OT: What's the best Non-Michigan game you have ever been to???
September 28th, 2010 at 7:14 PM ^
Not really. There was definitely some upper-class type feel to it, but the campus has a very modern area around it. The campus is a nice little oasis tucked between the freeway and what has to be some of the most expensive houses in Dallas. The tailgate area on campus was tremendous. Definitely gets a "++" in my book. Definitely had the wine-and-cheese mixed in with the Texas BBQ style, if that makes any sense.
As far as LT/UL-M, I've given thought to it. It's just hard to get it all sorted out as I like to get on campus a few hours early and stay through the post-game to watch different teams sing the school songs with the fans, etc. Not to mention tour campus a little bit before the game if possible. Makes for a long time at any campus I make it to.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:27 PM ^
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO6aUNpPYco
Ohio State at Wisconsin. Night game. Tied 10-10 at the end of 3 quarters. They play "Jump Around" by House of Pain, as is tradition in Camp Randall. The Buckeyes, led by Malcolm Jenkins, go absolutely nuts, jumping around on the sideline. And they smoke the Badgers in the 4th quarter to win. I think the final was like 24-20. From the time of "Jump Around" onward, Badgers were very much in the mode of, wtf?
September 28th, 2010 at 5:24 PM ^
It must have been 2006- both teams were decent, but that wasn't why it was so amazing. For Maryland fans, they didn't really get that football is a different cheering environment than basketball. They were shouting specific insults at specific players even though they were in row 30 or whatever. It was truly a basketball crowd in a football stadium- very funny to watch, and though Wake won (and in doing so, crushed Maryland's hopes of winning the ACC that year), it was a surreal fan experience.
Coming from a place where all the cheers are carefully orchestrated and all done together, the basketball crowd was just hilarious. At the time it was louder at that stadium than it was at Michigan games, which, well, at least they were enthusiastic.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:26 PM ^
The best game I have been to that is non-Michigan was hands down Game 5 of the 2004 NBA Finals when the Pistons destroyed the Lakers to win the NBA Championship.
The crowd was going nuts the entire time because the Pistons jumped out to such a big lead and coasted to the championship. It was quite a site to see and the celebration was awesome.
I always consider that game, and the 3OT UM-MSU games the 2 best games I've ever been to.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:27 PM ^
Florida at Florida State. The game featured Spurrier coaching and Heisman winner Chris Weinke playing. Doak Campbell was crazy.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:30 PM ^
Pass interference.... I had just moved out there and cheered my ass off for the U.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:30 PM ^
19-17 at Northwestern in 1997. What made it truly spectacular was the last play of the game. Michigan State lined up for a game-winning 28 yds FG on the final play of the game. It was blocked!! The look on Saban's face was priceless (see Brian Kelly 2010).
Sparty was 5-0 before the upset against the Wildcats and things didn't get any better for them the following week at home against Michigan, the game featuring 6 interceptions by Michigan including Woodson's iconic leaping one-hander near the sideline.
Ah, good times.
September 28th, 2010 at 7:09 PM ^
Later the 1997 season, I watched OSU hand it to Sparty in a game that was typical Sparty meltdown. After a blocked field goal, which was the latest in a number of screwups, a student stood up in front of us and yelled, "We suck!" Yes, you do, Sparty.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:33 PM ^
Luckily my Dad scored some tickets through work for game 4 of the ALCS. That atmosphere was amazing, never seen a more excited crowd for a baseball game. Best game I've ever been able to attend.
September 28th, 2010 at 6:04 PM ^
I was at this game in 1968:
and this one in 1971:
and this one in 1984:
September 28th, 2010 at 6:41 PM ^
You win for non-CFB, especially for '68. Lolich was my favorite player as a kid -- three wins in that World Series.
September 28th, 2010 at 8:05 PM ^
there wasn't a whole lot for Detroit fans to see at Tiger Stadium. The game I saw (Game 3), Ray Washburn threw junkballs and beat Earl Wilson, 7-3 on a Saturday afternoon. I sat with my dad in the centerfield bleachers and watched the movement on Washburn's pitches. The next day (Game 4), Bob Gibson pitched, and the Tigers never even saw the ball. We lost, 10-1.
The whole Series was riding on Game 5, played on a weekday afternoon in Detroit. That was the one where Michigan's tight end (and also a pretty good catcher in baseball) Bill Freehan blocked the plate as Lou Brock tried to score and we won. I was in school.
The 1971 All-Star Game in Detroit is enough to make a real baseball fan hallucinate. The starting outfield for the National League was Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Willie Stargell. Roberto Clemente pinch-hit. (He got a single off Mickey Lolich.) Johnny Bench was the National League catcher, and he hit a home run. Joe Torre was the third baseman. Sparky Anderson (from the Reds) was the manager.
For the American League, the lineup was Rod Carew, Bobby Murcer, Carl Yaztrzemski, Frank Robinson, Norm Cash, Brooks Robinson, Bill Freehan, Luis Aparicio, with Vida Blue as the starting (and winning) pitcher. Reggie Jackson pinch-hit, and blasted the most famous home run in the history of Tiger Stadium, off the right-field lights. The manger was Earl Weaver and he had his old coach Billy Hunter with him. Billy Martin of the Tigers was the other coach.
It was the greatest baseball game of my lifetime.
I can actually think of one other glorious experience I had at Tiger Stadium that actually rivlals the '71 All-Star game, but I was really young at the time, and my memory is hazier. It was seeing Gayle Sayers play for the Bears against the Lions when their defense included Dick LeBeau, Joe Schmidt, Alex Karras, Roger Brown, Mike Lucci, etc.
It's awfully hard to say one runner is better than all the rest. How do you compare Walter Payton and Barry Sanders, say? There are so many amazing runners. For me, having seen all of those guys after Jim Brown, who I never saw, I would not hesitate a second in saying that no one ran with the ball better than Gayle Sayers did in his short career.
September 28th, 2010 at 10:08 PM ^
When I was a little kid in 1984 my dad got tickets to game 4 of the ALCS. Needless to say, I was very excited. Problem was, back then the ALCS was a best-of-five, and the Tigers swept the Royals. Game 3 of that ALCS is the only time I have ever rooted against the Tigers in my life.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:33 PM ^
during the early 2000s. Both teams were ranked in the top ten. Michael Bennett had 3 TD runs of 50+ yards and Joey Harrington, in a moment of foreshadowing, sealed the loss with an interception to Jamar Fletcher on the potentially winning drive.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:35 PM ^
The 04 game was when Aaron Rodgers started the game by completing his first 23 passes and ended up going 29 of 31. Cal drove down to 1st and goal at the 9 yard line and couldn't get the winning score, losing 23-17.
In 05 it was Maurice Jones Drew leading the way in a 47-40 UCLA win. He had 5 TD's that game 3 rushing, 1 receiving and 1 on a punt return. That Cal team had DeSean Jackson, Marshawn Lynch and Justin Forsett on it.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:38 PM ^
Harvard beat Yale 1976
September 28th, 2010 at 5:38 PM ^
2007: Number One Appalachian State was undefeated and had defeated a highly-regarded I-A team earlier in the year. They trekked to Spartanburg, SC to take on the Wofford Terriers, who defeated them 42-31. According to Wikipedia:
The Terriers outgained the Mountaineers 431 to 320 in total yardage with running back Kevious Johnson accounting for 104 rushing yards.
It was a fun day.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:38 PM ^
Mets-Diamondbacks in the '99 NLDS game. Todd Pratt hit a pinch hit, series winning home run in the bottom of the 10th, just beyond the reach of a climbing Findley.
High 5's all around for the 3 other mets fans on this board.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:39 PM ^
2007 Wake Forest @ UVA. UVA won the game on a last second field goal. I was sitting on the lawn, so I had a pretty cool view of the game-winning kick.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:39 PM ^
September 28th, 2010 at 5:39 PM ^
I went to a the UGA v. UF game at Jacksonville in 2002 with some friends. Since I had no rooting interest it was fun to see the Florida rednecks (or necks as they are called in JAX) have verbal battles with the preppy Georgia fans. Keep in mind most of the Fans had been there since the Weds. before the game when the RV's were allowed to park at the stadium, so everyone was extremely drunk. I never thought that many overalls had been sold, but apparently they had.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:44 PM ^
I just realized that, if the list is restricted to college football, I've seen almost nothing. That would be Ball State vs. EMU at Rynearson many years ago. With the exception of the players, the atmosphere was depressingly minor-league. (I mentioned the players specially because if you're good enough to play football at the MAC level, that's still really good.)
Outside college football?
* This game: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/gallery/featured/GAL1163948/22/2…; (Kobe vs. Antwan, basically ... statistically significant.)
* In the early '90s I saw Glen Rice (in the Miami Heat years) beat the Stockton/Malone Jazz on a buzzer-beater.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:48 PM ^
Bedford vs. Ann Arbor Pioneer
September 28th, 2010 at 6:50 PM ^
Could go undefeated going into the Monroe game. The Trojans have a tough running back.
September 28th, 2010 at 5:52 PM ^
I can't remember the exact year or the exact score but we had a great time. This game occured a week or two after Wisc beat Michigan and there was a stampede that crushed a few students. Of course I was rooting against OSU.
My friend was going to school at marquette in milluakee (i know its spelled wrong) and he was not planning to go to the game but I like to go to games whenever I can, so when he got in the car to go to dinner, I drove him to Madison.
We got loaded and lost our tickets so we went to the ticket taker with $40 folded up about the size of the ticket and got in the game. Ticket takers were more fun then. I got into the michigan vs boston college game in boston this way also but have not had much luck recently with this method.
Anyway we both wore michigan hats and sweat shirts which was even funnier because I am 6' 180 and my buddy was 6'2 240. He had to wear my clothes it was so f*&n cold. I had on 2 pairs of long underwear, jeans and sweat pants. People in the section we sat in hollered "wrong game" at us for a while but then we broke out the jack we brought to the game and everyone was cool.
As you can imagine, we woke up in a strangers living room sleeping on couches. Then we hopped in the car and drive back to milluakee (i know damit).
September 28th, 2010 at 10:51 PM ^
Milwaukee
September 28th, 2010 at 5:53 PM ^
St Louis Rams at Cincinnati Bengals....2000, I think...maybe 99...... Was supposed to be a bengals win against some terrible team in st louis that had a qb starting cause the starter just got hurt in preseason. Yeah, some qb named Kurt Warner was starting who the yr before was playing for the iowa barnstormers in arena league.......
That to this day is the best offense I have ever seen in the nfl games I have went to. They shredded the bengals defense (hey back then lots of teams did) but they could have scored 70pts with ease if they wanted to.....it was flat out ugly for me as a bengals fan but man stlouis was fun to watch......
September 28th, 2010 at 6:12 PM ^
Yale-Harvard in 2005 at the Yale Bowl. Harvard won in triple OT. It was intense.
Yale-Harvard games are the only non-Michigan football games I've ever been to. This is what I get for growing up in Connecticut with no big time college football around...if only this was the 1890s...
September 28th, 2010 at 6:10 PM ^
I went to the 03 Motor City Bowl to watch Northwestern take on Bowling Green. The matchup didn't sound very interesting but it was something to do with the family the day after Christmas so we went to root for the Big Ten. We easily got great seats too.
It was actually an interesting back and forth game with Bowling Green winning 28-24.
September 28th, 2010 at 6:19 PM ^
I attended my college's semi final playoff game in 2004 when Linfield (the small college I attended in Oregon) beat Rowan 52 - 0 and the following week we went on to win the DIII National Championship. During the Rowan game the Linfield QB set the all time NCAA record for most TD passes by a QB in one season. If memory serves me correctly our QB threw for 63 TDs that year.
Linfield also holds the record for most consecutive winning seasons at 54.
September 28th, 2010 at 11:23 PM ^
You went to Linfield? I went to Whitworth. The best non-Michigan game I've been to was the Rose Bowl (Oregon/OSU) last year, but the second best was a Whitworth/Linfield game when we beat you guys for the first time in like 60 years or something. I think that was 2006 or so. You guys were always so good (and continue to be) at football among D3 schools.
September 28th, 2010 at 6:27 PM ^
Aaron Brooks led Virginia to a 21-0 lead in the first half, but Quincy Carter, Champ Bailey, and the Georgia Bulldogs came back to take a 35-27 lead late in the game. Then Brooks breaks off a 30+ yard scramble for a TD. UVA couldn't convert the 2 point attempt but recovered the onside kick and had a shot to win the game with a 50 yard FG that missed wide by maybe two or three feet.
September 28th, 2010 at 6:33 PM ^
nothing compares to being on the field at The Stadium last year, congratulating hideki matsui the moment the yankees clinched the world series. nothing.
September 28th, 2010 at 6:39 PM ^
Best non-Michigan football game: last year's Iowa/Penn State game in State College. I went to Michigan undergrad and Iowa for graduate school (and live in Iowa). The game itself was okay but was well punctuated by Claiborne's blocked punt/touchdown.
Non-CFB: Game 3 (the clincher, back then) of the Royals/Tigers ALCS -- the crowd chanting afterwards "Bring on the Cubs," who were up 2-0 on the Padres at the time. Never made it to the World Series but drove downtown from Ann Arbor for the celebration after Game 5 (and didn't turn over any cars).
September 28th, 2010 at 6:42 PM ^
I'm from East Lansing, so I've been to a few MSU football games. A good one there was the ND game at home with Charles Rogers with all the late action, I was around 12 years old. The Northwestern game just a few years back where, needing a touchdown in overtime, MSU threw incomplete passes on 4 consecutive downs instead of giving the ball to Javon Ringer was pretty damn hilarious.
September 28th, 2010 at 6:46 PM ^
Stanford @ Notre Dame. I can't even tell you how gratifying it was to watch the Irish get spanked into submission.
<br>The pain on the Irish fans faces.... Priceless
September 28th, 2010 at 6:58 PM ^
Army-Tulane at Michie Stadium in West Point. Army scored on a last second 36-yd passing play to push the game to overtime, then the Tulane Kicker missed a FG to give Army the win.
