Miracles do happen. We learned that on Jan. 8, 2000, when the Music City Miracle unfolded at what was then known as Adelphia Coliseum — when, miraculously, the Tennessee Titans won a playoff game they should have lost.The 10th anniversary of the event is not for a few weeks, but anniversary or not, the play has never really left the consciousness of Nashville or the NFL. In fact, the play officially known as "Home Run Throwback," has made the Top 10 greatest moments in sports on several well-publicized lists, including earning the No. 4 spot on Fox Sports Network's list.

But the Titans' 22-16 AFC Wild-Card playoff victory made losers of the Buffalo Bills — the same Bills that are coming back to Nashville Sunday, the same Bills that have had a history of heartbreaking post-season defeats, the same Bills that will be wearing, if you can believe the timing of this, "throwback" jerseys.

In light of the match-up, the Scene decided to run down Memory Lane with some of key contributors to the play that made them part of Pro Football lore.

There's Frank Wycheck, who threw the pass across the field, and now does radio for the team and co-hosts a local morning show. There's Kevin Dyson, who caught Wycheck's toss and ran untouched from 75 yards out for the score, who is athletic director at Williamson County's Independence High and does radio and TV sports commentary.

There's special teams coach Alan Lowry, who designed the kickoff play, and Coach Jeff Fisher who weighs in on what was arguably his greatest coaching victory to date.

Finally, there's Titans announcer Mike Keith, whose call of, "It's a miracle. There are no flags on the play," coupled with Pat Ryan's repeated cries of "He's got something," has become a part of the legend as well.

So, turn back the clock — Buffalo's Steve Christie had just kicked a 41-yard field goal to give the Bills a 16-15 lead with 16 seconds to play, setting the stage for the most memorable play in Titans history — and hang on.

Mike Keith: I was just sick that we had lost that ballgame, because that game was over. You give up a field goal with 16 seconds to go, you're beat.

I don't know that I've ever seen a game before or since, maybe one somewhere, where you have something like that happen. It just doesn't happen. The percentages are so miniscule.

It had been such a great year.... I'm thinking we've lost this game today, but sound positive. You're the team's announcer, sound positive because it's been a great year. That's what I'm thinking. I'm just trying to sound positive because I'm as sick as anybody else.

Frank Wycheck: It was kind of deflating, just because we thought we had the game, and they did a good job of driving down the field.

(On the sideline, Lowry and Fisher are getting ready to unleash the play that had been practiced many times, but never used.)

Alan Lowry: I'd had it a long time before it was even used at all. As soon as that ball went through the uprights, and I turned and walked down the sideline, and Coach Fisher was right there. He looked at me and I looked at him and we knew exactly what we were gonna do.

Jeff Fisher: First off, I turned to Alan, and we simultaneously said, "Home Run Throwback."

(There was one problem. Derrick Mason was supposed to run the play as the trail man. But he was out with a concussion. And to make matters worse, backup returner Anthony Dorsett had left the game with cramps. The Titans then turned to Dyson, who originally thought it was a mistake when the coaches were yelling for him to be on the field.)

Kevin Dyson: I heard Jeff and Coach Lowry calling my name. The only special teams unit I played on was the "hands" team, so I thought maybe they were confused.

(While Lowry instructed the other 10 Titans on the play, Fisher took Dyson aside and gave him a crash course in how things were supposed to work.)

Fisher: I went to talk to [Mason], and Mase was out with a concussion. Then we went to Anthony Dorsett, his backup, and he was cramping up and couldn't play. And I went to Kevin and basically went through it real quick with Kevin on what to do.

Kevin admitted he hadn't paid attention in practice on Saturdays, so I told him to stay five yards behind the ball and stay outside the numbers.

Dyson: They called me over and started explaining the gist of the play to me. Ike Byrd told me about it too. I'd seen it run in practice, so I knew basically how it was supposed to work.

(The play actually was supposed to involve Byrd, but he was taken out of the mix when he fell trying to catch the ball that was fielded by fullback Lorenzo Neal. Even that part was a bit of an adventure as Neal didn't possess the surest hands on the field. But he got the ball into Wycheck's hands as Wycheck and several blockers were running to the right side of the field.)

Wycheck: I remember talking to Lorenzo and Jackie Harris, and they were like in so many words, "I ain't throwing this ball. So if it's kicked to me, you come get it." That's why you see in the play no issue with going to Lorenzo, which if you're gonna pick a guy to kick the ball to in that situation, you kick it to Lorenzo. He really didn't even look at me. He just kind of reached back and gave it to me.

(The play had many variations, and the Titans actually expected Buffalo to squib the kick, not pop it up. Still, the adjustment was made on the fly.)

Fisher: Ironically, we worked on every kick except that kick.

Lowry: What happened was I had 10 guys and Jeff had Kevin Dyson, and he coached him up through all the possible scenarios. And that one, the way it happened, was probably the hardest one. He made a great adjustment.

