If I hadn't dropped the ball, I would've took it all the way
Homecoming '89 with ten seconds left to play
We were drivin' toward the goal line
They were screamin' in the stands

I had the chance to be a hero, but it slipped right through my hands
There would've been a big pep rally
They would've hung my jersey on the wall
If I hadn't dropped the ball

Me and Cindy Miller were supposed to meet after the game
I waited by the bleachers, but she never came
I found a note on my windshield
Underneath the wiper blade

With goodbye bleedin' through it in the cold October rain
We probably would've gotten married
And those recruiters in from 'Bama would've called
If I hadn't dropped the ball

My life would've been so different if in that instant
Things had gone the way I planned
But the fact is that they didn't, and the hand I wound up getting
Is something that I'll never understand

I ran away that summer, took a job out on the coast
And that's where I met your mama
And the rest I guess you know
If I had the chance to go back and score that last touchdown

Well, son, I wouldn't do it, 'cause you wouldn't be here now
And I wouldn't be your hero
I wouldn't be around to catch you when you fall
If I hadn't dropped the ball

My life would've been so different if in that instant
Things had gone the way I planned
But the fact is that they didn't and the hand I wound up getting
Is the one that god intended me to have

No, I wouldn't be the man I am at all
If I hadn't dropped the ball