Favorite Memories From 9/12/2009

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Gopher4life15

Gopher4life15

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We have heard about the kinks that need to be taken care of at The Brickhouse, but what were your favorite memories that you will never for get from the game Saturday?

Here are my top 5.

5. All the maroon and Gold shirts. I have never seen so much gopher Pride in one area in all my life.

4. The Band coming onto the field. :cry::clap::D

3. The emotion of Bud Grant!:cry::D

2. Seeing all the tailgater's doing it up right! :cool02:

1. The team running onto the field!! :cry::clap::D
 

For me...

3. Seeing all that Maroon and Gold around campus, the stadium, etc. It rivaled/beat any other collection of fans I've seen in other cities. And the Victory Walk was incredible...a definite new tradition. Just need to get the band marching down University Avenue now.

2. Seeing the band make that first "M" on the field. Incredible.

1. The first Rouser, during the band's pre-game show, and the M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A spellout afterward. I've never heard it that loud and crisp, or with that much passion. Every time I think about it, it sends chills up my spine.

Go Gophers! Beat Cal!
 

TheSportsAce said:
1. The first Rouser, during the band's pre-game show, and the M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A spellout afterward. I've never heard it that loud and crisp, or with that much passion. Every time I think about it, it sends chills up my spine.
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For me, this was clearly the highlight of the night. I think it got a little dusty in the stadium afterwards because my eyes were having a few issues. :)

On a personal note, my other high point was during the Victory Walk. Decker spotted my son (age 5) wearing a #7 jersey, so Eric stopped and bent down to give him a high five. He even waited a few seconds while my son was trying getting over the shock of having the "real #7" right in front of him.
 

1. Victory Walk - great new tradition. If they can get Oak St closed it will be even more special.

2. The band pre-game show

3. My own urinal.

4. Seeing lots of people watching/listening to the game from outside the gates and on the grass across the street. REALLY hope this becomes a tradition that takes off.

5. The crowd. Never realized what a stadium full of maroon & gold shirts would look like without the blue seats peeking through. Crowd was amped too.

6. Bud Grant, Murray Warmath and the remaining honorary captains. Brought tears to my eyes.

7. Seeing a full and festive student section. Well done guys!
 

For me, the thing I'll always remember for blurring the sea of Maroon and Gold behind some mistiness was the Bud Grant moment. I'm a young man that has no memories of Coach Grant playing, coaching, etc., but seeing what it meant to him, and to see such a stoic character breakdown almost completely was incredibly moving.

The Rouser that really did it for me in terms of volume was the one following Triplett's touchdown return. It was thunderous, and for me it was cathartic to feel like there was a stadium full of people that actually cared, and cared a lot, about what was happening with our team.

The Maroon and Gold in the stadium was fantastic. When I walked in, I looked around from 231 and actually felt like, for the first time ever, I was at an actual college football game in Minneapolis.
 


DarrenTheGreek said:
3. My own urinal.
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Be honest, how many trough jokes did everyone hear when they first went into the bathrooms on Saturday? If I would've counted I probably could've averaged hearing one every 20 seconds on a five minute bathroom trip.

M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A to end every rouser will be the memory I will carry forever. I've never been happier to hail from this state.
 

TheSportsAce said:
1. The first Rouser, during the band's pre-game show, and the M-I-N-N-E-S-O-T-A spellout afterward. I've never heard it that loud and crisp, or with that much passion. Every time I think about it, it sends chills up my spine.
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Definitely #1 for me. The only Rouser that compares is when Matt Koalska scored the tying goal in the waning moments of the 2002 National Championship game vs. Maine. Immediately after the spellout on Saturday, I turned to everyone in our group and screamed "Holy sh--!" I was blown away by how amazing it was...

From my seat in 135, the place went berzerk on Triplett's return. As PLG said, that was the moment that got everybody in the game and, for the first time, it felt like we were home.
 

