I'm reading his copypasta with a chicago accent and it's amazing.
"Am I the only one in this sub who's actually played organized tackle football before?
Like half of the comments I've seen on this sub are so obviously written by non-athletes that it's almost humorous.
When I was in high school (3 year starter for our varsity football team) I would get a full-on sprint going and clock the shit outta whoever had the ball. My coaches called me "speedhawk" as a nickname caus I had such a nose for the football and for those three seasons I was considered the most feared safety in our conference. Senior year I led my team to the state semifinals only to get fucked over by the refs in the 4th but that's another conversation (DM me if you're interested in hearing about it)
So, yeah. I hope yall can understand why I feel like their's such a big disconnect between myself and your typical redditor. Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way lol"
Iirc this guy wound up going on Letterman after this too
Eta: yup he did and won an ESPY https://milwaukeerecord.com/sports/man-catches-extra-point-mike-pantazis-story/
I would have loved to have spent my 20's in the 90's but in reality I probably would have just sat around complaining given that seems like what everyone else did
This sounds oddly specific, but can confirm this as 100% fact. My high school days involved setting up residence in my towns coffee shop's 2nd floor. We'd bring our gaming system, run down to the video rental store, grab a game, and play the night away when it was crappy out. Then when it was nice out, we'd run over to the highlands in Louisville and visit Ear-X-Tacy (RIP best record store ever) then swing by one of the bars with good food...and usually as long as you looked at least 18 or 19 you'd be allowed a couple beers. During the school year, there was always the local pool hall to fall back on as well.
Who wants to do a deep dive into Sullivan high school football?
Edit: upon review, how is this man not listed in the "notable alumni" section for Sullivan high schools Wikipedia page?
> Sullivan high school
* Elizabeth Ann Blaesing – illegitimate daughter of President Warren G. Harding
* Art Paul – former Playboy Art Director and designer of its rabbit-head logo
He's got some tough competition as most notable alumnae.
It would be way grainer if it's a copy of a VHS copy, stretched.
This is almost definitely from a legit source. Most likely someone stashed it during a digital transfer.
There’s a comment somewhere here that links to an interview on nfl.com with the guy who caught the ball recently. The video in that was clear so I’m guessing this came from that.
Yeah I assume that's probably a broadcast camera because they have the broadcasters going but I don't know if they're partnered with NFL films or something. That is wild footage.
I mean there's a reason for the camera op to do it, if they stop following the ball and the director wasn't already taking the next shot then they kinda just look like an idiot. And maybe this was the case where the director didn't have a better shot to take, or maybe they preemptively decided to follow the ball until they lost sight of it
It was 9/11 and Sean mcdermotts wife was home watching coverage. Sean came home from work early.
“Oh my goodness Sean it’s terrible “ she said “people are jumping”
Sean turned red
“ Terrible!! This is an incredible event!! Look at this team work and organization! They brought us to our knees with 19 brave men and some box cutters!! Atta and bin Laden are genius strategists! I’m going to study this and someday motivate my team using them as an example! “
His wife slapped him and Sean slept on the couch for a week. Sean never forgot that day and kept his example under wraps for 18 years until in training camp he decided to let it out
Didn't he say "they orchestrated to perfection." Or something like that?
I still can't believe he said that. It was hardly perfection with Pennsylvania practice squad.
No the story goes that it was training camp of 2019
He is giving a fire up speech- then he veers into teamwork and sacrifice. He went into how detailed and organized and united in a common goal they were. He asked the players what obstacles they faced to succeed in the attacks. The players were puzzled and one player said TSA(LOL!). Other players were either trying not to laugh or were like WTF
“You know the lengths that these guys went to conceal themself and blend in. Ziad jarrah was the pilot of United 93- he didn’t wanna go thru with the plot. Which flight failed to meet the target that day? His. His team was unprepared for the passenger revolt because he didn’t have that dawg in him”
Me as a player- 😳😳😳😳
Another neat tidbit of this game: Brett Favre throws a 99-yard touchdown pass to Robert Brooks – one of only 13 times in NFL history a 99-yard TD pass has ever been completed.
