Non-political question for Mike

[nashvillegoldenflash]

Mike, since you are an alum of the University of Houston, I'm curious if you ever take a certain amount of pride in the past success of the Houston Cougars? I realize I'm older than you and the Cougars win over UCLA was before your time but I can still remember it as if it were yesterday. Certainly, there have been plenty of big games since then, but I still have to say that first game between Elvin Hayes and Lew Alcindor was the game of the century (see link).

As you know, I have attended many schools and the one sporting event that I take the most pride in is when the University of Tampa went down to the Orange Bowl in 1970 and soundly defeated the Miami Hurricanes 31-14. It doesn't matter to me that I was only 17-years old when the game was played and didn't attend the University of Tampa until several years later. The reason why I hold this game in such high esteem is because the University of Tampa had an enrollment of only 1800 students at the time and the win earned the Spartans the number 1 ranking in the small-college poll. As a matter of fact, I still wear a University of Tampa commemorative Seiko watch commemorating the number 1 ranking. Sure, I realize the University of Tampa's athletic history includes a total of 14 national championships at the NCAA II level with titles in baseball (6), golf (2), men's soccer (3), volleyball (2), and women's soccer (2), and the University of Tampa had the number 1 draft pick in the 1973 NFL draft (John Matuszak) but the 1970 win over Miami was probably the most meaningful sporting event for the University of Tampa. That win helped UT earn "major" status among NCAA football teams the following year. Despite the fact that UT decided to drop football in 1975 for financial reasons, us old-timers still remember when the University of Tampa played with the "big boys". Do you have any such memories of the Houston Cougars?

1968 Game of the Century

 

[Blueraider_Mike]

Of course I do. I was actually a fan of UH growing up in Houston. Didn't attend there until my early 30s (MBA). I remember watching them run the veer offense to perfection with tear away jerseys. I attended the Cotton Bowl game against Notre Dame with Montana came into the game after being on an IV/severe Flu and scored 21 unanswered points in the 4th Q to send us home. I went to some of the Phi Slamma Jamma games in the early 1980s.

And when I can even now I will try to watch them, mainly just keep up with there BB team.

At my core, I am a MT fan but I still very much care about UH.

 

[nashvillegoldenflash]

I thought you would but I have never seen you reference the University of Houston except when the Cougars played Vanderbilt in the 2014 BBVA Compass Bowl. I understand why you have more allegiance to Middle Tennessee since it's your undergraduate school. That is why I have more allegiance to Kent State than Middle Tennessee since the former is my undergraduate school.

In his book, Sons of Mississippi, James Meredith wrote, "To me, Mississippi is the most beautiful country in the world, during all seasons... I feel love because I have always felt that Mississippi belonged to me and one must love what is his."

Just as James Meredith has love for Mississippi, your feelings for Middle Tennessee are no doubt stronger than the feelings you have for the University of Houston because of the ownership you feel with MT. I feel the same way about Kent State because I have always felt that KSU belonged to me and one must love what is his.

 

[bigbadjohn45]

Originally posted by nashvillegoldenflash:
I thought you would but I have never seen you reference the University of Houston except when the Cougars played Vanderbilt in the 2014 BBVA Compass Bowl. I understand why you have more allegiance to Middle Tennessee since it's your undergraduate school. That is why I have more allegiance to Kent State than Middle Tennessee since the former is my undergraduate school.

In his book, Sons of Mississippi, James Meredith wrote, "To me, Mississippi is the most beautiful country in the world, during all seasons... I feel love because I have always felt that Mississippi belonged to me and one must love what is his."

Just as James Meredith has love for Mississippi, your feelings for Middle Tennessee are no doubt stronger than the feelings you have for the University of Houston because of the ownership you feel with MT. I feel the same way about Kent State because I have always felt that KSU belonged to me and one must love what is his.

Flash/Mike, I totally understand your dual allegiancies to the different schools you attended. For that matter, MTSU fans should never look down upon anyone who's also a fan of UT Knoxville or Vanderbilt. What difference should it make?

 

[nashvillegoldenflash]

I realize to most fans, the University of Tampa's win over the University of Miami is not even comparable to the University of Houston's 1979 Cotton Bowl game against Notre Dame or the Phi Slamma Jamma games in the early 80s but when you consider a tiny private school with an enrollment of only 1,800 students (not much larger than Cumberland University's current enrollment of 1,500 students) going down to the Orange Bowl and trouncing the Miami Hurricanes 31-14, that's quite an accomplishment. And that same Miami team that lost to Tampa went up to Gainesville and defeated the Florida Gators later in the season. The only reason the Spartans didn't go undefeated and win the College Division National Championship that year was because against Vanderbilt, Tampa was required to suspend five players, that included three starters on defense to comply with Southeastern Conference rules for transfer players since the Spartans played as an independent (see link). One of the defensive starters who was benched had 25 tackles in a game when he played for Alabama the year before that earned him the national lineman of the week. His name was Sam Gellerstedt, who was an All-American defensive tackle for Alabama in 1968. When those five players were declared ineligible to play against Vanderbilt, Fran Curci commented, "The guts of our defense has been stripped." Yet 35,893 fans showed up to watch the game at Tampa Stadium and despite the loss, 45,253 fans were on hand to see the Spartans play Florida A&M the following week.

And before Tampa became competitive in football, the Spartans hosted the number 3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers in 1967 (see photo below). You talk about a David versus Goliath match-up. It's never been easy rooting for the underdog but that is what I like to do.

This post was edited on 3/24 8:28 PM by nashvillegoldenflash

SEC Rules Bench 5 Tampa Spartans