I would also add the joy that I saw from hundreds of senior citizens in attendance and a couple that I spoke with at the victory walk, their joy and pride was pretty inspiring to see. I love that college sports draws lifelong fans, I would argue more than pro sports. I love seeing the little old ladies with their gopher sweater and little pins. Fantastic.
 

Jike Spingleton said:
Immediately after the spellout on Saturday, I turned to everyone in our group and screamed "Holy sh--!" I was blown away by how amazing it was...
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I did the same exact thing. And I'm in 135 too. Simply incredible...an all-time Gopher memory.
 





One of the biggest things that will always stay with me was the Victory Walk. That was a seriously intense moment. I was right up in the front row and a number of the players honestly had a slightly frieghtened look on their faces, kind of like a deer in headlights type look. I don't think they were prepared for how large of a crowd was there for the walk. Brewster even had a slightly shocked look. It was an awesome moment.
 

1. Campus became a (maroon and gold) college gameday campus. I sorta bar hopped from the U-Liquors/Big Ten outdoor party in the U-Liquors parking lot, then up Washington Ave to the actual Big Ten for a sub, then to the McNamara plaza for the victory walk, then to the tailgate lots, then into the stadium for the pregame show. My buddies and I have been going on a Big 10/Notre Dame road trip for the past six years (tOSU, Mich, Iowa, Wisc, ND) and I was happy to see a college gameday campus at home for a change. Loved it. The Gophers could have lost by 50 and I would have been just as excited for next week all the same. That being said, thank goodness they won.
 



The funny thing about the Victory Walk was Brewster added it right away when he arrived in 2007 but it was TINY. Who wanted to stand around the dome two hours before game time? I have been to two other victory walks at the dome and probably wouldn't have gone to one again. I was soooooo happy I was there for the first Victory Walk at TCF because like everyone else is saying... it was a memory I will carry with me. To top it all off my 9 year old (dressed in a maroon and gold wig) ended up on the KARE 11 news and we had about a dozen people call us to say they saw him on the news Saturday night. And... perhaps the biggest reason to be 100% convinced the Victory Walk is a great thing: I heard Sid on WCCO this morning go on and on how he thinks it is a terrible idea. That right there confirms it MUST be the right thing.

The spellout was spellbinding. The echos in the Meatrodome always ensured that while 1/3 of the crowd was on the "O" during the spell out, another 1/3 would be on the "E" and the last 1/3 would be on the "A". The spell outs on Saturday were crisp, on time, and TOGETHER stadium-wide... just wonderful.

When they threw Bud Grant on the big screen, I turned to my wife and she was crying! I obviously didn't need to spell it out for her. What a wonderful moment.

Many of the best "moments" really weren't moments at all. It was just the atmosphere. My wife was ripping me for wanting to get on campus early. She was still asking "what are we doing here already?" when we were walking out of the parking ramp at 2:30. By 4:00 she commented on how fast time was flying and how glad she was that we got there when we did.

I have had a lot of people that know I am a big Gopher fan ask me about the game and the environment. About the only way I can describe it is just to say it was a massive gathering of good feelings. It was just a concentrated outpouring of GLEE.
 

I will always remember the first rouser. The fumble recovery will be my highlight of the evening, I was in section 152 and I could see the crowd and coaches on the home sideline jumping for joy. That was awesome.

This game overtook when I went to Ann Arbor and witnessed us take the jug. That was a great game.
 

3 things for me:

-the student section. Huge, wild and into the game.

-all of the little things that made the stadium feel like a home for the gophers. No blue seats, no banners drapped over twins or vikings pictures, all the maroon and gold, college chants and on and on.

-ultimately I enjoyed seeing everyone else and how they soaked it up. The fans, the band, young kids, the players, everyone.


Oh and one final thing: finally, for a brief moment in time, in the middle of this crowded sports market, the day belonged to the gophers. All the newscasts, newspapers, water coller talk and buzz belonged to the gophers. I loved that.
 


