BobcatAttack.com - For Fans of Ohio University Sports

Welcome Guest!
Create an Account

site search

where to watch

about us

advertise with us

help

BobcatAttack.com Message Board

Ohio Basketball

Topic: RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Topic: RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Author

Message

PhiTau74
General User

Member Since: 8/6/2010
Location: Columbia, SC
Post Count: 455

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/19/2019 3:46:19 PM

Played golf at Augusta National in March of 2004 with Lou Holtz. Lou was on the board of directors for the company I ran (parent company). I shot a 95 but birdied N0.12. On the par 3 course I was 1 under par until the last hole, Lou put 2 balls in the water and We picked up, still have both score cards.

CatsUp
General User

Member Since: 4/15/2019
Post Count: 733

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/19/2019 3:55:16 PM

Nothing huge but memorable to me:

1.) In March 1980, my wife and I attended our first NHL game in Pittsburgh where the Penguins played the old Minnesota North Stars. Mark Johnson of the US gold medal Olympic championship team had just joined the Pens. He was introduced prior to the start of the game and did a brief pirouette on the ice from the bench to the sound of the organ blaring the Olympic theme song. Probably only 8,000 or so there in those days but the crowd's roar was deafening. It sent chills through me. Can visualize and feel that moment to this day.
2.) With wife and two boys witnessed the last victory of Nolan Ryan's career. Occurred at Municipal Stadium on August 15, 1993.
3.) Attended the 1972 Cincinnati Reds opening day game which occurred later than originally scheduled because of MLB's first strike. Don't remember as much about the actual game as I do how relentlessly Reds player rep Jim Merritt was booed. Of course the game changed greatly after that.

FearLeon
General User

Member Since: 3/12/2005
Post Count: 4,125

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/19/2019 5:21:26 PM

GoCats105 wrote:

FearLeon wrote:

Game 6 of 1986 World Series. Mets-Red Sox #BillyBuckner

No way!

Yes way!

#BleedGreen #TrentIsGOAT

GoCats105
General User

Member Since: 1/31/2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Post Count: 6,912

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/19/2019 6:26:28 PM

CatsUp wrote:

Huge or not, all that matters are the memories.

Last Edited: 6/19/2019 6:27:15 PM by GoCats105

GoCats105
General User

Member Since: 1/31/2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Post Count: 6,912

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/19/2019 6:55:48 PM

I'll add a couple more:

-Watching my brother's basketball team go to the Division III Elite 8 in 2000. There's nothing like following a team close to you in the tournament (we Ohio alums know this well), but this one was extra special because I practiced against these guys every day and they were all just a great bunch of dudes, including my brother. I was on junior varsity and I knew they were good, but something in me knew these guys were gonna be special.

-A childhood friend of mine ended up being a starting guard for Ohio State's 2006 team that went to the National Championship. I saw them play against Minnesota at the Shoe that year. I didn't like that he chose Ohio State, but it was pretty awesome to see a kid you used to play trucks with on a big stage.

-Can't believe I left this out, but in the summer of 2005 I had an internship at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in their Archives Center. If you've seen some of the stuff they have on display, you'd be blown away by some of the stuff they have in the basement that doesn't come out. One of my "tasks" on the first day at work was to just walk around the hall and the learn about the history. Dan Marino got inducted that year and threw a pass to Mark Clayton during his induction ceremony. I was about 50 feet from that.

OUcats82
General User

Member Since: 1/9/2005
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Post Count: 1,827

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 9:31:28 AM

The 2010 MLB season when the Reds clinched their first playoff berth since 1995, I was at the game that clinched the NL Central on a Jay Bruce walk-off homer against the Astros.

2006: Stagg Bowl when Mt. Union won the D3 National title. Went with some friends who are all Mt. Union alums. Only NCAA championship of any kind I've ever been to.

Some may remember when there were a lot of really bad wind storms that tore though Ohio after remnants of Hurricane Ike came up from the Gulf in 2008. I was at the Bengals-Titans game when the worst of it was going on. Saw several punts go straight up in the air, huge waves on the Ohio River and what looked like a war zone driving home after the game. Made me forget about the loss pretty quickly as most of the city was without power for days following and several people lost their life.

That's always part of the intrigue of going to a game in person-you never know when there might be a day when you see the perfect game, major upset etc. Or you see something on the way to or home that puts sports in a proper perspective.

Ohio-The State University

GoCats105
General User

Member Since: 1/31/2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Post Count: 6,912

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 9:41:13 AM

OUcats82 wrote:

Some may remember when there were a lot of really bad wind storms that tore though Ohio after remnants of Hurricane Ike came up from the Gulf in 2008. I was at the Bengals-Titans game when the worst of it was going on. Saw several punts go straight up in the air, huge waves on the Ohio River and what looked like a war zone driving home after the game. Made me forget about the loss pretty quickly as most of the city was without power for days following and several people lost their life.

I distinctly remember this day. My girlfriend and I were at the grocery store at the time. We commented how windy it was and the traffic lights were blowing all over. The lights flickered in the store for a moment, which should have told us to forget the groceries.

We got home, put everything away, and less than an hour later the power went out. We didn't have power in our Florence, KY apartment for about 3-4 days. Had to drive to a friend's apartment in Mason, OH to stay and wait it out.

And then I remember watching the Bengals' highlights and seeing kicks go all over the stadium.

Last Edited: 6/20/2019 9:41:43 AM by GoCats105

Pataskala
General User

Member Since: 7/8/2010
Location: At least six feet away from anybody else
Post Count: 9,152

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 10:05:06 AM

The stars aligned for me one June evening in 1984. Back before the 1994 strike I was a die-hard Yankees fan. I won some tickets to a Yankees-Tigers game in the Bronx by answering the Bud Bunch Trivia question on Yankees radio (it was Lou Gehrig, but I don't remember the question). This was when the Tigers were tearing up the AL on their way to a World Series win. So, because I won the trivia contest my name was on the Yankee Stadium diamond vision that night. The Tigers led by a couple of runs but around the seventh inning the Yankees start a rally. Dave Winfield comes up. He and I were born on the same date, so he was one of my favorites. The Tigers bring in Doug Bair to pitch to him. My mom and Doug Bair's grandmother were first cousins. I played a few Little League games against him. So here's my cousin pitching to a guy whose birth date is the same as mine on the night my name is on the Yankee Stadium scoreboard. I know it's not much in the grand scheme of things, but for me it was really cool. Oh, and Winfield tripled to give the Yanks the lead and they went on to win.

We will get by.
We will get by.
We will get by.
We will survive.

oldkatz
General User

Member Since: 12/22/2004
Post Count: 1,421

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 10:19:28 AM

1. Being the 2 in the crowd of 7002 in Soldier field with my buddy Al watching the Chicago Blitz play the Denver Gold in the USFL in 1984. Al was a lineman who played on the Ohio Wesleyan team that played in the Amos Alonzo Stagg bowl a few years prior. WE followed Virgil Livers into the locker room after the game because Al's wife said she had known Virgil in college. She didn't but came up with the name when she met Al and wanted to impress him that she knew football. The look on Virgil's face when big, bearded Al yelled "Hey Virgil, I'm Suzie's husband" as he went through the tunnel was priceless, as was the speed he showed when he bolted away! Good times, good times.

2. Being named all-post linebacker and running back for an undefeated season at Two Rock Ranch my last few months in the Army on our T/A flag football team. No, not that......just getting back from Nam was the best memory.

"All my inside sources tell me I have no inside sources." Salvatore "money bucks" Mafiosiano.

GoCats105
General User

Member Since: 1/31/2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Post Count: 6,912

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 11:11:14 AM

Pataskala wrote:

Not much? That's an amazing story!

