(December 16, 2001, Cleveland Browns vs. Jacksonville Jaguars) The BottleGate
game occurred during a late 2001
NFL season
game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium in
Cleveland. There was a questoionable play and the referee declared the game over and sent the teams to the locker rooms.
NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue called the
game supervisor to override the referee's decision, sending the players back onto the field after a thirty-minute delay, where the Jaguars ran out the last seconds under a hail of debris.
The start of BottleGate is attributed to three men who were sitting next to the apposing team's tunnel: Ryan Slattery,
Rob Misso, and Michael Roche. When the call came up, and the the decision was processing, Ryan Slattery turned to Michael Roche and Rob Misso and said, " if this bullshit happens I'm throwing this bottle on the field." Once the call came down Ryan Slattery launched his beer onto the field, the first of thousands that
soon proceeded.
