Five years ago today, P.J. Fleck was named Gophers football head coach! What is your favorite football memory since then?!

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1. 2019 Penn State. Field storm at the end was truly surreal
2. 2018 Wisconsin. Watching us just gut them on the road was amazing
3. 2019 Auburn. Capped a wonderful season
4. 2019 College Gameday. Felt like it gave us some national publicity; game sucked shit but the lead up was fun
5. 2021 Wisconsin. A game we should win going in and we held serve. Hoping it sets the mark for how these rivalry games go in the future.
 

A lot of mention of the GSU game. I threw on the 60 minute replay of that game last summer. Demetrius Douglass played a big role in that final drive and I think in converting that 3rd and 29.

Also saw mention of the OT Fresno game. Man it was difficult to get to sleep after that one.
 



BleedGopher said:
Penn State win and the massive party on the field afterwards.

Go Gophers!!
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rewatched the highlights and for anyone who asks why I love college football, that game is why. the crowd was electric (felt like no one sat down that day), the field rush, the joy on the sidelines with every big play. definitely makes me misty eyed thinking back on it.
 


Grant said:
A lot of mention of the GSU game. I threw on the 60 minute replay of that game last summer. Demetrius Douglass played a big role in that final drive and I think in converting that 3rd and 29.

Also saw mention of the OT Fresno game. Man it was difficult to get to sleep after that one.
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I just went back and watched the highlights, Douglas caught both the 3rd down and 4th down passes.

Just a crazy turn of events in the 4th Quarter, Gophers drove and were kicking a chipshot FG with about 6 minutes to go which would have given them a 2 score 11 pt lead. Blocked and returned for a TD. Then on the ensuing drive, Morgan fumbled for another Georgia Southern score which prompted the need to all of a sudden have to come from behind to win.
 
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upnorthkid said:
rewatched the highlights and for anyone who asks why I love college football, that game is why. the crowd was electric (felt like no one sat down that day), the field rush, the joy on the sidelines with every big play. definitely makes me misty eyed thinking back on it.
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I would give anything to be able to go back and relive that day. That and 2021 Wisconsin, hands down the 2 most fun events I've ever attended.
 

The high end talent on the field for the PSU game was incredible. Both sides.

Winfield
Johnson
Bateman
Parsons
Hamler
Doctson (although he did kind of botch that long catch in the final minutes).
That PSU RB was going to be special.
 




bleedsmaroonandgold said:
The impromptu welcome-home party for the team and the axe the night of the win in Madison.
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This was fantastic, PJ is nobody's fool and he definitely understood how much getting The Axe meant to most Gopher FB fans. It didn't generate any revenue for him, the school nor anybody but getting that put together in <7 hours to simply celebrate with the fans and cultivate excitement was super cool. Can't think of many coaches that would be down to hold an event after preparing for and coaching a football game, doing postgame stuff in Madison THEN getting on a bus for 5 hours. It ruled.
 

Outback - just the whole experience. Maroon and Gold everywhere in Ybor. The entire pregame and the game itself including PJ saluting the crowd at the end.
 


Thinking of this had me feeling nostalgic today... I went back and watched his introductory press conference. I am not going to pretend to know PJ Fleck the person, but I would love to know the true, behind the scenes story of him and Kill. Even his introductory conference he went out of his way to talk about Kill. It starts at 7:35. I think the only thing that could be viewed as a negative word he said about Kill was he needed to "change the culture" which I think has been totally overblown. Watching this even makes Kill look worse in my eyes.

 




MNfootballfan said:
Thinking of this had me feeling nostalgic today... I went back and watched his introductory press conference. I am not going to pretend to know PJ Fleck the person, but I would love to know the true, behind the scenes story of him and Kill. Even his introductory conference he went out of his way to talk about Kill. It starts at 7:35. I think the only thing that could be viewed as a negative word he said about Kill was he needed to "change the culture" which I think has been totally overblown. Watching this even makes Kill look worse in my eyes.

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I'm not under any illusion that PJ is a saint, but Kill is just a jealous and bitter man. He's always been over sensitive, even when he was the man here.
 

