Noah.Dreams
08-29-2005, 04:37 PM
38. FURMAN VS. GA. SOUTHERN
The Southern Conference rivals are forever linked by their first meeting, which happened in Tacoma, Wash., of all places.
That was 20 years ago before a crowd of 5,306 fans. The Division I-AA national title was at stake. Georgia Southern won the 44-42 shootout --- and a lot more.
"It gave us credibility down here recruiting the state, and it also gave us some instant credibility in football," Eagles coach Mike Sewak said.
Furman scored with 1:05 left to beat Georgia Southern 29-22 last year. Mark your calendars for Nov. 5, when the Paladins travel to Statesboro for this yea's sowdon.
--- D Orlndo edbeter
39. RECRUITING
Back before football junkies could track 40-yard dash times on the Internet, recruiting services would provide the latest scoops by telephone. All fans had to do was dial a 900 number and press a button. They'd be charged a few bucks at the end of the month when their phone bills arrived.
"I'll never forget the woman who called our offices --- she was certain that her husband was addicted to a 900-number sex hotline," says longtime recruiting analyst Bobby Burton. "I told her that he was certainly addicted, but it was to Tennessee football recruiting, not a sex line.
"She wasn't convinced; she thought it was some sort of scam. So I actually went in and played the recording for her and sent her an extra issue of the magazine. The guy sent us a thank you note and an apology for his wife, and to this day he subscribes to Rivals.com."
Recruiting news is more high-tech now, but still addictive to folks in this part of the country. Every February, hundreds of them make the annual pilgrimmage to Georgia's Butts-Mehre building to watch Mark Richt unveil the next wave of Bulldogs. Burton estimates that 30 percent of fans who subscribe to his service (Rivals.com) hail from the Southeast --- the most, by far, of any region.
"I've been across the country many times, and there's nowhere else like the South," he said.
--- Jeff D'Alessio
40. THE TIGER WALK
When asked about the best college football game I've ever seen, it's tough to choose. But when it comes to the most emotional day I've witnessed in college football, it's easy: Dec. 2, 1989, the day Alabama played at Auburn for the first time.
Since 1948, the game had been played each year in Birmingham, an "Alabama" town all the way. Bear Bryant didn't try to hide his disdain for Auburn, calling it "that little cow college across the state." Both Bryant and his successor, Ray Perkins, vowed that Alabama would never come to Auburn and play. Why should they?
Finally,Aubur's Pa Dye brokered dealto mae it appen. What did that day mean to the Auburn people, who'd been told Alabama would never stoop so low as to come to Jordan-Hare Stadium? About two hours before the game, the Auburn players took the traditional "Tiger Walk" from Sewell Hall to Jordan-Hare. Normally, a few thousand people line Donahue Drive to cheer on the team. This day, however, school officials estimated that at least 20,000 fans formed a human corridor for their beloved Tigers, who were about to take on undefeated and No. 2 Alabama.
Grown men cried as they watched the Tigers march to the stadium for this historic event.
"We were like the Children of Israel who at long last had arrived at the Promised Land," said David Housel, the former athletics director and historian of all things Auburn. "When Alabama walked onto our field, I just wanted to be there to slam the gate behind them."
The storybook day had a storybook finish. Auburn won 30-20 and knocked the Tide out of a chance for the national title.
--- Tony Barnhart
41. THE BAYOU CLASSIC
As nationally syndicated radio host Tom Joyner likes to say, "Ain't no party like a Bayou Classic party. 'Cause a Bayou Classic party don't stop."
The proceedings on the field between Southern University and Grambling State generally take a backseat to the parties in the stands and the battle of the two marching bands. The drum lines are just as important as the offensive lines in this one.
The Bayou Classic has been a hit since it was first played over Thanksgiving weekend in 1974. The two schools were stunned when 76,753 showed up to watch Grambling defeat Southern 21-0 at Tulane Stadium.
The game, which has been televised nationally by NBC for more than a decade, has since moved to the Louisiana Superdome and has surrounding events that attract nearly 200,000 people to New Orleans.
The two state schools, separated by about 200 miles, are fierce rivals. Students, friends, family and alumni all flock to the Big Easy for the events which include job fir, cocerts nd fund-raisers.
--- D. Orlando Ledbetter
42. GEORGIA'S CHAPEL BELL
Dan Magill, Georgia's resident historian, was 8 years old when he rang Georgia's Chapel Bell for the first time. It was Oct. 12, 1929, and Bulldogs fans were celebrating a historic 15-0 victory over Yale in the dedication game for Sanford Stadium.
"After the game, my daddy, who was the managing editor of the Athens Banner-Herald, took me up the hill where the freshman boys were ringing the bell," Magill said. "I held on to the rope and one of the freshmen held on to me as I went up and down. It was a great tradition."
According to John Stegeman's book, "The Ghosts of Herty Field," the first time the Chapel Bell tolled after a Georgia football game was in 1901, when the Bulldogs tied heavily favored Auburn 0-0 in Atlanta. The freshman men were responsible for ringing the bell all Saturday night into early Sunday morning.
"They got the word by telegraph from Atlanta, and the students just took turns ringing the bell all night," Magill said.
Of course, not everyone who came to Athens liked the tradition. On Oct. 14, 1949, Georgia upset Sugar Bowl-bound LSU 7-0 in Athens. The Tigers decided to stay over Saturday night in Athens, but their hotel was located all too close to the Chapel Bell.
"The LSU players got so fed up with the noise that they went over there and overpowered the lone freshman in charge of ringing the bell," Magill said. "They cut the rope off the bell, and so the ringing stopped."
