Reusse: Sept. 28, 1969 - This was the day the Vikings zipped past the Gophers and put them in the rearview mirror which those Gophers now share.

[BleedGopher]

Per Pat:

The Gophers opened the 1969 season vs. Arizona State in the heat of Tempe, Ariz. The Sun Devils couldn't stop the power-running of Jim Carter, and they didn't have to … because the defense that carried the Gophers so often had no chance to cover the vapor trails left by ASU's receivers.

Final: ASU 48, Gophers 26. Yardage: Gophers a hefty 463, ASU an over-the-top 583.

On that night, the honeymoon was over for the Gophers' approach to playing football.

Grant decided to go with Kapp for the home opener in another meeting with the Colts. The date was Sept. 28, 1969. The site was Met Stadium.

This was the day the Vikings zipped past the Gophers and put them in the rearview mirror, which those Gophers now share with every other sports entity in the Twin Cities.

The NFL is king. The Vikings are kings. But not always.

Joe Kapp, kingmaker: His best day moved the Vikings to Minnesota's favorite-team status

We admired Fran Tarkenton. We loved Joe Kapp, especially in 1969 when he launched the Vikings into our top spot.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

 

[Hates Monikers]

Per Pat:

The Gophers opened the 1969 season vs. Arizona State in the heat of Tempe, Ariz. The Sun Devils couldn't stop the power-running of Jim Carter, and they didn't have to … because the defense that carried the Gophers so often had no chance to cover the vapor trails left by ASU's receivers.

Final: ASU 48, Gophers 26. Yardage: Gophers a hefty 463, ASU an over-the-top 583.

On that night, the honeymoon was over for the Gophers' approach to playing football.

Grant decided to go with Kapp for the home opener in another meeting with the Colts. The date was Sept. 28, 1969. The site was Met Stadium.

This was the day the Vikings zipped past the Gophers and put them in the rearview mirror, which those Gophers now share with every other sports entity in the Twin Cities.

The NFL is king. The Vikings are kings. But not always.

Joe Kapp, kingmaker: His best day moved the Vikings to Minnesota's favorite-team status

We admired Fran Tarkenton. We loved Joe Kapp, especially in 1969 when he launched the Vikings into our top spot.

www.startribune.com

Go Gophers!!

Reusse has written versions of that article a dozen times, this one with Kapp as the hook. My earliest memories as a Viking fan go back to 1971, so I just missed Kapp and am worse for it.

 

[fmlizard]

What's the point of this article?

The truth is that whomever is winning will be the king of Minnesota sports. Since it's been a long time since any championships the Vikings have sort of held the throne by default because the NFL is the most popular national sports league. If the Timberwolves or Wild won their championship, they would be the hottest thing in town for a while. So would Gopher football.

I don't think it has a lick to do with Joe Kapp or any old-timey moment in the 60s. And getting out-gained by 100 yards on the road against a major opponent is far from the nadir of Gopher football.

 

[4four4]

What's the point of this article?

The truth is that whomever is winning will be the king of Minnesota sports. Since it's been a long time since any championships the Vikings have sort of held the throne by default because the NFL is the most popular national sports league. If the Timberwolves or Wild won their championship, they would be the hottest thing in town for a while. So would Gopher football.

I don't think it has a lick to do with Joe Kapp or any old-timey moment in the 60s. And getting out-gained by 100 yards on the road against a major opponent is far from the nadir of Gopher football.

Kapp recently passed away.

 

[Plato]

As an old observer of college sports, the shift in fan interest all over the country from the 1950s until today from college FB being the leader in fan interest and pro football barely filling their stadiums to today when the NFL easily draws the most fans in person and on TV and college teams are starting to have trouble filling their stadiums.
Most fans have not attended the college that is biggest in their area so their loyalty is thin compared to an NFL team where everyone in the state feels a connection.

 

[Spaulding!No!]

I have read here on GH that this is demonstrably incorrect. Now I read that the Pro team has in fact had a negative effect on gopher football. Aww jeez.

