A few years back, we ran a VERY controversial post (which Clarence Swamptown is still upset about) in which we decided, after repeatedly watching the Drew Pearson "Hail Mary" catch that beat the Vikings in the 1975 playoffs, that Pearson didn't really push off. We wrote:
Pearson did not really push off, in our mind. Seriously. In today's game, if Sidney Rice was called for offensive pass interference for doing what Pearson did -- hand-fighting with a d-back and slipping back for an underthrown, back-shoulder catch -- Vikings fans would be very upset. We're not saying a push-off couldn't have been called. We're just saying that 35 years of hate might have been a little misplaced.
Fast-forward to Monday. We had a chance to speak with Bud Grant, Hall of Fame Vikings coach, for a Q&A that will be online and in print a little later on. But as long as we had him on the line, we had to ask about ol' Drew. Here is what Bud had to say when asked if Pearson pushed off:
"Oh, absolutely," Grant said. "I've talked to Drew about that, not a lot, but we talked about it. I said, 'Drew, I don't know what kind of basketball player you were, but you must have been a good one.'"
If Bud Grant says it was a push-off, it was a push-off. We stand corrected.
UPDATE: Drew Pearson tweeted at us this morning with this:
