On This Day 25 Years Ago: "Goodbye, Hello Heisman"
Title says it all. Twenty five years ago Desmond Howard provided us one of the most iconic football plays and poses in a 31-3 win over Ohio.
Always loved the similarities between Howard's return and Woodson's return. Hopefully Saturday we get a third memorable punt return by another generational player.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQy2ohW9OaI
[Edited to provide video of both returns because you can never watch them enough]
November 23rd, 2016 at 11:24 AM ^
I would straight up skip Thanksgiving if that meant one fewer wakeup between me and The Game.
November 23rd, 2016 at 11:25 AM ^
November 23rd, 2016 at 11:29 AM ^
What I wouldn't give to see that play repeated on Saturday.
November 23rd, 2016 at 11:40 AM ^
November 23rd, 2016 at 11:33 AM ^
The look on David Boston's face (2:13) after Woodson takes the punt back...
November 23rd, 2016 at 12:58 PM ^
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November 23rd, 2016 at 1:07 PM ^
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November 23rd, 2016 at 11:36 PM ^
November 23rd, 2016 at 11:34 AM ^
I miss Keith Jackson
November 23rd, 2016 at 12:06 PM ^
- He was enthusiastic, but not over the top (e.g., his wonderful, almost under his breath "Look at that!" when Desmond begins juking people)
- His accent/tone were wonderful (southern, but easily understandable wherever you came from, with a nice tone ala Ernie Harwell)
- He was correct (I don't recall him going through a phase like many older announcers when they frequently misidentified people)
- He was descriptive, but not overly wordy (again, the Desmond clip was perfect).
There are some good announcers today, but he was literally irreplaceable.
November 23rd, 2016 at 12:13 PM ^
Jackson was amazing, and I miss him. At the top of his game, there was no better announcer. But he did start slipping in the last few years, getting a lot of names/game details wrong.
November 23rd, 2016 at 12:17 PM ^
I probably was blocking that out. It also might be b/c I didn't see many of his game when he quasi-unretired in the early 2000s to do west coast games.
Regardless, he was certainly at the top of his game during the Desmond and Woodson years. I could listen to the man pronounce "WHEAT-lee" while Tyrone smashed and zoomed past people in the Rose Bowl for hours.
November 23rd, 2016 at 1:21 PM ^
although I think you meant HWHEAT-ley. There was a distinct H before the W which made it all that much better.
November 23rd, 2016 at 2:34 PM ^
That's funny! I'm sure he did that, and I seem to remember that too, now that you say it.
But listening to these clips (thanks Wolverine Historian), he really doesn't say much of an "H" -- if he does, it subtle and not distinct. If anything, Musberger does it more. Regardless, it's great.
For example (2:23 mark):
November 23rd, 2016 at 3:09 PM ^
He was nowhere near at the top of his game in the Woodson years. I had the '97 UM/OSU game on VHS for years. There were a shitload of mistakes by Jackson that afternoon. He had pretty much admitted by that point he wasn't as good as he used to be and originally planned on that being his second to last season.
November 23rd, 2016 at 3:06 PM ^
He was correct (I don't recall him going through a phase like many older announcers when they frequently misidentified people)
HO. LEE. SHIT.
Are you fucking kidding right now? The last decade of Keith Jackson was THE standard of announcing blunders. He made mistakes left and right. His last game (USC-Texas Rose Bowl) he was wondering why the clock wasn't running on a 2-point conversion attempt! Some would argue that he was never that sharp. Look at the clip of Woody Hayes punching the Clemson player. Jackson had no idea what the hell was going on, even though everyone watching on TV did.
It's unbelievable how many people just see/hear what they want to.
November 23rd, 2016 at 11:38 AM ^
Good god I'm getting old. Nice to see though, reminds me of how spoiled our class was in terms of FB and hoops.
November 23rd, 2016 at 11:39 AM ^
Can we pull Keith Jackson out of retirement to call this game? Big games just aren't the same without his voice.
November 23rd, 2016 at 11:45 AM ^
This. Just get him in the booth for half a quarter.
He retired 10 years ago! Miss that guy.
November 23rd, 2016 at 12:02 PM ^
Agree... didn't matter what color man was with him, the game was instantly iconic if he was involved.
November 23rd, 2016 at 12:03 PM ^
I miss Keith Jackson calling this game so much. What a complete difference between his iconic calls and that of the two turds that will call the game on Saturday.
November 23rd, 2016 at 12:13 PM ^
I'd love to see another one, just like these on Saturday!
November 23rd, 2016 at 12:14 PM ^
.....I like Frank Beckmann's call of the Woodson return just a touch more.
November 23rd, 2016 at 3:11 PM ^
Beckmann is a blatant racist. Good riddance to that piece of shit.
November 23rd, 2016 at 11:47 PM ^
November 23rd, 2016 at 12:31 PM ^
Goose bumbs....every time
November 23rd, 2016 at 5:41 PM ^
I hate goose bumbs. They're always sleeping in the park and pestering me for spare change. Why don't they get a job and fly south for the winter like decent, hard-working birds?
November 23rd, 2016 at 1:07 PM ^
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November 23rd, 2016 at 1:17 PM ^
25 years. Time flies. I wonder what my life would have been like if I married my girlfriend from back in those days.
November 23rd, 2016 at 2:30 PM ^
November 23rd, 2016 at 4:08 PM ^
Everybody wonders that. If you married her then you'd be wondering about some other GF you didn't marry. Human nature.
November 23rd, 2016 at 5:07 PM ^
Yeah but Ive never been in love with another woman since. We had a weird connection going on. She is married now and has 2 teen age kids. A few years ago we reconnected on email and sent a lot of emails back and forth. I ended that recently though because I felt that it was not respectful to her husband. I dont think he knew that we were emailing.
but you are right...maybe it was not meant to be...
November 23rd, 2016 at 3:13 PM ^
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November 23rd, 2016 at 1:39 PM ^
and will never forget them as they are not only iconic moments in M history, but they are iconic moments in my life. The best part of the Woodson return on this video is the sound of the crowd's audible crescendo all three times he avoided a tackle and broke loose. It almost sounds like it was professionally remixed due to the timing being so perfect. Here is hoping that Peppers makes it a trifecta this weekend!
November 23rd, 2016 at 2:39 PM ^
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November 23rd, 2016 at 3:03 PM ^
November 23rd, 2016 at 4:33 PM ^
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November 23rd, 2016 at 5:46 PM ^
November 23rd, 2016 at 7:03 PM ^
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November 23rd, 2016 at 8:59 PM ^
If Keith Jackson had said, "Goodbye Buckeyes - Hello Heisman," I would have soiled my pants more than I did that day.