MNfootballfan said:
Thinking of this had me feeling nostalgic today... I went back and watched his introductory press conference. I am not going to pretend to know PJ Fleck the person, but I would love to know the true, behind the scenes story of him and Kill. Even his introductory conference he went out of his way to talk about Kill. It starts at 7:35. I think the only thing that could be viewed as a negative word he said about Kill was he needed to "change the culture" which I think has been totally overblown. Watching this even makes Kill look worse in my eyes.

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No judgement, but my how Fleck's hairdo has changed in 5 yrs.
 



So many good lists on here that mirror my own feelings/experiences:

1. Penn State 2019 - so much excitement and anticipation and got to be there with my parents AND we FINALLY won a huge game in the national spotlight! The crowd and the entrance were the BEST!

2a. Wisconsin 2021 - I've flown back for a lot of our Axe matchups at home the past decade and walked out pissed. So to beat the BADgers soundly, rush the field AND JUMP AROUND - UNREAL!

2b. Wisconsin 2018 - As noted above, these SOBs tortured us for most of two decades. Watched this one with my future in-laws and they saw me lose my mind in happiness and learned how Gopher crazy I am.

3. Auburn 2019 - Just a masterful win on a big stage. The way we ground them down in the 4th quarter was so great.

4. Nebraska 2019 - I know it wasn't a huge crowd, but this was the first signal that we had something special brewing. To physically dominate a team that ruined us so many times AND send their fans scurrying for the exits was perfect!
 

Outback Bowl win against Auburn (lands ahead of Penn State because I was at the Outback Bowl
Penn State
wisconsin
wisconsin
Colorado (because I was there, and all my friends and neighbors are CU fans)
 

It's gotta be the Outback Bowl for me.

So many New Year's Days, I'd watched other Big Ten teams compete and win. Have that glory of seeing a trophy get lifted. Knowing that your team didn't just win any bowl, it won a special bowl.

I wanted to experience a win like that for so long, and was crushed when it didn't happen in the 2014 season with the Citrus Bowl. So to come in and cap off a season like 2019 with a win like that, snagging an 11th win, it felt damn good.

Second favorite would probably be the Wisconsin win in 2018. It was so cathartic. Having their streak finally be over.
 


Nowsdtime said:
The only Gopher game I have been to in years was the Penn State game. My kids wanted to go and were sure we would win. I didn't think we would, and so they had to talk me into it. It was the most fun I have had at a game ever. It will always be a great memory I have with my two boys. BTW doesn't PJ look much younger in the photo to start this thread.
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Ha! Yes he has aged more than five years, lost his boyish looks.
 

I give PJ a solid A as overall coach, mentor and teacher. Read "Leading With Culture: An interview with Angela Jerebeck of BARR" posted in Gopherhole. This best describes his coaching and teaching philosophy and his full commitment to his student athletes. Makes me proud to be a Gopher fan. My favorite games were (1) Wisconsin 2018, (2) Penn State 2019, (3) Auburn (4) Wisconsin 2021.
 
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Is there we post that PJ is off to Michigan following the Harbaugh exit?
 

His visionary statement at his first press conference when he still had hair sold me on him.
 



Gophers1992 said:
I'm not under any illusion that PJ is a saint, but Kill is just a jealous and bitter man. He's always been over sensitive, even when he was the man here.
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I don’t have very many INSIDE sources but I have a lot of sources who at one point were inside and here is my take on the Fleck era vs the Kill/Claeys era. I have more people who were inside in the Kill/Claeys era than I do now. So I feel stronger about the first of the next two statements than the second.




Kill and Claeys thought they should be thanked for winning 7-8 games with our shitty ass football program

fleck thought we should try to make our shitty ass football program a great one and it would take a change of attitude to do it, but it is possible
 
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Has to be Auburn for us. We tailgated with a couple of Auburn fans for a few minutes before the game...had to be former players...two mountain of men. Our confidence was very confusing to them, especially when we wished them "good luck" when we headed out. Needless to say, they were in shock, and like many a fanbase after getting beat by Minnesota, thought they needed a new coach. Delicious.
 

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