Vikings: Ahmad Rashad finds exact spot of Miracle of Met catch at MOA for reenactment with Peyton Manning

Chris Tomasson, Pioneer Press
Updated ·4 min read
Vikings: Ahmad Rashad finds exact spot of Miracle of Met catch at MOA for reenactment with Peyton Manning
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Ahmad Rashad is well known for making 495 catches on football fields during his NFL career. Now, he’s made one while riding the Log Chute.

For an upcoming episode of the television series “Peyton’s Places,” the former Vikings wide receiver earlier this year reenacted his famous Miracle at the Met catch at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington with Peyton Manning playing the role of quarterback Tommy Kramer. The 46-yard touchdown reception on the final play on Dec. 14, 1980 gave the Vikings a 28-23 win over the Cleveland Browns, and clinched the NFC Central division title.

The Vikings last played at Metropolitan Stadium in 1981, and it was demolished in 1985 to make room for the Mall of America, which opened in 1992. And it just so happens that the right side of the end zone where Rashad made his catch is now home to the Log Chute ride at Nickelodeon Universe, an indoor theme park at the mall.

“We found the exact spot where the Miracle of the Met catch was made, and we reenacted it,” said Rashad, who played in the NFL from 1972-82, including 1976-82 with the Vikings. “So I had to get on the ride where it goes down and splashes in the water and then (Manning) threw the ball to me and I was inside the cart, and I caught the ball.”

A crew came to the Mall of America in late January to film the segment for ESPN+. An ESPN spokesperson said the segment likely will run in mid-December on the show in which Manning, a hall of fame quarterback, travels around in search of offbeat NFL stories.

That’s not the only remembrance of the Miracle of the Met on the docket for December. Kramer said Tuesday that a reunion will be held at the Mall of America on Dec. 16 in which the former quarterback, Rashad and former Minnesota head coach Bud Grant are all expected to attend along with some others involved in that game. The event will be open to the public, with additional details forthcoming.

Originally, there were hopes for a 40-year anniversary celebration but the pandemic put the kibosh on that. So it will be 42-year anniversary gathering.

“We’re going to show the Hail Mary and we’ll be having fans out there,” Kramer said. “It’ll be a lot of fun remembering it.”

In the next-to-last game of 1980, the Vikings trailed 23-22 and had the ball at their own 20-yard line with 14 seconds left. Kramer threw a pass over the middle to tight end Joe Senser, who lateraled to running back Ted Brown, and he ran down the left sideline and out of bounds at the Cleveland 46 with five seconds remaining. On the next play, Kramer called Squadron Right, their version of a Hail Mary, and Rashad hauled in a tipped ball for the winning score.

The play helped Rashad, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, became even more popular, and he went on to become a successful broadcaster. He jumped at the chance to reenact the play with Manning.

“It was really a nice time,” Rashad said. “It was very funny. And I could still feel the presence of that stadium just walking into that mall. It brought back a lot of memories of the old stadium.”

Rashad said Manning wore a Kramer No. 9 jersey for the reenactment. Kramer, who said the segment “sounds like a lot of fun,” wasn’t on hand when it was shot since he was out of town.

“It was great to do it with Peyton because Peyton is funny,” said Rashad, who lives in Jupiter, Fla. “Peyton and I have a similar personality. I would have never have gone up there for anybody but Peyton.”

Rashad previously told the Pioneer Press the hope was to do the shoot earlier in January, when Rashad came in for the Jan. 9 regular-season finale between the Vikings and Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium. But it ended up being pushed back to later that month.

Filming was done in the morning before Nickelodeon Universe opened at 11 a.m. so Rashad, Manning and the film crew had the place to themselves. It was not hard to locate the exact site of the catch since a marker on the floor at the theme park shows where the 50-yard line was at Metropolitan Stadium.

“They said it was right there where the log comes down into the water,” Rashad said.

And with that, Rashad hauled in another 46-yard pass. There were no defenders around this time, but he did have the challenge of catching the ball while riding the Log Chute.

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