One more day and Dan Miller would have gone a full year without calling a win for the Lions. So when Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St. Brown for a game-winning touchdown with zeroes on the clock Sunday against the Vikings, this was the sound of catharsis on 97.1 The Ticket:
"TOUCHDOWN DETROIT LIONS! THEY DID IT! AMON-RA ST. BROWN ON THE RECEIVING END! OH, THEY’RE RUSHING THE FIELD! THEY’VE DONE IT!! THREE ZEROES ON THE CLOCK, THIS GAME IS OVER! IT’S OVER!!
"Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown, his first career touchdown, and HOW BIG IS THAT!? OHHH MYYY GOODNESS! HAVE A DAY, BOYS! HAVE A DAY."
(Come for Miller's unbridled joy. Stay for his voice crack on 'THAT.' He says he's 45 or something but this is more proof that he's 14. He's a good kid, that Dan.)
In one radio booth, euphoria. Deep, existential relief. In the booth next door, disbelief. It was a role reversal for Miller, who's typically the one calling a gut-wrenching loss -- like in Week 5 in Minnesota. On Sunday that duty belonged to radio voice of the Vikings, Paul Allen:
"Touchdown Detroit Lions, and these cardiac kitties have beaten the Minnesota Vikings and won a game for the first time in 364 days. The game-winning touchdown was caught by Amon-Ra St. Brown. And for that young man, his first National Football League touchdown is a memorable one. It beat the Minnesota Vikings, 29-27."
If there was a visual embodiment of Miller's call, it was Dan Campbell's leaping celebration on Detroit's sideline. We can only imagine what Mike Zimmer looked like on the other side.
"I’m proud of our guys," Campbell said afterward, with his arms in the air. "I’m happy for them. Of course I’m happy. We’re all happy. I’m happy for the coaches. I’m happy for everybody. But you want this so bad for the players, because they’re the ones who put in all the hard work and the sweat and the tears. That’s what makes this great. When you lose, it hurts. It’s hard. But it’s also why winning is so great in this league. Because it’s not easy to do and when you get them, man, it’s special."
Somewhere, Miller is nodding his head.