Incredible game, great atmosphere, perfect fall day. If you ever have a chance to see a game at Michie, take it. It's one of college football's must see events.
September 28th, 2010 at 6:58 PM ^
Bearcats won 45-44 on a last second TD, after Pitt botched an extra point attempt with 1:30 to go, to complete an undefeated regular season. It was the first Saturday in December and was snowy and cold in Pittsburgh -- great football weather.
September 28th, 2010 at 7:02 PM ^
Went to my second game at the Goatshoe (my first was the 2006 THE GAME OF THE CENTURY which was a double dong punch, God bless Bo's heart) at the 2008 OSU-PSU game where PSU basically won the Big Ten right there.. I think PSU was ranked #3 and OSU was ranked #9, but Pryor fumbled the game away right at the end which was nice. Schadenfreudtastic.
September 28th, 2010 at 7:15 PM ^
1985 NFC Championship game da Bears v. Rams (I think). yeah Ditka, Jim McMahon, Walter Payton, and the "Fridge".
College - my old college roommate grew up in South Bend ... so I got to see Penn State (w/ Curt Warner) beat ND (1982 ish) and saw Pitt beat ND too (don't have a clue when that was ... ok - I'm old)
However - nothing is remotely close to a football Saturday in Ann Arbor !!!
Go Blue !
September 28th, 2010 at 7:23 PM ^
The greatest comback in the history of the NFL. 92-93 Buffalo Bills vs Houston Oilers playoff game. Bills trailed 35-3 early in the third quarter. Tons of fans left early, but thankfully my father and uncle were too intoxicated to leave and decided to stick around to sober up only to witness the greatest comback in the history of sports IME with as much on the line that there was. I've never seen anything like that since then and I don't think I ever will.
Close second Buffalo Sabres against the Ottawa Senators brawl on ice game on february 22nd 2007. After a cheap hit on Sabres captain Chris Drury early the retaliation included an entire team on ice brawl that included both goaltenders which is something not seen very often in this day and age. Incredible game that ended in a shootout where the Sabres won 6-5. Incredible!!
But nothing, will ever trump a Michigan game to me.
September 29th, 2010 at 12:35 AM ^
Not only the greatest comeback, but one accomplished with the backup QB - Frank Reich.
September 28th, 2010 at 7:35 PM ^
I think the best non-mich football game I've been to would be either the MSU-ND game this year (free tix as well) or back in 1992 (?) HS regional playoff game of Arthur Hill vs. Grand Ledge.
I've been to a couple decent Tigers/Pistons/Lions game (MNF vs. Atlanta in late 90s), but nothing really too outstanding.
September 28th, 2010 at 7:36 PM ^
For me it was last years Purdue - OSU game where Purdue beat then #7 OSU. We rushed the field and it was pretty amazing. Always great to see OSU get beat, but especially when they bring so many fans to West Lafiesta and they act like they own the place with all the red and O-H-I-O chants.
September 28th, 2010 at 7:42 PM ^
OSU- Washington in Seattle. Huskies rolled 40-7. Nice to see the Buckeyes get smoked, by anyone, doesn't matter who.
September 28th, 2010 at 7:59 PM ^
2000 Red River Shootout game Oklahoma-Texas at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. If you haven't heard the details: Game takes place in the middle of the fair grounds during the Texas state fair. 50-50 ticked split. A few hundred thousand people packed into a few square miles, drunk, and downing fried everything until they burst. Put it on your to do list for college rivalry games.
Upstart Oklahoma hung 63 on pre-season top 10 Texas on their way to a perfect season and a National Championship. I ate a corn dog 5 feet from Bob Stoops and his staff post game, before he became BOB STOOPS. Oklahoma cancelled class the following Monday for an extra day of celebration.
The National Title was a quantum leap for a team that was around .500 the prior year. hmmmmm.
September 28th, 2010 at 8:02 PM ^
First off it was pouring all day and game...my buddy lived at Indian Village right behind the stadium. Brutal fights busted out between Miami and FSU fans...blood was every where... it was crazy. Never seen anything like it. Miami won the game but lost the tailgate!
The game was awesome as well. ROSCO PARRISH HIT! BOOM! awesome!
September 28th, 2010 at 8:09 PM ^
I've been to several Purdue/Notre Dame games that were a pre and post game blast, but none of the games really stand out.
I obviously went to a ton of IU games in the early 1990s, but none of the games were classics or memorable.
But I have seen something awesome. I saw Ohio State lose on the final play of the game in the Horseshoe. So, that's my final answer. The Buks were hosting Iowa in 1987, and the Hawks hit TE Marv Cook in the end zone from 25 yards or so out on the final play.
BOOM HAWKEYE'ED!!!!!
September 28th, 2010 at 8:15 PM ^
For me its the 2009 Georgia-LSU game in Athens. That place was rockin'.