Great video

That video from behind the announcer in the press box was impressive. Thanks!
 



Victory Walk

During the Victory Walk, my daughter got autographs on our game program cover from Bobby Bell, signed Bobby Bell HOF, Pinky McNamara, and Darrell Thompson #39!

Pretty cool momento.
 

Things that hit me that day:

1) Getting dropped off by the stadium at 11 am and having people milling out about, decked out in the colors.

2) The victory walk, tons of a people, tons of a pride.

3) Hitting up the beer garden at Stub and Herbs, able to see the stadium and drink a beer....the U's stadium at the U...felt more real than any experience on the Plaza at the dome.

4) That first spell out...there was tingle going up my spine.

5) The fumble return, a signature play on the night.
 

Didn't get down to the beer gardens on Saturday, how busy were they?
 

Sterb's beer garden was pretty full before the game. It took awhile for things to get rolling though, I don't think people really showed up until 3pm or so.
 

Gopher07 said:
Sterb's beer garden was pretty full before the game. It took awhile for things to get rolling though, I don't think people really showed up until 3pm or so.
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I went to Sally's before going to the victory walk and it was full. Went to Sterb's after the game and it was very full....lots of fun at both places!
 

Oh man, I don't even know where to begin with this one. I loved every second of Saturday - one of the coolest experiences of my life. The atmosphere, the pride, everything. I'm 27 now and am back at the U pursuing another major, but I really wish this was around for my first run as a student (graduated in 2006).

I agree with what everyone has said so far, but I also have to mention the flyover. Watching the jets come in from the southwest skies followed immediately by the pyrotechnics and the Gophs taking the field was priceless. I will never forget that. It was also awesome to enjoy a sunset over the downtown skyline while watching your favorite team take care of business.

My wife is pregnant with our first child and I cannot wait until we can take him or her to their first game.
 

My first view of the inside of the stadium. Priceless.
Seeing the likes of Warmath, Grant, Bell, and the other honorary Captains on the field was a very special moment never to be duplicated.
The echo's of the crowd spelling out M-i-n-n-e-s-o-t-a!
Last but not least, our first TCF victory.
 

Dont got a top 5 or whatever. But one I met Tubby Smith pregame cause a van hit a pole and glass shattered so I helped tubby and my father pick up broken pices, another was just being OUTSIDE for football, last was victory walk, so many gold and maroon colars!
 

Just to echo a few of the posts on here--

We had some time before we had to be at the stadium, so my roommates and I went back to our apartment; coming back I was absolutely blown away (having never been to an on-campus football game anywhere) by all the maroon and gold, all the tailgaters enjoying the gameday atmosphere. It was special to watch. When the band did our parade to the plaza, just seeing all the people lined up around the stadium, the tremendous line of students all waiting to get in was very special. During the plaza performance, I spotted multiple people who were misty eyed as we played through the school songs.

Before pregame started (and before the players left the field after stretches) I had a chance to pop out by the edge of field and take a look at the crowd and was amazing how many people were ALREADY in their seats and psyched for the game. Not something I saw at the Dome. The reaction of the players as we high-fived and fist-bumped them as they came up the tunnel; you could tell they were as pumped for the game as the band and the fans were.

Going out for pregame was positively surreal. As if the adrenaline wasn't high enough already, when I looked around upon coming out of the tunnel getting to my spot for pregame during run cadence, seeing the place almost at capacity instead of spotty for the pregame show was incredible as well (running out of adjectives).

Seeing the students waving their hands during Battle Hymn. Awesome.

Minnesota spellout, as previously stated, was thunderous on the field.

First time the team took the field, also thunderous. The ovation(s) during the pregame video for McNamara and Dungy were cool.

and then of course the reaction after the fumble return. Turning point in the game, and the first time the place got really rocking.
 

All of the above plus...

The little maroon M's on the soap dispensers in the bathroom.
And then thinking this is OUR home !!!
Life's simple pleasures.......
 

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