This is the man that introduced me to football and my love for it when i was 7 years old. I have three boys now and i am going to try my hardest to make sure that they are very well versed on this man , but not just on his play alone , more importantly on his character. Barry Sanders father should be very, very proud. This is just another example on how important a father and the concept of a family is on a person, and a society as a whole. God guard my family.
Barry Sanders would have beaten Walter's rushing record easy. I mean he would left everyone including Emmitt Smith in the dust. I mean retiring at 30 he could of played another 4 years easy. The problem was he knew that the Lions culture wasn't going to improve. He said it so himself, that the Lions losing culture robbed him of competitiveness. Basically, it came down to why try if the team is going keeping on losing and since then the Lions have sucked without Sanders.
I would like to see the stats that look at years 9-retirement of any RB in history.
I would like to see who is second behind Sanders.
Most of those guys that broke 2k did it when they had fresh legs.
Barry was a freak of nature, only he could do it in his 9th year. If he had a FB and TE from the get go I think he would have broke 2k many more times.
@UberKrispy Actually, he had a career avg 5.0 yards per carry, not 6.2. He had 6.2 yards per carry in that 1997 season I believe. I think his avg yards per carry in a career is either the second or third highest ever, Jim Brown is first. Still, 5.0 is amazing. But that doesn't matter, the guy was the most electrifying running back I've ever seen. Their will never be another... Well maybe not never, he's got a kid who's a junior in High School... he runs like his dad :)
Barry retired and i will never forget ... my dad said barry sanders was like a one man show! he played and played and played being a one man show! finally we watched him rape so much that we got bored, moved to TN and started watching NASCAR... but barry was and is the best running back of all TIME!
@Doll8606 I know right but that's why he left Lions wouldn't let him go & he knew he wouldn't have a long career with them if he stuck around! lol But he's the best runningback EVER in my opinion because he wasn't like Favre & Emmit playing in the league for 30 years just to get records lmao Peyton Manning is the Greatest qb Jerry Rice receiver
@kdrayy I loved them too! The reason I highlighted Barry's comment about experience is that he seemed very upset when the Lions decided to replace Scott Mitchell with a rookie, and kept Mitchell out even after Batch got hurt...
And also, nearly all of the experienced Lions players on the 97 and 98 teams were drafted by Wayne Fontes, who Barry said (in his autobiography) shouldn't have been fired.
I have so much respect for Barry Sanders. Him and Emmitt were my favorite Running backs growing up. Just a genuine, good man. It's funny, because as quiet and introverted as Barry was, his father was the complete opposite! Very outspoken and opinionated. And he wasn't biased towards his son either. I remember he always used to say that Jim Brown and Walter Payton were better running backs then him.
@Fury1986 William Sanders definitely said Brown was better but he has a major man crush on his hero. Barry and his father have had a strained relationship many times. If you read Barry's book he explains they never spoke for a year at one point. I sense that Sanders' dad sees himself as a strict disciplinairian, the head of the family and somewhat bitter and jealous of Barry's success. In the HOF introduction speech he called his son the 3rd best ever but was actually counting himself as #2.
@elemintsdotblogspot wuz up man i would love too have a copy of barry sanders game lions vs jets and whatever else u got of barrys games my name is tj get at me my email address is lil_flip4lyfe@yahoo.com holla at me
@elemintsdotblogspot wuz up man i would love too have a copy of barry sanders game lions vs jets and whatever else u got of barrys games my name is tj get at me my email address is lil_flip4lyfe@yahoo.com holla at me
Thanks for posting this @landlordroper please let me know if you're able to get me a copy of this game, i'll pay anything -- just name your price. thanks again.
I was fortunate enough to be at this game. The crowd got multiple penalty flags and finally the refs threatened to take away Lion timeouts if we didnt quiet down. Probably the loudest of all-time. Reggie Brown broke his neck soon after and you could hear a pin drop it got completely silent. Anyone in attendance would agree it was the most dramtic game ever. BARRY!!!
