The Binge Crimes: Lady Mafia - Lights Out: The Loss of a Lifetime

Episode Date: September 18, 2023

From Campside Media and eOne, sports journalist Matt Stanmyre embarks on a journey to examine the stranger-than-fiction twists, life-altering consequences and dramatic mysteries of the most iconic high school football game of all time. For this one New Jersey town it’s the day that changed everything. And decades later, they are still trying to pick up the pieces. Listen now on Apple Podcasts or the podcast app of your choice!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Every football movie that I watch, you know, Friday Night Lights, Remember the Titans, you know, it always brings tears to my eyes. Because I know what those players went through, because I went through it myself. It's the late 80s in Montclair, New Jersey, a diverse little town not far from New York City, where high school football is king. Put on a Montclair uniform, playing for Montclair was like playing for the New York Yankees. We're about winning state championships. There's nothing else that really matters. The Montclair Mounties have won 27 state championships.

And in 1990, one team has a chance to be the best in school history and among the top teams in the country. I remember listening to the news and the sportscaster said, the Jets are so bad, Montclair High School could probably beat them. Who doesn't want to be number one? Nobody wants to be number two. Nobody wants to be number three. It's going to be us. It has to be us.

Then the Randolph game. We are at Woodman Field where it is a packed house. Estimates possibly anywhere from 10 to 15,000 today to watch the North Jersey Section 2 Group 4 championship game between Randolph and Montclair. Two undefeated teams. One legendary state championship game between Randolph and Montclair. Two undefeated teams. One legendary state championship game. The Montclair Mounties were dominating all the way through the fourth quarter. But in the last few seconds, a technicality.

This is not good. It could end up with a very serious aft effect here. A mishap. The fans must be cleared off the field. This game is not over yet. An error. The kick is up, and a kick! A mishap. An error. It wasn't an accident. We won the game. And they took it from us. So what happens when you work at something your whole life?

It becomes who you are. It feels like your destiny. And it's within your grasp. But then someone snatches it away. Guilt is on the line somewhere. Someone's guilty of something. And that dream you had, it goes to someone else. I feel we were robbed. Like somebody took my soul from me.

I mean, there's always the what if, you know. I'm definitely sure something would have been different. There wouldn't have been a dark cloud over our town for as long as it's been. So, what if, right? What if we won? From Campside Media, Entertainment One, and NJ Advance Media. This is Lights Out. Listen on September 12th, wherever you get your podcasts.