake punt–as a former receiver, Shula could trust Seiple’s running abilities, much like Jay Gatsby trusted Daisy Buchanan to be true to him…
Yeah, that didn’t last long.
Well, the ‘72 Dolphins were 15-0, and were playing in the AFC championship game against a Pittsburgh team playing with house money, thanks to “the Immaculate Reception” a week before. The Dolphins offense was sputtering, and they were forced to punt, trailing 7-0 in the second quarter. For Miami, they needed a spark, much like Gatsby’s fortune made off of bootlegging to claim the love of his life…
Jeez.
Well, Shula noticed that when taking punts, most of the Steelers’ defenders turned downfield and split down the middle–a perfect scenario for a fake. But, even though he had “the green light”, Shula wanted to be the one who gave him that option. Well, Seiple couldn’t wait–much like how Daisy couldn’t wait for Gatsby to return from World War I, and married Tom Buchanan…
Ugggh…
When every defender ran downfield, Seiple literally ran behind them, rambling for thirty-seven yards as that led to a Miami score, and an eventual Miami win. The Perfect Season was still alive–unlike the Steelers, whose season was killed by Seiple’s run almost as lethally as a drunken Daisy ran over Myrtle Wilson with Gatsby’s car…
Mercifully, F. Scott Fitzgerald never punted in his life. But Seiple never wrote a classic novel, either.
Larry Seiple and his Famous Fake Punt: The Video