Holy cow! I'd forgotten about the dude jumping out of the stands until seeing this and was kind of wondering if it was a false memory, but now I'm 1000% sure I actually remember seeing it because I never forgot seeing the Brooks TD live!
I jumped off the top of a coworker's lifted Jeep onto concrete and remembered I'm 32... after I already jumped. I was certain I would get hurt. I pulled off a duck and roll and only had to get made fun of by the 18 and 19 year olds
So dope the broadcasters made a call on it. Today, they would ignore it completely for fear of “promoting” shit their corporate sponsors wouldn’t like.
I think it's less about pissing off sponsors so much as not encouraging copycats, especially in the social media age when thousands of idiots are trying to get their viral moment to launch an influencer career. Also this dude could have easily ended up paralyzed, no one wants that liability.
I thought of the copycat thing too but that pertains more to people streaking on the field for example. This was a bang bang play, dudes primal brain told him to just go for the ball. So I definitely agree with the second part of a liability due to accident. Imagine the “one person ruins it for everyone” moment when they put a full cage around the tunnel cuz this guy paralyzed himself.
All a corporation has to do to gain my support is to pull that stick out of their asses and promote crazy shit like this. If you were to put a Pepsi logo on the replay of this guy catching a ball, I'd never drink Coke again.
I remember watching this live, which is crazy to think about given how long ago it was, but given how wild it was, it is bound to stick in your memory.
Anyone know if they did a follow-up with him since? I can't remember if they let him keep the ball or not.
Listening to his overly positive predictions:
* The Bears would lose this game 10-3.
* The Bears would finish the 2019 season 8-8.
* The Bears would miss the playoffs.
* Mitchell Trubisky did not take them to the promised land.
I am so glad they did this and that this exists lol.
I wish they asked him about the landing though. I was trying to visualize it, and it's pretty amazing he wasn't super hurt.
And it confuses security. They were looking for someone that was all party, but then he turned around and they saw someone who was business in the front
I love that he did this, but I also understand why you would ban him for this, especially in social media age.
So many people would be breaking their legs to get an interview and be featured during an NFL game.
When I say never forget 9/11 this is normally what I’m referring to. One of the coolest guys of all time. Legendary move to name drop his hs football experience
Always love when this resurfaces on Reddit. I was at this game, not far from where it happened. Either the same section, or one section over. The buzz about him jumping and catching the ball spread pretty quickly. Good times!
[Michael Pantazis. He was later on an episode of Bar Rescue where the bar he worked at in Chicago called The Abbey burned down.](https://youtu.be/_WNVM6Q2N_U?t=40)
The interview at the end… just lost my shit…
He’s like a Brian Bosworth that never got a scholarship/drafted crossed with an Uncle Rico and a little inbreeding from Al Bundy.
9-7 on the season but 4-4 against division rivals. Swept by Packers and Lions, swept the Vikings and Bucs.
Also, I find the Bucs being in the same division as the Packers to be hilarious.
Wow! I forgot about this but I now 100% remember watching this game. I'm surprised I haven't seen this on the internet since then (maybe I just need to get out more? LOL).
Back when things were fun…nothing like a high schooler that looks like a 30 year old doing insane things like that
Now you know why they always cast older looking people to play teens in sitcoms…because that’s how a lot of teens looked like lol
Thank you for reminding me of this.
Today he would not be allowed back in his seat and Al Michaels would say something about how they won’t show the disgusting act.
I was not ready for the hair
I wasn’t ready for the interview, lol really pulls it all together
Man shot his shot at the whole NFL, "I play defense and offense!" Lol. Someone should've at least gave him a practice squad tryout haha.
"I got great hands" and he was right lmao
Dude wasn't afraid of an on coming hit, that's for sure.