--- Tony Barnhart
The Southern Conference rivals are forever linked by their first meeting, which happened in Tacoma, Wash., of all places.
That was 20 years ago before a crowd of 5,306 fans. The Division I-AA national title was at stake. Georgia Southern won the 44-42 shootout --- and a lot more.
"It gave us credibility down here recruiting the state, and it also gave us some instant credibility in football," Eagles coach Mike Sewak said.
Furman scored with 1:05 left to beat Georgia Southern 29-22 last year. Mark your calendars for Nov. 5, when the Paladins travel to Statesboro for this yea's sowdon.
--- D Orlndo edbeter
39. RECRUITING
Back before football junkies could track 40-yard dash times on the Internet, recruiting services would provide the latest scoops by telephone. All fans had to do was dial a 900 number and press a button. They'd be charged a few bucks at the end of the month when their phone bills arrived.
"I'll never forget the woman who called our offices --- she was certain that her husband was addicted to a 900-number sex hotline," says longtime recruiting analyst Bobby Burton. "I told her that he was certainly addicted, but it was to Tennessee football recruiting, not a sex line.
"She wasn't convinced; she thought it was some sort of scam. So I actually went in and played the recording for her and sent her an extra issue of the magazine. The guy sent us a thank you note and an apology for his wife, and to this day he subscribes to Rivals.com."
Recruiting news is more high-tech now, but still addictive to folks in this part of the country. Every February, hundreds of them make the annual pilgrimmage to Georgia's Butts-Mehre building to watch Mark Richt unveil the next wave of Bulldogs. Burton estimates that 30 percent of fans who subscribe to his service (Rivals.com) hail from the Southeast --- the most, by far, of any region.
"I've been across the country many times, and there's nowhere else like the South," he said.
--- Jeff D'Alessio
40. THE TIGER WALK
When asked about the best college football game I've ever seen, it's tough to choose. But when it comes to the most emotional day I've witnessed in college football, it's easy: Dec. 2, 1989, the day Alabama played at Auburn for the first time.
Since 1948, the game had been played each year in Birmingham, an "Alabama" town all the way. Bear Bryant didn't try to hide his disdain for Auburn, calling it "that little cow college across the state." Both Bryant and his successor, Ray Perkins, vowed that Alabama would never come to Auburn and play. Why should they?
Finally,Aubur's Pa Dye brokered dealto mae it appen. What did that day mean to the Auburn people, who'd been told Alabama would never stoop so low as to come to Jordan-Hare Stadium? About two hours before the game, the Auburn players took the traditional "Tiger Walk" from Sewell Hall to Jordan-Hare. Normally, a few thousand people line Donahue Drive to cheer on the team. This day, however, school officials estimated that at least 20,000 fans formed a human corridor for their beloved Tigers, who were about to take on undefeated and No. 2 Alabama.
Grown men cried as they watched the Tigers march to the stadium for this historic event.
"We were like the Children of Israel who at long last had arrived at the Promised Land," said David Housel, the former athletics director and historian of all things Auburn. "When Alabama walked onto our field, I just wanted to be there to slam the gate behind them."
The storybook day had a storybook finish. Auburn won 30-20 and knocked the Tide out of a chance for the national title.
--- Tony Barnhart
41. THE BAYOU CLASSIC
As nationally syndicated radio host Tom Joyner likes to say, "Ain't no party like a Bayou Classic party. 'Cause a Bayou Classic party don't stop."
The proceedings on the field between Southern University and Grambling State generally take a backseat to the parties in the stands and the battle of the two marching bands. The drum lines are just as important as the offensive lines in this one.
The Bayou Classic has been a hit since it was first played over Thanksgiving weekend in 1974. The two schools were stunned when 76,753 showed up to watch Grambling defeat Southern 21-0 at Tulane Stadium.
The game, which has been televised nationally by NBC for more than a decade, has since moved to the Louisiana Superdome and has surrounding events that attract nearly 200,000 people to New Orleans.
The two state schools, separated by about 200 miles, are fierce rivals. Students, friends, family and alumni all flock to the Big Easy for the events which include job fir, cocerts nd fund-raisers.
--- D. Orlando Ledbetter
42. GEORGIA'S CHAPEL BELL
Dan Magill, Georgia's resident historian, was 8 years old when he rang Georgia's Chapel Bell for the first time. It was Oct. 12, 1929, and Bulldogs fans were celebrating a historic 15-0 victory over Yale in the dedication game for Sanford Stadium.
"After the game, my daddy, who was the managing editor of the Athens Banner-Herald, took me up the hill where the freshman boys were ringing the bell," Magill said. "I held on to the rope and one of the freshmen held on to me as I went up and down. It was a great tradition."
According to John Stegeman's book, "The Ghosts of Herty Field," the first time the Chapel Bell tolled after a Georgia football game was in 1901, when the Bulldogs tied heavily favored Auburn 0-0 in Atlanta. The freshman men were responsible for ringing the bell all Saturday night into early Sunday morning.
"They got the word by telegraph from Atlanta, and the students just took turns ringing the bell all night," Magill said.
Of course, not everyone who came to Athens liked the tradition. On Oct. 14, 1949, Georgia upset Sugar Bowl-bound LSU 7-0 in Athens. The Tigers decided to stay over Saturday night in Athens, but their hotel was located all too close to the Chapel Bell.
"The LSU players got so fed up with the noise that they went over there and overpowered the lone freshman in charge of ringing the bell," Magill said. "They cut the rope off the bell, and so the ringing stopped."
--- Tony Barnhart