@etherdetroit1977 I was also lucky enough to be there... been to many sold out sporting events but have NEVER heard a louder crowd than the one attending this game. I was sitting club level and the dome was literally SHAKING!!! By far the best game ever, going from extremely loud to dead silence back to LOUD... Barry was held to only 20 yards on 8 carries in the first half then rushed for 164 in the second. Better than any of the game 7's i've been to also.
@elemintsdotblogspot Thanks for the reply!! I've searched all over for a copy of this game. I've been showing my son highlights of Barry and would pay top dollar for the video. I have a picture frame with the original ticket stub in it. I could talk about this particular game forever. WOW!! I'm blessed to have been a part of the experience. If you come across a copy, I would die a happy man just to see it one more time,
@etherdetroit1977 I ordered a copy of the game on dvd, but that was two weeks ago and I haven't heard back from the guy. Really hoping he sends it. When (If) I get the copy, I will be editing it for highlights and post on YT. If you want the full game, we can work something out as well. Jeez us that was a great game!
@elemintsdotblogspot I'm also interested in a copy of this game. Not only is it probably the best Lions game in my memory (1995 on) but it's the last time the Lions appeared on NBC with the Randy Edelman theme.
One other thing about Barry. He is the only NFL player I can think of who never spiked the ball or did any type of goofy shenanigans after scoring a touchdown.
Exactly. This was one of my favorite Lions game in my lifetime, being only 26 years old and watching football since 1993-1994 season. It was also the last time they appeared on NBC with the Randy Edelman theme, which was a great theme. Not only that, but this was also the last time the Lions ever were ever involved in an NFL game televised by NBC. The Lions were actually 5-1 all time in NFL games televised by NBC with the Randy Edelman theme.
"Continuation from my last post" And they are actually 7-2 in all NBC games since 1993 with the only losses coming 23-17 to the Patriots in 1994 and 28-24 on Thanksgiving to the Chiefs in 1996. If the Lions ever become competitive enough to play in a Sunday Night football game, I will immediately think of this game and how it was the last time the Lions played on NBC and how it is their first NBC game since then. Like many others, I definitely hope I can find a full copy of this game.
@Wolverine607 the good NBC record is due to the way the tv contract is set up and home field advantage. The network televises the game for the conference of the visiting team. So the Lions would only appear on NBC if they were playing an AFC team at home. Because they were pretty good in the Silverdome but struggled on the road, it makes sense that the Lions would do well on the AFC network.
How were they on CBS in the pre Millen era of 1998-2000?
Your exactly right. It just brings back good memories of when the Lions were actually somewhat competitive, and it happened to be when NBC had the AFC package and thus carried all Lions home games when they faced an AFC team at home. I actually checked and ironically, the Lions are actually 2-4 in CBS games from 1998-2000 with the only 2 wins coming over the Steelers in 1998 and the Patriots in 2000 on Thanksgiving day.
@elemintsdotblogspot You have no idea how happy I would be to see the game again. Thank you so much. BTW I found an NFL films Detroit Lions 1997 season highlight video that was just awesome!!! Its on HULU . Check it out. Let me know if you cant find it and I'll download it and send it. Thanks again.
Thank you so much for posting! I had a copy of this game and it was lost while moving in '99. Is there any way I can get a copy from you? PLEASE! I have been looking for this complete game since I lost my copy! Please post more of the game. When the crowd gets so loud the ref has to tell them to quiet down! I LOVE IT! Hook a LIONS FAN up!!!!!! Thank you
@1:15 is Ryan Stewart from 2LiveStews on first take.
RjmGc06 2 months ago
@RjmGc06 Yep that`s Ryan Stewart.
901flaminskull 3 weeks ago
Anyone have a VHS of this game?
ciccone39 2 months ago
There's another video on here that's even better for this game - search for Barry Sanders 2000 Yards 1997 Lions-Jets 2/2 :) fantastico!
strutzas 5 months ago
Notice how Emmit Smith's name is nowhere on that list.
Emmit is a good back, but way overrated due to the Cowboys team success.
1) Their O-line
2) Michael Irvin, Troy Aikman, Nate Newton, Deion Sanders, etc....
