| On
the evening of January 2nd, 1987, I went to a restaurant in Cincinnati
with some friends to watch the Fiesta Bowl between Penn State and Miami.
My best friend from high school, Richard, bleeds Nittany Lion blue. As
the game was being played, Richard frequently ran back in forth between
the bar area, which had the television, and the restaurant, which did
not. When the game boiled down to the final few seconds, he refused to
watch, listen, or even profess to be interested in the outcome. That winter
evening in 1987, while Richard was face down, eyes closed on the restaurant
table, I personally told him that Pete Giftopoulis intercepted a Vinny
Testaverde pass to clinch Penn State's national championship. When he
lifted his head, I couldn't tell whether he was nauseous or ecstatic.
Perhaps both.
My friend Mike from
South Bend, Indiana, videotapes every Notre Dame football game. In his
blue and gold family room, decorated with various Fighting Irish memorabilia,
he has the complete library of Notre Dame victories from 1988 through
1999 on VHS tape. What about the losses? He records over them immediately,
refusing to watch even part of the game. There is no room in the loyal
fan's closet for heartbreaking memories.
I won't lie to you.
I'm an avid Notre Dame fan, tamed down quite a bit over the years.
I've attended every
Notre Dame home game, except one, since 1988. The exception, my sister's
wedding in New York, September 20, 1997. Not coincidentally, the Irish
loss to Michigan State that day, marked a consistent pattern of Notre
Dame losses corresponding with Mandell family weddings. 0-3 to be exact.
Recognizing this trend I scheduled my own wedding to fall during an off
week for the Irish during the 1998 season. I felt confident that not only
would this be better for the success of the Notre Dame team, but my local
friends, Mike included, would actually attend the wedding instead of going
to the Notre Dame game.
Much to my chagrine,
a few months before our wedding, the University announced that the September
19th game with Michigan State had been moved to my wedding date, September
12th, to accommodate ABC television. The result: Michigan State 42, Notre
Dame 23. Another Mandell wedding/Notre Dame loss.
I never took the time
to look back and see how the Irish fared the day my parents took their
vows. But after the ND debacle on my own wedding night, I felt it necessary
to examine history. My parents were wed on October 5th, 1950. It was a
Thursday. Two days later, Notre Dame played host to Purdue. The Irish
were sporting a 39-game unbeaten streak under coach Frank Leahy.
Final score: Purdue
28, Notre Dame 14. I feel sick.
I'm sure you can recite
your exact location, what you were wearing, and what you had for lunch
the day your favorite school caught the miracle catch, made the impossible
comeback, or choked in the final seconds. I can too.
I bounced around my
house, screaming uncontrollably when Joe Montana hit Kris Haines with
no time remaining in the 1979 Cotton Bowl to give Notre Dame a 35-34 win
over Houston. I was a fourteen year-old in ecstasy.
In 1980, I had a six
inch AM radio pasted to my ear, sitting on a Kentucky hillside at a high
school marching band contest when Tony Roberts screamed over the Mutual
Broadcasting Network, "It's Goooooood!!!!!" Harry Oliver's 51-yard
field goal on the last play of the game had just given Notre Dame a 29-27
victory over Michigan. It still gives me chills to this day when I hear
it.
In 1988, I ran onto
the field and kissed the ground after Pat Terrell knocked down Steve Walsh's
two-point conversion attempt and the Irish beat Miami 31-30. After Reggie
Brooks' diving two-point conversion catch in 1992 beat Penn State 17-16,
I high-fived everyone in section 18 of Notre Dame Stadium. Everyone, that
is, except my Nittany Lion friend Richard, who was quite pale at the time.
I've also stood chilly
and dumbfounded as Boston College's David Gordon booted the Irish from
the number one ranking in 1993 with a 41-yard field goal as time expired.
I was there when an evil yellow flag went floating across the Orange Bowl
grass as Rocket Ismail streaked down the sideline with the "punt
return for a TD that never was" in the final minute against Colorado
in 1991. My first Notre Dame game ever was Purdue's amazing/depressing
15-14 victory over the Irish at Ross-Ade Stadium in 1981.
I've been nauseous.
I've reached nirvana. I'm a college football fan.
Great finishes are
not necessarily great games. In fact, many remarkable endings came at
the conclusion of rather dull or sloppily played contests. Likewise, many
"Games of the Century" had very anti-climactic finishes. The
1971 Nebraska-Oklahoma game is generally regarded as one of the greatest
ever played. But the game essentially ended with 1:30 remaining. The famous
10-10 tie between Notre Dame and Michigan State in 1966 ended when Ara
Parseghian decided to run out the clock instead of risking a loss. These
were legendary games, not legendary finishes.
You'll notice there
aren't many overtime games in the book. Essentially, overtimes ruin drama,
like a motion picture that's twenty minutes too long. Admit it, when you
played football in your backyard as a kid, you didn't yell, "It's
the fourth overtime and if they score here and hold the Tigers' on their
four downs they'll win the championship!" No, it was something like
this..."Three seconds left, two seconds, one second, he throws it
to the endzone...It's caught! Touchdown! Touchdown!!"
Division I-A adopted
overtime in 1996. The other four divisions have had overtime since 1981
for conference-only games and tournament ties, and 1996 for all games.
The few overtime games in the book are remarkable specifically for their
regulation ending, in addition to the overtime finish.
Before you choke on
your beer, upset about the games I've left out of the book, please remember
this. Approximately 600 teams currently play NCAA college football. That's
around 200,000 games played in the past 30 years. Which means that this
book covers 5/100ths of one percent of all the games played in the past
three decades.
There's some room
for debate, don't you think? That's why the games in the book are not
ranked, they are chronicled. They are the unbelievable, the astounding,
the improbable moments that make college football so special.
This book is for you-
the loyal, rabid fan who bleeds crimson and cream, garnet and black, green
and white, maize and blue, and every other combination of alma mater colors.
For you to remember those moments of soaring jubilation and utter despair.
Chances are, there's a finish in this book that will make you sick. I'm
sorry.
Just remember, for
every distraught, losing fan throwing up in the bathroom, there's another
ecstatic, winning one playing the CD over and over and over. |
