“I was doing time for burglary and was lucky enough to end up on a work-release program from [MCI]-Norfolk,’’ says Henderson, 51, making his first visit to the Hall. “My stepfather got me a job with the maintenance crew. We had a meeting before the game, and nobody wanted to run the tractor. I knew I was the low man on the totem pole, obviously, so I volunteered. At the end of the day, everybody wished they had volunteered.’’
Henderson’s job was to sweep the snow from the sidelines and keep the yard markers clear.
With 4 minutes 45 seconds left in a scoreless game, the Patriots had the ball on the Miami 16-yard line. Patriots coach Ron Meyer called a timeout to attempt a 33-yard field goal. Conditions were dreadful. Both teams had already missed field goals.
Henderson was on the sideline, still wet from shoveling. The tractor was nearby, its motor running. Henderson had no clue he would end up providing the ultimate home-field advantage.
“I was freezing my butt off, running in place, trying to create some energy,’’ he says, gazing over at the parking lot where the old stadium used to be. “It was brutal out there.’’
At the same time, Meyer was frantically searching the sideline for him. The timeout was almost over.
“He finally spotted me and comes running after me waving his arms,’’ says Henderson, “and he said, ‘Get out there and do something.’ I knew exactly what he meant, so I jumped on the tractor and proceeded to go out on the 20-yard line, where I was supposed to be.
“Then Matt Cavanaugh, the backup quarterback who was the holder, saw me coming and started clapping his hands. He said, ‘All right! Follow me.’ He showed me the spot he wanted cleared. I just swerved over to the 23-yard line with my tractor, switched on the PTO [power take-off, which starts the brush spinning], and scraped the snow off the AstroTurf.’’
Legendary Dolphins coach Don Shula took one look at the 4-foot swath of green and went ballistic on the sideline.