Mike Johnson
General User

Member Since: 11/11/2004
Location: North Canton, OH
Post Count: 1,706

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 11:31:52 AM

All these memories sparks another of mine. An old one. It's September 1962 and for my team's season opener we were journeying north from Shelby to take on Lakewood St. Edward. Both teams were coming off good seasons. Both had high expectations.

Game played at Lakewood Stadium before a sell-out of about 9,000 with a good 3,000 of those Shelby fans whose car caravan had followed our team buses.

As we entered the field for pre-game warmups, some St. Ed fans pelted us with track cinders and taunted us with a chant of "the hicks from saltlick." We were amused.

St. Ed scored its only TD on a pass that one of our DBs deflected to a St. Ed receiver who had slipped and fallen to his knees in the end zone. Shelby prevailed 22-6. For that entire season, our D surrendered only 26 pts.

Last Edited: 6/20/2019 11:32:31 AM by Mike Johnson

http://www.facebook.com/mikejohnson.author

cc-cat
General User

Member Since: 4/5/2006
Location: matthews, NC
Post Count: 3,821

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 11:57:14 AM

GoCats105 wrote:

Thanks for sharing everyone. This is exactly what I wanted to read when I started the thread. Keep em coming!

thank you - fun idea!!!

SBH
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 3,749

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 12:18:05 PM

I'm surprised cc-cat didn't mention this one:

He and bobcatsquared were standing near the players' entrance at Shea Stadium following a Mets game. Bsquared called Keith Hernandez "pretty boy" and cc-cat was subsequently hit in the face by a loogie. There's some question whether it was Hernandez alone or involved a second spitter - likely Mets reliever Roger McDowell.

rpbobcat
General User

Member Since: 4/28/2006
Location: Rochelle Park, NJ
Post Count: 3,504

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 12:28:14 PM

A Night On Court Street at the Waldorf Astoria.

The best O.U. event I ever attended,outside of Athens.

.
General User

Member Since: 2/3/2005
Post Count: 2,949

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 4:31:55 PM

cc-cat wrote:

Madison Square Garden sitting just above the NBC platform as they (Costas, etc) and everyone else watched the OJ white Bronco chase on their monitors.

I'm jealous that you get to tell this story. That would've been surreal.

.
General User

Member Since: 2/3/2005
Post Count: 2,949

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 4:41:35 PM

rpbobcat wrote:

The first time Lord of The Dance came to Radio City we decided,at the last minute,to try to go.

It was the second night and we got the "house seats",third row orchestra,dead center.

When we were walking to Radio City we saw search lights all over the place.

Turned out,night one was a preview,and this opening night.

My wife was in jeans and a sweater.
Me,jeans and a button down shirt.

Most of the people siting around us were in gowns and a tux.
Maybe they thought we were eccentric millionaires.

What was funny was Kathleen Turner and her husband were sitting in front of
us.
Her husband kept complaining he had to spend $15.00 for a program.

My theory: socioeconomic dress code is like a continuum that circles back into itself.

Homeless people are dressed in rags. Middle class folks try to dress what they think rich people dress like. Rich people dress in the same stuff but out of better materials. Actual billionaires dress like homeless people.

OhioCatFan
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Athens, OH
Post Count: 14,016

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 5:44:58 PM

Brian Smith wrote:

Homeless people are dressed in rags. Middle class folks try to dress what they think rich people dress like. Rich people dress in the same stuff but out of better materials. Actual billionaires dress like homeless people.

There's a grain of truth in this statement.

The only BLSS Certified Hypocrite on BA

"It is better to be an optimist and be proven a fool than to be a pessimist and be proven right."

Note: My avatar is the national colors of the 78th Ohio Veteran Volunteer Infantry, which are now preserved in a climate controlled vault at the Ohio History Connection. Learn more about the old 78th at: http://www.78ohio.org

Buck.Cat
General User

Member Since: 12/21/2017
Post Count: 365

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 6:11:21 PM

Brian Smith wrote:

Actual billionaires dress like homeless people.

