18 years ago, a rain-soaked Chiefs game created this iconic Derrick Thomas photo

Eighteen years ago today the Kansas City Chiefs and Seattle Seahawks played in a rain game. When I say rain, I mean RAIN.

The Seahawks-Chiefs game was set for primetime at 7:20 p.m. (Arrowhead Time). The rain came in right at game time and actually caused a delay at one point. The Chiefs ended up winning but the rain was the story. I found this newspaper report from October 4, 1998:

“As torrential rains pelted the field and lightning flashed across the nighttime sky, NFL officials halted play at 9:14 EDT, with 7:10 left in the second quarter and the score knotted at 3-all. Halftime was cut in half to six minutes. Fans were told to go to the protected areas of the stadium for their own safety. Weather officials said the 3.66 inches of rain fell in Kansas City in a two-hour period starting just before kickoff, but rainfall totals of 6 inches or more were registered across the area.”

This Weather.com report talks about the 11 deaths from the rain and ensuing flooding:

The intense rainfall, on top of already saturated soils and in a largely urban environment, quickly resulted in excessive runoff and flash flooding. Flash flooding along Brush Creek, Turkey Creek and Indian Creek resulted in eleven people losing their lives - eight lives alone were claimed as Brush Creek inundated the Prospect Road bridge. Ten of the eleven deaths occurred after sunset and in automobiles, traditionally high risk factors associated with flash floods. In addition to the fatalities in Kansas City, another death attributed to flash flooding was reported in St. Joesph, Missouri.

All this was going on as the Chiefs and Seahawks played. A search of Getty photos turns these up:

What most of you probably remember about this game is the photo that came out of it. One of the most iconic Derrick Thomas photos from Getty.

Were you at the this game? What do you remember?