 

[Mulligan]

What's the point of this article?

Pat needed a column and went to his old stand-by: the good old days. You go into the Strib old copies; maybe find a former player, coach, or executive to talk to; and hit the keyboard without leaving your house. He's been mailing it in like this for years.

 

[#2Gopher]

Pat always loves it when a sports guy passes away, so he has something to write about. If that doesn't happen, he doesn't know what to do in many cases.

 

[gophernut1]

What happened to Gopher Football:

1.) Other teams across the nation focusing more on recruiting Black Southern athletes and the South themselves opening up to the idea.

2.) An Administration that would not commit the funds necessary to make Gopher Football and sports in general a priority.

3.) Without the star power and administrative support - professional sports become an easier sell as they were committed to putting a better product on the field than the Gopher admin.

 

[Ope3]

I don't think it has a lick to do with Joe Kapp or any old-timey moment in the 60s. And getting out-gained by 100 yards on the road against a major opponent is far from the nadir of Gopher football.

Arizona St wasn't considered a major opponent in 1969. They were in the WAC.

 

[dpodoll68]

Arizona St wasn't considered a major opponent in 1969. They were in the WAC.

I guess everyone has their own definition of "major opponent," but I think an honest appraisal of ASU in 1969 would earn them that designation. It was the first year they won the conference to begin a run of 6 titles in 7 years, and starting in 1970 they finished the season 13th or better in the final AP poll in 5 of 6 seasons. They even finished #2 in the final AP poll in 1975, a mark no ASU team in the Pac-10/12 has come close to matching. In the 1975 Fiesta Bowl, a home game for them, they even beat Tom Osborne and his Huskers squad that had kicked the shit out of almost everyone they played that year. Their head coach Frank Kush is a legend and is in the College Football HOF, and their field is named after him. Though they didn't play in a major conference, they were similar to Boise St. under Petersen or Cincinnati under Fickell, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone not calling those teams major opponents.

 

[HitMeAgainIAmStillMoving]

Kapp recently passed away.

What if the headline had been "What used to be 40 for 60 is now 1 for 6 (feet)." Too soon?

 

[cemba99]

While there is a lot of nitpicking here, I for one am old enough to remember the Joe Kapp era and remember it fondly. That Vikings-Rams playoff game in 1969 is one of my all-time favorite games of any sport. There is a 14 minute youtube highlight film that is still fun to watch.

And while I do not think the ASU game represents a specific change in trajectory of Gopher football, by 1969 it was evident that speed in college football was as important as size and strength. Old-school coaches like Warmath couldn't adapt very well (Warmath was gone by 1971). Pat's article was a nice stroll down memory lane.

 

[Captain Obvious]

I guess everyone has their own definition of "major opponent," but I think an honest appraisal of ASU in 1969 would earn them that designation. It was the first year they won the conference to begin a run of 6 titles in 7 years, and starting in 1970 they finished the season 13th or better in the final AP poll in 5 of 6 seasons. They even finished #2 in the final AP poll in 1975, a mark no ASU team in the Pac-10/12 has come close to matching. In the 1975 Fiesta Bowl, a home game for them, they even beat Tom Osborne and his Huskers squad that had kicked the shit out of almost everyone they played that year. Their head coach Frank Kush is a legend and is in the College Football HOF, and their field is named after him. Though they didn't play in a major conference, they were similar to Boise St. under Petersen or Cincinnati under Fickell, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone not calling those teams major opponents.

The 1986 and 1996 Sun Devils each finished ranked #4 in the final AP poll. They entered the 1997 Rose Bowl game ranked #2, but lost to #4 ranked Ohio State, a game I attended and one of the few times it has rained at the Rose Bowl game.

 

[Xerxes_]

What's the point of this article?

The truth is that whomever is winning will be the king of Minnesota sports. Since it's been a long time since any championships the Vikings have sort of held the throne by default because the NFL is the most popular national sports league. If the Timberwolves or Wild won their championship, they would be the hottest thing in town for a while. So would Gopher football.

