| TTTF | Throwback To The Future | TTTF |

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Dark Horse OKC Wins Bid
1997

After several rounds of expansion votes going nowhere, Oklahoma City's turn to be stonewalled came up but something unexpected happened as OKC was approved by a vote of 29-2 in favor of the city landing the expansion bid. The two owners who voted against haven't and won't be named, but speculation is that they were pulling strings behind the scenes and getting other owners to veto expansion votes in hopes to stall things long enough so that St. Louis, a city that had originally won an expansion bid before it was revoked four years ago, could finalize its own bid for the 32nd NFL franchise and throw its hat into the ring.

But that didn't happen as it seems the other 29 owners got their wishes and Oklahoma City, which isn't a big market threat to many of the teams, gets to join the league in 1999 as the OKC Lancers. Other names, such as the Bisons, Thunder, and Nighthawks were floated but ultimately the ownership group went with the bold Lancer design that local fans voted as their top choices.

St. Louis will have to wait, perhaps for a long time, before it can finally get another NFL team now that the league has hit is limit of 32 teams. Expansion football won't be coming to the Gateway To The West, but that won't stop the city from trying to lure NFL teams away from their current host cities.

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Marino Gets His Ring
January 25, 1998

San Diego, CA - Dan Marino is finally a Super Bowl champion after a magical playoff run that saw the Dolphins defeat the Argonauts in the Wildcard round, the Patriots in the Divisional round, and finally the Oilers in the Conference championship game. Marino has revitalized his career thanks in part to second-year head coach Brian Billick, the creative offensive play caller who took over when legendary coach Don Shula retired in 1996.

Marino took home the game's MVP honors as well with his 300-yard passing performance. He added a couple touchdowns through the air, an unlucky interception that was due to a deflection, then a score on the ground on a 1-yard QB sneak that put his team ahead for good in the 3rd. Brett Favre looked to be on pace to bring his team back from a 24-10 halftime deficit after a quick scoring drive to open the second half, but back-to-back drives ended in picks and so did his team's chances at a repeat.

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Jags/Colts Draft Generational QB Talents
April 18, 1998

New York, NY - A rare luxury occurred this evening when both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts were able to select not only the top two players in the draft, but likely the greatest one-two QB picks in NFL history. It's easy to say that a certain player may be the best prospect at his position in a given draft, but hardly do you see two prospects touted this highly and also happen to play the most important position in all of sports.

And that's exactly what happened when both Peyton Manning and Ryan Leaf declared for the draft. Draft gurus alike ranked the first and second overall, constantly flipping one for the other and ultimately settling on Manning being the slight favorite to go first overall to the Jaguars. The Colts may not have been able to choose which one they took but GM Bill Polian knows that Leaf has what it takes to succeed at the next level. And, in the unlikelihood that one doesn't quite live up to expectations, at least he can rest assured he wasn't the guy picking #1 that chose wrong.

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Renovations On Track For 1999 Open
1998

Oklahoma City, OK - When the Lancers take the field for the team's home opener next season, a new capacity record at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium will be set. The stadiums current capacity, which sits just below 75,000, will receive a near-5,000 seat boost thanks to ongoing renovation set to wrap up next summer. An influx of funds, thanks to the expansion team needing a stadium fit for an NFL team, has sped up renovation plans that originally were put off for another half decade. The Lancers may have to borrow the stadium from the University of Oklahoma on Sundays, but the stadiums new tenants are more than making up for it with a hefty rental fee.

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One For The Ages
January 31, 1999

Miami, FL - Jimmy Johnson may have just solidified himself as one of the top-5 greatest NFL coaches in history after his Oilers made a shocking comeback against the Falcons. Down 21-7 entering the 4th, Houston went on a 21-0 run to finish things off for its second champion in four years. Randall Cunningham, who took over for Moon as the starter last season, put together his best season ever this year and easily took home the Super Bowl MVP trophy thanks to his three fourth-quarter touchdowns.

Cunningham also had a playoff run that will go down as one of the most impressive, not just for his statistics but for who he did it against. He knocked off the red-hot Broncos in the Divisional round, then put up a 4-touchdown day against the Argonauts to get his Oilers into the Super Bowl. A truly impressive run for a truly impressive season.

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Indoor Legend Gets His Shot
1999

Oklahoma City, OK - The 1999 Expansion is in the books and the Oklahoma City Lancers have begun filling its roster with players from other teams around the league. The team took a balanced approach, drafting both youth and experience, as well as taking a shot on Kurt Warner, an Arena Football star who spent last season on the Baltimore Rams, where he served as the team's 3rd-string quarterback.

Warner's path to the NFL is well documented, with his exceptional play with the AFL's Iowa Barnstormers and NFL Europe's Amsterdam Admirals. Every where Warner goes he lights up the scoreboard and the OKC front office is hoping for the same magic from him in the NFL.

However, Warner may have to battle a rookie for the starting job now that the Lancers are set to pick first in another stellar-looking QB class that features the likes of Tim Coach (Kentucky), Donovan McNabb (Syracuse), and Akili Smith (Oregon) at the top.

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QB Blitz Kicks Off Wild Draft
April 17, 1999

New York, NY - As predicted, three quarterbacks went off the board with the first three picks on a wild draft night that featured a mega trades that will send shockwaves through the NFL for years to come. Starting off, the Lancers went ahead and got a second QB this offseason when the team selected Tim Couch out of Kentucky. Couch put up huge numbers in his team's air raid offense and, combined with Kurt Warner, gives Oklahoma City an exciting QB competition heading into the team's inaugural season.

McNabb and Smith went off the board next, with the Syracuse star landing in San Diego and Oregon's Akili Smith headed to Philadelphia. The Chargers finished just outside the reach of the Manning/Leaf race a year ago but fans will be happy now that the team has its future under center, likewise for the Eagles faithful. The Bengals also went QB and took UCF's Daunte Culpepper with the 5th pick.

Running backs also were front and center for draft drama after the Colts dealt star Marshall Faulk to the Baltimore Rams and took Edgerrin James, not Ricky Williams, at #4 overall. The Saints then unloaded its draft class to Washington to move up the 6th-overall and get Williams and get Mike Ditka his guy.

A wild night one, let's hope that the next two days are equally as exciting.

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Flutie Does It All In Historic Championship
January 30, 2000

Atlanta, GA - World Champion has never been as true as it was today when the Toronto Argonauts became the first non-US based team in the modern NFL era to win a Super Bowl. And the team did it behind a CFL legend turn NFL MVP Doug Flutie.

Toronto, under the guidance of GM Ozzie Newsome, has been a perennial playoff team in recent seasons but hadn't made it over the hump and into the big game until this playoff run. Flutie, who took home league MVP honors after leading all QBs in yardage and touchdowns, scored three times against Washington, accounting for all 21 of his team's points. Twice on the ground, and once through the air, Flutie nearly capped off his huge season with another MVP award. But that honor went to a defensive teammate instead.

Ray Lewis was a monster. The talented linebacker showed he was the best in the league during the most important game thanks to his 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and 18 total tackles. He kept a stout Redskins offense in check and almost single-handily shutdown the running game himself. A legendary performance that earned him the MVP nod.

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