Circumstances Dictate

CIRCUMSTANCES DICTATE a coach’s decisions during a football game. Winning always comes ahead of individual accomplishments. But in 2000, kicker Gary Anderson broke a long-time record at the exact moment he desired.

The Minnesota Vikings took on the Buffalo Bills at the Metrodome. Heading into the game, Anderson trailed George Blanda, the National Football League’s all-time leading scorer, by nine points. The South Africa native hoped for a high-scoring day to break the record in front of his mother and two sons, who were at the game.

Early in the fourth quarter, the kicker’s chances to pass the former Oakland Raider appeared remote. Although Anderson booted field goals of 38 and 20 yards in the first half, the Vikings trailed Buffalo 24–13, and the 41-year-old assumed Minnesota would need every second to score two touchdowns.

Dante Culpepper closed the gap with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Cris Carter, and the Vikings converted the two-point attempt on a throw to Moe Williams, making the score 24–21. After falling behind 27–21, Minnesota forced Buffalo to punt, and Troy Walters returned the kick 28 yards to the Buffalo 34. Two plays later, Culpepper connected with Randy Moss for a 39-yard scoring pass, and Anderson’s extra point put the Vikings in front 28–27.

Still needing one point for the record, Minnesota mounted a final drive and moved inside the Bills 10. With a minute left, Anderson booted a 21-yard field goal, giving him the all-time scoring record with 2,004 career points in 19 NFL seasons.

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POINT Everyone knew that, barring injury, Gary Anderson would break the record. The question was when. The kicker so wanted the moment to be while his mother and sons watched. For three quarters, Anderson didn’t think that would happen, but it did. He reached the milestone.

Occasionally things don’t go well in life. We desire something so badly we can taste it. Then the chance slowly slips away. But sometimes it seems that God’s favor rests on us. We grasp the achievement at God’s perfect time and experience his grace. The fact is, as his children, God’s favor always rests on us.

GOAL! In a sports encyclopedia or on the Internet, review all-time NFL scoring leaders. Note how many are kickers. Think about the victories they achieved. Thank God for his favor.