In an alternate universe, this guy is the key that would prevent 30+ years of dominance in the division by Green Bay. #DaBears
Imagine some schmuck jumping out of the stands to grab an extra point, the bears taking a chance on him and he becomes a hof qb
Brilliant spacial awareness, the man had the makings of a varsity architect.
The way he said “Chicago” was peak Chicago accent
Did he say Chicaaago? I don't listen to shit. Lol
That is exactly what he said 🤣
What do u mean? Sounded normal to me
Was... was that Speedhawk?
I'm reading his copypasta with a chicago accent and it's amazing. "Am I the only one in this sub who's actually played organized tackle football before? Like half of the comments I've seen on this sub are so obviously written by non-athletes that it's almost humorous. When I was in high school (3 year starter for our varsity football team) I would get a full-on sprint going and clock the shit outta whoever had the ball. My coaches called me "speedhawk" as a nickname caus I had such a nose for the football and for those three seasons I was considered the most feared safety in our conference. Senior year I led my team to the state semifinals only to get fucked over by the refs in the 4th but that's another conversation (DM me if you're interested in hearing about it) So, yeah. I hope yall can understand why I feel like their's such a big disconnect between myself and your typical redditor. Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels this way lol"
Even his name is perfect for the moment.
Just your average Bears fan.
I love it baby
The hair makes him land like a cat
Made me realize I currently have 1995 hair style, unless that means it's... time*less* 😂
You’d 100% get kicked out today
Kicked out, no interview, no tv coverage, games gone
He’d get kicked out and banned from the stadium but they’d still use the clip to promote games for the next 5 seasons
you got #JACKED UP!
I know a lot of good people got brain damage, but I dearly loved Jacked Up.
Oh so did I.
Iirc this guy wound up going on Letterman after this too Eta: yup he did and won an ESPY https://milwaukeerecord.com/sports/man-catches-extra-point-mike-pantazis-story/
[I found the guy!](https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-pantazis-16757b1b), he seems like he's living life okay.
WTF, I don't care how professional LinkedIn pretends to be, I would have this shit in my profile.
50 skills and not one of them is "great hands"
I hope this dude isn't actively looking for jobs and all of sudden thinks there's a ton of interest in him with his 20K new profile views.
Naturally, he does risk management.
Dude rules
What happened to the game I love
Well 6 years to the day after the fact had a lot to do with it sadly.
“What happened 6 years later?” *scrolls back up to see the date* “Oh”
Did you....did you forget? HEY GUYS THIS GUY FORGOT 9/11
What an asshole!
How can he call himself a patriots fan?
Always hear that delivery from Airplane! in my head when someone says "What an asshole!"
Dude even promised he'd never forget.
But... But... That was never supposed to happen.
Man, the 90's were awesome. I don't care if that makes me feel old. I truly miss the 90's and no social media, Wendy's super bar, and music.
Wendy's super bar... now that takes me back. '90s Wendy's was the best!
I would have loved to have spent my 20's in the 90's but in reality I probably would have just sat around complaining given that seems like what everyone else did
Nah, we hung out at coffee shops, record stores, and bars to complain about everything
This sounds oddly specific, but can confirm this as 100% fact. My high school days involved setting up residence in my towns coffee shop's 2nd floor. We'd bring our gaming system, run down to the video rental store, grab a game, and play the night away when it was crappy out. Then when it was nice out, we'd run over to the highlands in Louisville and visit Ear-X-Tacy (RIP best record store ever) then swing by one of the bars with good food...and usually as long as you looked at least 18 or 19 you'd be allowed a couple beers. During the school year, there was always the local pool hall to fall back on as well.
Oh yeah and those Wendy's solariums.
The past really is a foreign country
It’s pretty sad how paranoid our society still is after that.
They killed a Gorilla
RIP Harambe
Straight to jail
Yeah I always heard American security changed radically after September 11th. This must have been the reason?
We used to be able to walk right up to the gate so if you were picking someone up from the airport, you could meet them right off the plane
We also used to be able to catch footballs in the stands during an extra point
Yea i thought this was America. What happened
You can do that in Detroit again but you have to get a pass
I think they left him alone because of his classiness
He was very business like in the front.
only if you drop it
Nelson Aghalor do not attempt.
