a "Hail Mary attack" will throw every exploit it has against a system to see whether any of them work. When the Pennsylvania Republican Party sold its headquarters in Harrisburg to the Catholic Church, this was described by The New York Times as "a real-life Hail Mary". After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Pope Francis's attempts to stop the conflict by consecrating Russia and Ukraine to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was called the "Pope's Hail Mary pass". At the end of the 2022 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville, Ross Chastain's wall-ride move to get the positions he needed to clinch a spot in the Championship 4 was given the name "Hail Melon", combining the name of the football pass play with Chastain's association with watermelons. See also Lateral pass, another football strategy that is similar in that it is generally only used in desperation by the losing team on the very last play Gambit List of Hail Mary passes in American football List of sports idioms NFL playoffs, 1975–76 Aaron Rodgers Cowboys–Vikings rivalry Buzzer beater, similar application in basketball References External links American football plays Metaphors referring to sport Christianity and sports