(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.