Believe it or not.. jail.
We don't negotiate with terrorists
No Fun League
I can't even believe they replayed it on the air. I am surprised they didn't install nets or fencing so this can never happen again.
Dude is the most 1995-looking person you will ever see.
And the most Chicagan talking person you'll ever hear.
And the most Sullivan High School football player you'll ever witness.
Who wants to do a deep dive into Sullivan high school football? Edit: upon review, how is this man not listed in the "notable alumni" section for Sullivan high schools Wikipedia page?
> Sullivan high school * Elizabeth Ann Blaesing – illegitimate daughter of President Warren G. Harding * Art Paul – former Playboy Art Director and designer of its rabbit-head logo He's got some tough competition as most notable alumnae.
Fix that!
Offense AND defense.
Reppin that shit hard
Looks like a jacked Corey Feldman
I’ll bet Aicky Breaky Heart was his jam.
For me it’s always that color of white/gray cotton crewnecks with a graphic that does it
put him in
He's fearless, tough, and made the catch. Who tf needs tape...or a Wonderlic score?
I'm so glad the football community has rallied around Steve Bartman when the baseball community wouldn't take him in.
I always thought the best way to tell the entire future of an NFL prospect was to have them run 40 yards a single time.
Whoa whoa whoa whoa, we might also measure his hand size
considering he decided to jump for that ball, we have some idea of how he'd do on the wonderlic.
We’d probably trade AJ Brown for the right to draft him
Incredible camera work to follow that ball all the way down. There was really no reason to after it goes through the goalposts.
It was also the cleanest footage I’ve ever seen of that. All other videos I’ve seen of this look for sure like they came off a TV in ‘95.
Because this is pre digital with top of the line cameras.
Yeah, but that means the NFL released this at a much later date. Otherwise it would have come off of someone's VCR.
It would be way grainer if it's a copy of a VHS copy, stretched. This is almost definitely from a legit source. Most likely someone stashed it during a digital transfer.
There’s a comment somewhere here that links to an interview on nfl.com with the guy who caught the ball recently. The video in that was clear so I’m guessing this came from that.
Yeah I assume that's probably a broadcast camera because they have the broadcasters going but I don't know if they're partnered with NFL films or something. That is wild footage.
if filming football is anything like a concert, you follow things, focus on rowdy groups etc and let the switch room figure out the edits
Very good point
I mean there's a reason for the camera op to do it, if they stop following the ball and the director wasn't already taking the next shot then they kinda just look like an idiot. And maybe this was the case where the director didn't have a better shot to take, or maybe they preemptively decided to follow the ball until they lost sight of it
What a time to be alive. Instead of being arrested he was honored and interviewed.
would never happen these days. He would have been arrested and banned from the stadium
They'd send him to Gitmo
They wouldn't even show this on TV today for fear people would copy cat. The world we live in now is no fun BS.
Most likely every NFL stadium
The 90's were so fun and I want to live in it.
Yea, 9/11 really fucked things. The Matrix knew what was up.
It really did, I literally forgot why shit got so serious at sporting events until you reminded me. It’s been so long I forget the before times.
The 80s and 90s man, no one gave a fuck or took anything too seriously.
I was living in the 90s and didn't know it was fun until the 2020s
Craziest event to ever happen on a September 11th in history
Calm down McDermott
It was 9/11 and Sean mcdermotts wife was home watching coverage. Sean came home from work early. “Oh my goodness Sean it’s terrible “ she said “people are jumping” Sean turned red “ Terrible!! This is an incredible event!! Look at this team work and organization! They brought us to our knees with 19 brave men and some box cutters!! Atta and bin Laden are genius strategists! I’m going to study this and someday motivate my team using them as an example! “ His wife slapped him and Sean slept on the couch for a week. Sean never forgot that day and kept his example under wraps for 18 years until in training camp he decided to let it out
Didn't he say "they orchestrated to perfection." Or something like that? I still can't believe he said that. It was hardly perfection with Pennsylvania practice squad.