They won super bowls so suddenly people start getting overrated.
bio2020 7 months ago 3
BARRY BARRY BARRY BARRY!!!!
mitchlel 9 months ago
If I ever go to a prom again, I want Barry as my date. Dude knows how to dance!!!
dockclerk1 10 months ago
Wait. There is a much bigger story here. The lions are in the playoffs?
dogpiledude 11 months ago
classy, humble, great guy and legendary player. reminds me of walter, i love them both.
griffonstink 11 months ago 2
Can anyone believe that Barry Sanders' father thinks Jim Brown is better than his own son, when he watched him run for 2,053 yards?
aggron453 1 year ago
@aggron453 Supposedly his dad conceded to a family friend that Barry might have been as good or better than Jim Brown after this season.
It's mentioned in his book.
Knightmessenger 10 months ago
i miss the barry hair.
nfnkalyan 1 year ago
Hurry barrys dad get on camera
jasonlugibihl 1 year ago
Very humble man.
VF5 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
god guard all our families.
juanpo504 1 year ago
go guard all our families
juanpo504 1 year ago
go guard all our famlies
juanpo504 1 year ago
This is the man that introduced me to football and my love for it when i was 7 years old. I have three boys now and i am going to try my hardest to make sure that they are very well versed on this man , but not just on his play alone , more importantly on his character. Barry Sanders father should be very, very proud. This is just another example on how important a father and the concept of a family is on a person, and a society as a whole. God guard my family.
juanpo504 1 year ago
Barry Sanders would have beaten Walter's rushing record easy. I mean he would left everyone including Emmitt Smith in the dust. I mean retiring at 30 he could of played another 4 years easy. The problem was he knew that the Lions culture wasn't going to improve. He said it so himself, that the Lions losing culture robbed him of competitiveness. Basically, it came down to why try if the team is going keeping on losing and since then the Lions have sucked without Sanders.
redmustang03 1 year ago
53 C Glover,64 G Hartings, 77 T Roberts, 72 G Compton, 71 T Tharpe....That's a beasty line up for an offensive line but Barry was the offense
zachharris55 1 year ago
i was at this game...it was fucken epic..somebody got a spine injury in this as well...forget his name
aschindler22 1 year ago
@aschindler22
MIKE UTLEY
Arthro92 9 months ago
And the craziest thing is I've never seen Barry do a stupid dance. He scores, tosses the ball to the ref, and gets to the sideline.
1danyol1 1 year ago
I would like to see the stats that look at years 9-retirement of any RB in history.
I would like to see who is second behind Sanders.
Most of those guys that broke 2k did it when they had fresh legs.
Barry was a freak of nature, only he could do it in his 9th year. If he had a FB and TE from the get go I think he would have broke 2k many more times.
xxLoverMarixx 1 year ago
DAMMMM 6.2 YARDS PER CARRY! THATS CRAZY!!!!!! HE THE BEST BACK I HAVE EVER SEEN!
cuzodave 1 year ago
So the officiating sucked in 1998 too.
But look at Barry's 6.2 yards per carry avg. Thats pretty sick
Dude was the best ever, or certainly the best of our era
UberKrispy 1 year ago
@UberKrispy Actually, he had a career avg 5.0 yards per carry, not 6.2. He had 6.2 yards per carry in that 1997 season I believe. I think his avg yards per carry in a career is either the second or third highest ever, Jim Brown is first. Still, 5.0 is amazing. But that doesn't matter, the guy was the most electrifying running back I've ever seen. Their will never be another... Well maybe not never, he's got a kid who's a junior in High School... he runs like his dad :)
Burningsok 1 year ago
Barry retired and i will never forget ... my dad said barry sanders was like a one man show! he played and played and played being a one man show! finally we watched him rape so much that we got bored, moved to TN and started watching NASCAR... but barry was and is the best running back of all TIME!
