Hail Mary pass Hail Mary pass A Hail Mary pass, also known as a shot play, is a very long forward pass in American football, made in desperation, with only a small chance of success and time running out on the clock. The term became widespread after a December 28, 1975 NFL playoff game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings, when Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach (a Roman Catholic and fan of "The Godfather Part II" (1974), whose character Fredo had popularized the phrase) said about his game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Drew Pearson, "I closed my eyes and said a
Hail to the Thief the album's subtitle. Other titles considered included "Little Man Being Erased", "The Boney King of Nowhere" and "Snakes and Ladders", which became the alternative titles for the songs "Go To Sleep", "There There" and "Sit Down. Stand Up" respectively. The phrase "hail to the thief" was used by anti-George W. Bush protesters during the controversy surrounding the 2000 US presidential election as a play on "Hail to the Chief", the American presidential anthem. Yorke described hearing the phrase for the first time as a "formative moment" for the album. Radiohead chose the title partly to "state the bleeding obvious ...