Wycheck: That play would not work if it was to the goal line, because we always practiced it. We had adjustments to that, but it would have been more like the Stanford-Cal play [a play with several handoffs] if it had been kicked deep. There were kind of variations of that play, but I would have been taken out of the play if it had been kicked deep. I would have had to go block somebody.

Lowry: What happened was once they kicked the pop-up kick, then it became like a squib kick once it was caught. Ike Byrd ran right up and ran right into the back of Lorenzo Neal. He went right into the back of him trying to catch the ball and fell down. Lorenzo catches the ball, and he gets the ball to Frank, and Frank takes off across the field, and that's where Kevin comes to be the throwback guy.

(So, everybody wants to know: Was it really a lateral?)

Keith: My view of the play [from the booth] is an extreme angle to my right. When he made the throw, my first thought is he threw it forward. I can't tell depth-wise how it goes. The throw comes back and Kevin starts down the field. All I'm doing is I'm looking for a flag.

Kevin's at the 30, I'm looking for a flag, Kevin's at the 40, I'm looking for a flag. Kevin gets to midfield, I'm looking for a flag. And about that time, it dawns on me that there's not gonna be a flag.

Fisher: I saw the ball come back to Kevin, and I saw [referee] Byron Boston signal lateral.

Wycheck: I knew what I was supposed to do. I was supposed to throw it behind, and I can remember and still have that feeling that I threw it across my body. I kind of threw it and then kind of backed up. There was the illusion of it that I was clearly behind Kevin and I drifted back, so it should have been a forward [pass]. But I knew I was supposed to throw it backwards, because I don't have a screwball in my repertoire.

Lowry: The only thing he did was he ended up getting in front of Frank, and when Frank threw the ball, he had to come back. He's catching the ball going backwards, so it's definitely a lateral. I didn't realize how close it was.

Dyson: I look and I'm the last guy. I get back across the 25-yard line, and Frank throws it to me. There was no doubt in my mind that it was a lateral, but I really didn't know how close it was till I saw the highlights when I got home later that night.

(With so few seconds left, was there the thought of Dyson running out of bounds and letting Al Del Greco attempt a field goal, rather than risk going for the end zone as Dyson did?)

Dyson: For a few seconds there, I thought about trying to get out of bounds so we could kick a field goal. But I saw Greg Favors, Terry Killens and Perry Phenix up ahead and there was only one defender, No. 26, I believe it was Antoine Winfield, and the kicker. When I saw the kicker fall down, I knew I was going to score.

Fisher: As Kevin was coming down the sideline, my thought was, "Get out of bounds and we'll kick a field goal." But the rest is history.

Wycheck: I was trailing, basically just walking and watching. I just remember saying, "Hey, maybe Kevin should get out of bounds, so we can kick the field goal just to secure the points." But clearly he had no one in front of him.

(So what about the aftermath of the touchdown with the officials sorting out the play to determine whether or not it was a touchdown while the stadium held its collective breath?)

Keith: What I've always thought was incredible about that call is that Pat saw it right away. He saw how open it was at the moment that it hit, and in just following Kevin, all I'm trying to do is just stay with him, because I wasn't that hyped.

People say, "You don't sound that excited at first," because, first I don't realize he has a chance to score, because I'm not that perceptive, and because I think there's going to be a penalty. When he gets in the end zone, I'm like a 12-year-old girl with my hair on fire, because this has come as such a shock. It was a very natural reaction because I was just so stunned that this has happened.

Lowry: Our chain guy ran down the field and said, "Kick the extra point real fast. It was a forward pass." I said, "We can't. It's a booth review. It's a booth review, it's in the last two minutes. It doesn't matter for us." He said, "I'm afraid it was a forward pass." But the more I looked at the replays, the more I thought it wasn't.

Fisher: At that point, I knew there was no way they could overturn it, because it was so close. The big question was do I go for one or go for two. In retrospect, we should have gone for two, but I don't think we could have run an offensive play after the euphoria and everything.

(So what was it like to be a part of a play that goes down as one of the most memorable in NFL annals?)

Keith: When this happened, you would not believe how many season tickets sold the next week. Ever since the start of that and the run to the Super Bowl, there's never been a question [of ticket sales and fan support]. That one moment in time changed the course of the franchise.

Wycheck: You've got to be remembered for something, and it's pretty cool to be remembered. But that whole year, everything came together that year with the stadium, and what we'd been through in Houston. I know the story gets old after awhile, but that's really what it's about. ...That team came together and finished and fought to the end and never quit.

Dyson: It's something I can hang my hat on and be known for. I wasn't in an offensive system that allowed me to catch 90 or 100 balls like a Randy Moss or Jerry Rice. Some people go on to Pro Bowls or have Hall of Fame careers. And some players play 12 or 15 years, and they're basically anonymous. After their careers are over, no one really remembers them except their teammates, and that's fine.

But this is something I can always hang my hat on. Whenever it comes up, it's something that I'm remembered for. It's a sense of pride, not only for me, but for my family. Every time it comes up, they take pride in it, too.

Email editor@nashvillescene.com.