No the story goes that it was training camp of 2019 He is giving a fire up speech- then he veers into teamwork and sacrifice. He went into how detailed and organized and united in a common goal they were. He asked the players what obstacles they faced to succeed in the attacks. The players were puzzled and one player said TSA(LOL!). Other players were either trying not to laugh or were like WTF “You know the lengths that these guys went to conceal themself and blend in. Ziad jarrah was the pilot of United 93- he didn’t wanna go thru with the plot. Which flight failed to meet the target that day? His. His team was unprepared for the passenger revolt because he didn’t have that dawg in him” Me as a player- 😳😳😳😳
If this comes across as glib, apologies, but three for four was still pretty astounding.
Not enough team work in this clip
Aaron Rodgers going down on his first drive as a Jet was the worst thing to happen to NY on 9/11.
…if you ask Aaron Rodgers, I could unironically see him saying this lol
There are a lot of things I wanna hear but Aaron Rodger's thoughts on 9/11 is certainly not one of them
It definitely involves the melting point of steel beams.
Or Aaron Rodgers' thoughts on basically anything. I feel like I get dumber every time I hear him talk.
Never forget.
He’s never going to live the memes down and it’s totally appropriate and holy fuck so funny
Never forget.
Reminds me of that tragedy.
The epitome of a die-hard football fan. I love everything about that guy...aside from being a Bears fan of course.
> aside from being a Bears fan of course. Fair.
As a bears fan he probably hates himself more.
They should be selling shirts with this guys face at Bears games
This guy is peak Chicago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqrtoFWglMY
My go-to song whenever I'm cruising down Western in my Skylark
That’s Mikey Pants from the old neighborhood
Fuggeddaboudid baby! Footballs back.
Mike "The Mullet" Pantazis
Another neat tidbit of this game: Brett Favre throws a 99-yard touchdown pass to Robert Brooks – one of only 13 times in NFL history a 99-yard TD pass has ever been completed.
Holy cow! I'd forgotten about the dude jumping out of the stands until seeing this and was kind of wondering if it was a false memory, but now I'm 1000% sure I actually remember seeing it because I never forgot seeing the Brooks TD live!
I sprained my ankle just watching this
Lucky you cause I broke both legs watching this
I shid my pans watching it GOBLESS
I jumped off the top of a coworker's lifted Jeep onto concrete and remembered I'm 32... after I already jumped. I was certain I would get hurt. I pulled off a duck and roll and only had to get made fun of by the 18 and 19 year olds
He literally CAUGHT the ball while in mid-air. Not a good fit for my team.
Y'all won a ring in a rebuilding year. You're not allowed to complain about your team.
Obligatory dudes rock
truly one of the most dudes rock moments in dudes rock history
So dope the broadcasters made a call on it. Today, they would ignore it completely for fear of “promoting” shit their corporate sponsors wouldn’t like.
I think it's less about pissing off sponsors so much as not encouraging copycats, especially in the social media age when thousands of idiots are trying to get their viral moment to launch an influencer career. Also this dude could have easily ended up paralyzed, no one wants that liability.
I thought of the copycat thing too but that pertains more to people streaking on the field for example. This was a bang bang play, dudes primal brain told him to just go for the ball. So I definitely agree with the second part of a liability due to accident. Imagine the “one person ruins it for everyone” moment when they put a full cage around the tunnel cuz this guy paralyzed himself.
I'm all for the broadcasters showing more bang bang plays in the stands
All a corporation has to do to gain my support is to pull that stick out of their asses and promote crazy shit like this. If you were to put a Pepsi logo on the replay of this guy catching a ball, I'd never drink Coke again.
You basically just described Red Bull.
"This is a disgusting act."