I don't think it has a lick to do with Joe Kapp or any old-timey moment in the 60s. And getting out-gained by 100 yards on the road against a major opponent is far from the nadir of Gopher football.

This is a pretty bold statement. The fan base of the Gophers is driven largely by alumni while the Wild, Vikings, and Twins are state wide teams with a large casual fan base along with the fanatics. The Vikings and Twins also have fan bases in the Dakotas and Iowa simply because those states don't have professional teams in MLB or NFL.

 

[short ornery norwegian]

While there is a lot of nitpicking here, I for one am old enough to remember the Joe Kapp era and remember it fondly. That Vikings-Rams playoff game in 1969 is one of my all-time favorite games of any sport. There is a 14 minute youtube highlight film that is still fun to watch.

And while I do not think the ASU game represents a specific change in trajectory of Gopher football, by 1969 it was evident that speed in college football was as important as size and strength. Old-school coaches like Warmath couldn't adapt very well (Warmath was gone by 1971). Pat's article was a nice stroll down memory lane.

that is exactly the point that Reusse is making in the article. It's nothing new - he's said this many times before. but the point is valid.

in the Gophers' glory years, the teams were built around line play, power running and defense. then, as noted, teams in the West and South moved to a new model where speed was the most coveted commodity. the ASU game represented the 'old school' approach versus the 'new' approach - with the Gophers' lack of speed exposed.

Reusse is claiming - with some validity - that this represented a pivot point. as the Gophers football program began to decline, the Vikings under Bud Grant were rising in popularity, leading to the first Super Bowl appearance - and what had been a Gopher Football town became a Vikings town.

 

[fmlizard]

This is a pretty bold statement. The fan base of the Gophers is driven largely by alumni while the Wild, Vikings, and Twins are state wide teams with a large casual fan base along with the fanatics. The Vikings and Twins also have fan bases in the Dakotas and Iowa simply because those states don't have professional teams in MLB or NFL.

But the article doesn't talk about regional sports interest in other states, it talks about the Twin Cities sports culture. I agree that the total addressable market for the Vikings is larger than the Gophers.

Also, a hypothetical Gopher football or basketball champion would pick up a lot of bandwagon fans, similar to how most Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Clemson, etc fans didn't go to school there.

 

[Ope3]

I guess everyone has their own definition of "major opponent," but I think an honest appraisal of ASU in 1969 would earn them that designation. It was the first year they won the conference to begin a run of 6 titles in 7 years, and starting in 1970 they finished the season 13th or better in the final AP poll in 5 of 6 seasons. They even finished #2 in the final AP poll in 1975, a mark no ASU team in the Pac-10/12 has come close to matching. In the 1975 Fiesta Bowl, a home game for them, they even beat Tom Osborne and his Huskers squad that had kicked the shit out of almost everyone they played that year. Their head coach Frank Kush is a legend and is in the College Football HOF, and their field is named after him. Though they didn't play in a major conference, they were similar to Boise St. under Petersen or Cincinnati under Fickell, and you'd be hard-pressed to find someone not calling those teams major opponents.

After the fact, sure in hindsight ASU was on their way to being a major opponent. However in 1969 when the game was played (which was Reusse's point) they were not viewed as such.

They were just a team from the WAC which a team that was only a season removed from winning the Big 10 (Gophers) would have expected to beat, if not thrash.

 

[Xerxes_]

But the article doesn't talk about regional sports interest in other states, it talks about the Twin Cities sports culture. I agree that the total addressable market for the Vikings is larger than the Gophers.

Also, a hypothetical Gopher football or basketball champion would pick up a lot of bandwagon fans, similar to how most Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Clemson, etc fans didn't go to school there.

Yeah I should not have included regional interests. However the post I did reply to said "Minnesota" sports not Twin Cities.

IMO Gopher football has the most loyal and passionate fanbase of all the sports teams here. They just don't have the shear numbers of the Vikings, Twins, & Wild.