And pretend billionaires wear suits that don't fit and ties that hit the ground.

OUs LONG Driver
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Copley, OH
Post Count: 653

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/20/2019 10:53:24 PM

I've never been a rabid fan of my home state Ohio teams so I've not been to a ton of games that aren't OU related. My favorite sports teams to this day are basically the most entertaining teams of the late 80's when sports clicked for me as something I was very interested in. Showtime Lakers, Dan Marino & the Dolphins, and the Bash Brothers of the A's.

Here's some things I can think of....

#1 - Sort of OU related so it's cheating....I saw Gary Trent play at Hamilton Township in '92 (I think) against my HS Alma Mater Amanda-Clearcreek. My older brother was a 93 grad and his friends were getting destroyed much to my delight. I remember there being a cheap shot on a break away dunk attempt that sent Trent to floor hard and the place nearly imploding.

#2 - Played Golf on Firestone South maybe 7-8 years ago and ran into Ron Harper on the 1st Fairway (my fairway, not his). His 2nd shot one hopped off the cart path and hit an old man in the groin standing on #1 tee. He laughed, I laughed.

#3 - 1992, I saw Freshman Eddie George fumble twice inside the 10 and the Buckeyes lose to Illinois in the Horseshoe. How times have changed for them and me......you couldn't pay me to attend a non OU event at OSU now.

#4 - Played Golf with Dave Wannstedt this February in Naples, FL. He was an incredible story teller. All kinds of great stuff about Jimmy Johnson, the U (convicts vs catholics, smoking cigarettes with the players during game prep), the Bears (post super bowl Fridge), the Dolphins, etc. We played with 2 other OU guys and of course we asked about the Solich Debut vs Pitt. He called Coach Solich "Frankie" which I liked. Had nothing but good things to say. He named several players and of course Byrum. His QB Palko asking him later that night..."What do you think they're going to say"...His reposnse.... "The press? They're going to kill you!" The QB "No the NFL". He did get to the NFL but Coach's way of telling the story and reacting to the comment were great. Also, Dave is not good at golf.

OUVan
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Location: Bethesda, MD
Post Count: 5,580

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/21/2019 11:05:45 AM

I have a couple of other fun sports related stories from the only other celebrity golf tournament I've been at. This one was about 6 or 7 years ago and I actually got to play instead of just spectate (I play old-guy baseball with the guy that runs it). We were paired with Dudley Bradley (UNC basketball)and Bill Swaggerty (Orioles journeyman pitcher) and I've got a story from both.

As some of you may know Bradley was a Maryland kid and his college decision came down to UNC and Maryland. Obviously, he picked UNC and famously (at least around these parts) became the target of the Maryland fans for his entire UNC career. We talked about J.J. Redick, another Terp fan target and how much it affected him. Bradley said that he handled it much differently and decided to play along with the crowd and it ended up being kind of fun. He said the real takeaway from the whole experience was how Lefty Driesell handled the whole thing. Bradley said he was scared to death to tell Lefty that he was picking Carolina but when he called him Lefty told him he would love to have him at Maryland but that Carolina was a great place to be and he would love playing for Dean Smith. He said his Mom loved Lefty and took his decision harder than Lefty did. To this day Lefty still calls his Mom on her birthday and Christmas. He said he also occasionally gets calls from Lefty as well.