TwoTheHax 1 year ago
@Doll8606 I know right but that's why he left Lions wouldn't let him go & he knew he wouldn't have a long career with them if he stuck around! lol But he's the best runningback EVER in my opinion because he wasn't like Favre & Emmit playing in the league for 30 years just to get records lmao Peyton Manning is the Greatest qb Jerry Rice receiver
playaj25 1 year ago
Wish there were more players like him
Jawann21 1 year ago
Barry spoke about the experience of the Lions offense: Barry Sanders, Herman Moore, Scott Mitchell, Johnnie Morton....
Ragtime4 1 year ago
@Ragtime4 Hahah just reading those names, fires me up. The good 'ol lions. The Lions I first learned to love!
kdrayy 1 year ago
@kdrayy I loved them too! The reason I highlighted Barry's comment about experience is that he seemed very upset when the Lions decided to replace Scott Mitchell with a rookie, and kept Mitchell out even after Batch got hurt...
And also, nearly all of the experienced Lions players on the 97 and 98 teams were drafted by Wayne Fontes, who Barry said (in his autobiography) shouldn't have been fired.
Ragtime4 1 year ago
I will always remember this game, I was at it when I was 13years old. Man I wish Barry would of stuck around longer and went to a better team.
Doll8606 1 year ago
I have so much respect for Barry Sanders. Him and Emmitt were my favorite Running backs growing up. Just a genuine, good man. It's funny, because as quiet and introverted as Barry was, his father was the complete opposite! Very outspoken and opinionated. And he wasn't biased towards his son either. I remember he always used to say that Jim Brown and Walter Payton were better running backs then him.
Fury1986 1 year ago
@Fury1986 William Sanders definitely said Brown was better but he has a major man crush on his hero. Barry and his father have had a strained relationship many times. If you read Barry's book he explains they never spoke for a year at one point. I sense that Sanders' dad sees himself as a strict disciplinairian, the head of the family and somewhat bitter and jealous of Barry's success. In the HOF introduction speech he called his son the 3rd best ever but was actually counting himself as #2.
echo6161 1 year ago
wow it's crazy how like quiet and humbled he still is you know? You'd never think he was so great just by hearing him speak.
raterroyale 1 year ago
@tabs2020 exactly
spstarks 1 year ago
Man i Miss Barry! I used to love going to see him at the Silverdome. Very humble man who never cared about records. He just wanted to Win a SuperBowl
breezwonder 1 year ago 12
Rarely do you see class such as this in the NFL these days. The newer generation just wants to look good and clown around. Quality is lacking.
joshtj44 1 year ago
@etherdetroit1977 @Knightmessenger @ironworkerjeff @Wolverine607 @nlp05 @lilryguy89 I REVEIVED A BEAUTIFUL DVD OF THE FULL 1997 Detroit Lions vs New York Jets GAME TODAY with Sportcenter Highlights following the game! JUST SEND ME A MESSAGE IF YOU WOULD LIKE A COPY....
elemintsdotblogspot 1 year ago
@elemintsdotblogspot wuz up man i would love too have a copy of barry sanders game lions vs jets and whatever else u got of barrys games my name is tj get at me my email address is lil_flip4lyfe@yahoo.com holla at me
TJ2021 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@elemintsdotblogspot wuz up man i would love too have a copy of barry sanders game lions vs jets and whatever else u got of barrys games my name is tj get at me my email address is lil_flip4lyfe@yahoo.com holla at me
TJ2021 1 year ago
Comment removed
elemintsdotblogspot 1 year ago
Great memories. This was the last time it felt good to be a Lions fan. Barry Sanders was the best running back ever. He will always be remembered.
Wolverine607 1 year ago
Thanks for posting this @landlordroper please let me know if you're able to get me a copy of this game, i'll pay anything -- just name your price. thanks again.
elemintsdotblogspot 1 year ago
I was fortunate enough to be at this game. The crowd got multiple penalty flags and finally the refs threatened to take away Lion timeouts if we didnt quiet down. Probably the loudest of all-time. Reggie Brown broke his neck soon after and you could hear a pin drop it got completely silent. Anyone in attendance would agree it was the most dramtic game ever. BARRY!!!