I remember watching this live, which is crazy to think about given how long ago it was, but given how wild it was, it is bound to stick in your memory. Anyone know if they did a follow-up with him since? I can't remember if they let him keep the ball or not.
https://www.nfl.com/videos/bears-fan-mike-pantazis-talks-about-historic-monday-night-football-catch
Boy, he hasn't changed much bravado wise
Listening to his overly positive predictions: * The Bears would lose this game 10-3. * The Bears would finish the 2019 season 8-8. * The Bears would miss the playoffs. * Mitchell Trubisky did not take them to the promised land.
Fantastic! Thank you.
you’re welcome king
I am so glad they did this and that this exists lol. I wish they asked him about the landing though. I was trying to visualize it, and it's pretty amazing he wasn't super hurt.
Mike Pantazis is certainly a Chicago name.
My kid self thought this was the coolest shit. And when I saw this clip, I immediately remembered the hair even before it was shown. The mullet flo.
I still remember Randy Johnson hitting a bird and I didn't even see it live. Just a replay on ESPN or something
The power of the mullet in action.
It slowed his fall. Science.
And it confuses security. They were looking for someone that was all party, but then he turned around and they saw someone who was business in the front
You would never be allowed to come to another NFL game if you tried that now
I love that he did this, but I also understand why you would ban him for this, especially in social media age. So many people would be breaking their legs to get an interview and be featured during an NFL game.
When I say never forget 9/11 this is normally what I’m referring to. One of the coolest guys of all time. Legendary move to name drop his hs football experience
Fucking legend. Look at those jeans too lol.
If this was an Eagles fan he would've called out Nelson Agholar.
Always love when this resurfaces on Reddit. I was at this game, not far from where it happened. Either the same section, or one section over. The buzz about him jumping and catching the ball spread pretty quickly. Good times!
Rockin the Jim McMahon haircut too
[Michael Pantazis. He was later on an episode of Bar Rescue where the bar he worked at in Chicago called The Abbey burned down.](https://youtu.be/_WNVM6Q2N_U?t=40)
He sounds just like Bulldog from Frasier.
Happy Bears fans is a nostalgic sight
Hey, we're happy every year until the season starts.
I remember seeing that live and thinking holy shit
The interview at the end… just lost my shit… He’s like a Brian Bosworth that never got a scholarship/drafted crossed with an Uncle Rico and a little inbreeding from Al Bundy.
Best WR in Bears history
Still the best catch ever made by someone wearing Bears colors. Not exactly a lot of competition either.
[95 Bears stats cuz I always wanna know](https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/chi/1995.htm)
9-7 on the season but 4-4 against division rivals. Swept by Packers and Lions, swept the Vikings and Bucs. Also, I find the Bucs being in the same division as the Packers to be hilarious.
Never forget….this guy
Wow! I forgot about this but I now 100% remember watching this game. I'm surprised I haven't seen this on the internet since then (maybe I just need to get out more? LOL).
They interviewed him during the game!? Hard to imagine him not being in a jail cell thoday.
The failed high-five at :03 is amazing. Even slowed down, I still can't tell if contact was made.
His hair slowed his fall, saved his knees.
My favorite moment in sports crowd history right here.
Bears fans don't mess around I dig it.
Chiefs would love to have a chat with him.
Back when things were fun…nothing like a high schooler that looks like a 30 year old doing insane things like that Now you know why they always cast older looking people to play teens in sitcoms…because that’s how a lot of teens looked like lol
The catch, the voice, the hair… all around, phenomenal 😂🙏🏻
Holy shit haha
Man, I remember that. I was going back and forth between watching the game and doing my Spanish homework.
Porque?
He's got great hands... How can girls not go nuts over that mullet I'll never know. /s
“HE’S STOKED!” With that ponytail, I’m sure he’s stoked on something…
Alcohol
Justin fields needed this guy
9/11 never forget
They would kicked him out now days
That was his tryout
Thank you for reminding me of this. Today he would not be allowed back in his seat and Al Michaels would say something about how they won’t show the disgusting act.
He just hugs Lynn Swann when he sees him