Now on to my favorite story of the day. When I meet players I always ask them who their friends were and if they are still in contact with guys from their playing days. I asked Swaggerty this and he relayed this story. As I mentioned, Bill Swaggerty was a journeyman who pitched parts of 4 seasons with the O's in the mid-80s. He was a September call-up in 1983 and met the team in Boston. He flew in and went up to his room. He said he was sitting on the end of his bed trying to figure out what to do when the phone rang and a deep voice said "Lobby, 5 minutes" and then the caller hung up. He said he had no idea who it was and was wondering if he was being pranked because he was a rookie. But he decided he better go down and see what it was about. Anyway, he gets down to the lobby and the voice on the phone belonged to Eddie Murray. Murray was accompanied by John Shelby and Mike Young. Murray then says "Let's go" and the four climb into a taxi. Swaggerty said he was still in shock and didn't even ask where they were going. They proceeded to go to the "scariest part of Boston you can imagine" and walk into a soul food restaurant. He said it was like a scene from Cheers because when they walked in the whole place yelled "Eddie!!!". They went on to take him to a couple of other spots and were met with similar scenes. But he said that was just Eddie. He was terrible with the media but Swaggerty said he was the best friend he had in baseball and still regularly talks to him.

One other tidbit from that day. I asked him if he knew who was responsible for the famous Billy Ripken bat knob baseball card fiasco (Google it if you are unfamiliar) and he said he did. He said that Ripken likes to now claim that he did it himself by accident but that it was Pete Harnisch who got him.

OUcats82
General User

Member Since: 1/9/2005
Location: Cincinnati, OH
Post Count: 1,827

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/21/2019 12:48:35 PM

OUVan wrote:

Lefty always seemed like one of those guys who could tell stories for hours and never mention the game of basketball.

Ohio-The State University

bn9
General User

Member Since: 12/20/2004
Post Count: 422

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/21/2019 3:52:09 PM

OUs LONG Driver wrote:

#1 - Sort of OU related so it's cheating....I saw Gary Trent play at Hamilton Township in '92 (I think) against my HS Alma Mater Amanda-Clearcreek. My older brother was a 93 grad and his friends were getting destroyed much to my delight. I remember there being a cheap shot on a break away dunk attempt that sent Trent to floor hard and the place nearly imploding.

I am a grade ahead of your older brother and played at Circleville. We needed a police escort from the gym to our bus when leaving Hamilton Township my junior year, after the benches cleared. Most scared I have ever been at or around a sporting event.

GoCats105
General User

Member Since: 1/31/2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Post Count: 6,912

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/21/2019 4:44:13 PM

OUVan wrote:

Dudley Bradley (UNC basketball)and Bill Swaggerty (Orioles journeyman pitcher)

You made those names up. Those can't be real people.

.
General User

Member Since: 2/3/2005
Post Count: 2,949

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/21/2019 4:46:21 PM

GoCats105 wrote:

OUVan wrote:

Dudley Bradley (UNC basketball)and Bill Swaggerty (Orioles journeyman pitcher)

You made those names up. Those can't be real people.

Those are Monty Python characters.

.
General User

Member Since: 2/3/2005
Post Count: 2,949

Status: Offline

RE: OT: You Had to Be There!

Posted: 6/21/2019 4:53:39 PM

Following Gary Player and Lee Trevino around a golf course for four hours is right up there for funnest things I've ever done in relation to sports. People who think you need to be silent and deadly serious to play legendary golf are full of it. Trevino would be talking up until about four seconds prior to hitting the ball and then start talking a millisecond after the club face hit the ball. Player seemed to float around the course like a Shriner in one of those tiny cars in a circus, entertaining as he went. I know it was the senior tour and the stakes are lower, but there just didn't seem to be that glowering simmering rage that current players have at all moments on the course.

The first time I watched Tiger play up close, he spent five minutes pounding a discarded tee into the ground with his driver head, cursing because he had to wait five minutes to tee off after making a bogey. He seemed miserable. That's totally anecdotal, but when everything else about his life came out, it all made sense. And it made me think of how Trevino and Player treated the game out there.

Last Edited: 6/21/2019 4:54:39 PM by .

Showing Replies:	51 - 75 of 95 Posts
Jump to Page:	< Previous 1 \| 2 \| 3 \| 4 Next >

View Other 'Ohio Basketball' Topics

There are 249 Active Visitors on BobcatAttack.com

247 Guests
2 Registered Users:
	FJC31, RufusCat09

There are no other users looking at this page.