etherdetroit1977 2 years ago
@etherdetroit1977 I was also lucky enough to be there... been to many sold out sporting events but have NEVER heard a louder crowd than the one attending this game. I was sitting club level and the dome was literally SHAKING!!! By far the best game ever, going from extremely loud to dead silence back to LOUD... Barry was held to only 20 yards on 8 carries in the first half then rushed for 164 in the second. Better than any of the game 7's i've been to also.
elemintsdotblogspot 1 year ago
@elemintsdotblogspot Thanks for the reply!! I've searched all over for a copy of this game. I've been showing my son highlights of Barry and would pay top dollar for the video. I have a picture frame with the original ticket stub in it. I could talk about this particular game forever. WOW!! I'm blessed to have been a part of the experience. If you come across a copy, I would die a happy man just to see it one more time,
etherdetroit1977 1 year ago
@etherdetroit1977 I ordered a copy of the game on dvd, but that was two weeks ago and I haven't heard back from the guy. Really hoping he sends it. When (If) I get the copy, I will be editing it for highlights and post on YT. If you want the full game, we can work something out as well. Jeez us that was a great game!
elemintsdotblogspot 1 year ago
@elemintsdotblogspot I'm also interested in a copy of this game. Not only is it probably the best Lions game in my memory (1995 on) but it's the last time the Lions appeared on NBC with the Randy Edelman theme.
One other thing about Barry. He is the only NFL player I can think of who never spiked the ball or did any type of goofy shenanigans after scoring a touchdown.
Knightmessenger 1 year ago
@Knightmessenger
Exactly. This was one of my favorite Lions game in my lifetime, being only 26 years old and watching football since 1993-1994 season. It was also the last time they appeared on NBC with the Randy Edelman theme, which was a great theme. Not only that, but this was also the last time the Lions ever were ever involved in an NFL game televised by NBC. The Lions were actually 5-1 all time in NFL games televised by NBC with the Randy Edelman theme.
Wolverine607 1 year ago
"Continuation from my last post" And they are actually 7-2 in all NBC games since 1993 with the only losses coming 23-17 to the Patriots in 1994 and 28-24 on Thanksgiving to the Chiefs in 1996. If the Lions ever become competitive enough to play in a Sunday Night football game, I will immediately think of this game and how it was the last time the Lions played on NBC and how it is their first NBC game since then. Like many others, I definitely hope I can find a full copy of this game.
Wolverine607 1 year ago
@Wolverine607 the good NBC record is due to the way the tv contract is set up and home field advantage. The network televises the game for the conference of the visiting team. So the Lions would only appear on NBC if they were playing an AFC team at home. Because they were pretty good in the Silverdome but struggled on the road, it makes sense that the Lions would do well on the AFC network.
How were they on CBS in the pre Millen era of 1998-2000?
Knightmessenger 1 year ago
@Knightmessenger
Your exactly right. It just brings back good memories of when the Lions were actually somewhat competitive, and it happened to be when NBC had the AFC package and thus carried all Lions home games when they faced an AFC team at home. I actually checked and ironically, the Lions are actually 2-4 in CBS games from 1998-2000 with the only 2 wins coming over the Steelers in 1998 and the Patriots in 2000 on Thanksgiving day.
Wolverine607 1 year ago
@elemintsdotblogspot You have no idea how happy I would be to see the game again. Thank you so much. BTW I found an NFL films Detroit Lions 1997 season highlight video that was just awesome!!! Its on HULU . Check it out. Let me know if you cant find it and I'll download it and send it. Thanks again.
etherdetroit1977 1 year ago
Thank you so much for posting! I had a copy of this game and it was lost while moving in '99. Is there any way I can get a copy from you? PLEASE! I have been looking for this complete game since I lost my copy! Please post more of the game. When the crowd gets so loud the ref has to tell them to quiet down! I LOVE IT! Hook a LIONS FAN up!!!!!! Thank you
nlp05 2 years ago
I have this on vhs somewhere, ill have to look for it.
pezrock63 2 years ago
Do you have any more of this game?
Knightmessenger 2 years ago
Best running back of all time. Hands down.
jkels98 2 years ago
so glad this vid was posted!
lilryguy89 2 years ago