Wallace Wade: I was there then...

[longtimedevil]

I was there when Mike McGee's only option was to give it to Steve Jones..
...when the USSR came to town..
.when Tony Dorsett ran for over 200 yards
.when there were wooden bleachers above the bowl
.when they all boo'd when our boys came home from Vietnam
.when the old ball coach made his OC debut
.when Carl Franks could run fast and catch
.when Shirley Wilson became Red
.when Connor Barth kicked us in the gut..with .02 left
.when they clapped and cheered for man called Bear..
.when streaking was cool
.when Ted's twins were too young to know
.when i was the last person in the stands the day they fired Franks
.when the pelican bowl was played
.when the world record was set in the high jump
.when they smoked grass instead of pot
.when Jamison made the catch
.when we all cried on Sept. 22 2001 our first game since 9/11
.when Cut said 'We are Duke..'

and I'll be there today..what a long strange trip its been..

Wallace Wade I love the place.

[NYBri]

I was there when Mike McGee's only option was to give it to Steve Jones..
...when the USSR came to town..
.when Tony Dorsett ran for over 200 yards
.when there were wooden bleachers above the bowl
.when they all boo'd when our boys came home from Vietnam
.when the old ball coach made his OC debut
.when Carl Franks could run fast and catch
.when Shirley Wilson became Red
.when Connor Barth kicked us in the gut..with .02 left
.when they clapped and cheered for man called Bear..
.when streaking was cool
.when Ted's twins were too young to know
.when i was the last person in the stands the day they fired Franks
.when the pelican bowl was played
.when the world record was set in the high jump
.when they smoked grass instead of pot
.when Jamison made the catch
.when we all cried on Sept. 22 2001 our first game since 9/11
.when Cut said 'We are Duke..'

and I'll be there today..what a long strange trip its been..

Wallace Wade I love the place.

Post of the day.

[moonpie23]

we will be there today...

[Jarhead]

we will be there today...

Wallace Wade is sold out tonight. There are no seats on Brooks Field.

[weezie]

I was there when the Stones played, "Sympathy For The Devil," but I expect all visiting teams to begging for our sympathy now.

[CDu]

I will be introducing my son to WW tonight. My last trip to a game got him so excited that my wife went into labor a few weeks early. So now, almost a year old, he will get to finally make his return!

[Kimist]

It goes back further. . .

I remember the 2-3 football game loss against Clemson.

I remember when all games were on Saturday afternoons. Guys dressed up, and gals did the same. A football game was a big social event.

The first game with (portable) lights was on a Thursday night. Walking around the stadium area in the dark felt weird. . .

(Heck, I remember "carolina" and "Joe College" weekends and the way the campus living groups went crazy on Homecoming weekend.)

The Blue Devil wore a cape, carried a pitchfork at all times, and could be seen all over the place including on the goalposts.

The scoreboard was fairly primitive, to include a clock with moving hands.

Oh yes: One of the associated experiences of attending any game in the stadium was pulling numerous splinters out of your backside.

Serious side note: I was there for the USA/USSR track meet. While many folks maligned the presence of the (now gone) track et al, it was quite an experience to attend those track events. Two or three days worth, I believe??

k

[davekay1971]

Great OP, great thread!

My favorite WW moment was my freshman year, Spurrier's last, when we beat Clemson and charged the field. Being a clutz, I tripped and separated my shoulder in the charge, but the juice was worth the squeeze.

PS: Streaking isn't cool anymore? There goes my Saturday night...

[-jk]

Great OP, great thread!

My favorite WW moment was my freshman year, Spurrier's last, when we beat Clemson and charged the field. Being a clutz, I tripped and separated my shoulder in the charge, but the juice was worth the squeeze.

PS: Streaking isn't cool anymore? There goes my Saturday night...

One of those big track meets I saw as a kid: streaker made it past the steeple chase water hazard, past the scoreboard, almost made it - but tripped over a low fence at the open end... Quite the sight!

-jk

[buddy]

The cheerleaders (there were men on the squad then) tossing lamp chops into the Carolina section chanting "Here's your ram" after they had stolen it days before the game.

[Olympic Fan]

One of those big track meets I saw as a kid: streaker made it past the steeple chase water hazard, past the scoreboard, almost made it - but tripped over a low fence at the open end... Quite the sight!

-jk

That was the USA-USSR meet ...

My first Wade memory was the 1958 Duke-Baylor game. I was nine years old and watched Wray Carlton rush Duke to a 12-7 victory.

I have a much stronger memory of the 1960 Duke-Navy game. Navy came to town ranked No. 4 nationally with star running back Joe Bellino (who would win the Heisman Trophy that season). Some Duke students stole the Navy goat -- and paraded him around the track with a Blue D stenciled on his sides. As for the game, there was incredible frustration in the first half -- Duke dominated, but thanks to a couple of turnovers, Navy led 10-0. But Duke cut out the mistakes in the second half, continued to dominate and won 19-0.

I also remember the final home game in 1961 ... Notre Dame came to Wade and got run out of the stadium -- 37-13. The big news was that the Big Ten and Rose Bowl were having a contract fight and the story before the game was that if Duke beat the Irish impressively, Duke would get a Rose Bowl bid. Late in the game, fans were chanting "Rose Bowl ... Rose Bowl." Unfortunately, as soon as I got home, I saw on the news that the Big Ten and Rose Bowl had just renewed their deal, so Duke didn't get a third trip to Pasadena.

Two years later, I was field for the finish of the Duke-UNC game. Such a great turnout that they pit temporary bleachers around the lower bowl. Duke led 14-13 with just a couple of minutes left, when UNC mounted a final drive ... with a few seconds left, they tried a field goal into the open end of the stadium. I was standing under the right goal post -- and watched the ball sail just outside the post ... I was jumping up and down, but as I celebrated I was stunned to see the ref standing a few feet away with his arms in the air. To this day, I'll insist that UNC's 16-14 victory was bogus -- their winning FG was wide right.

Two years later, Duke routed UNC 34-7 in Bill Murray's last game as head coach. That win gave Duke a share of the ACC title -- his sixth ACC championship in the first 12 years of the league. Later, Duke lost the title when the ACC decided that South Carolina had to forfeit all its games. Duke had beaten South Carolina, so it didn't help us -- but it gave Clemson and NC State each an extra win and they were declared co-champions. We won it on the field, but lost it -- through no fault of our own -- in the boardroom.

Not much great football after that. I do recall the '89 Clemson game -- especially the moment when Randy Cuthbert caught a swing pass at the Clemson 5 was hit and apparently stopped there ... then the surge of electricity as Cuthbert (with some help from Chris Port) pushed the pile slowly into the end zone. I think that's the single most electric moment I ever experienced in Wade ... unless it was the Crowder catch to beat UNC in 2012.

I was there for all the big track meets in the 1970s, The first one was the USA Pan-African Meet -- 40,000 people in the stands. Anybody else remember Mirus Yfter -- a tiny Ethiopean distance runner who lost the 5,000 meters when he miscounted the laps and stopped a lap short? The next day, he bounced back to win the 10,000 meter race with the crowd roaring for him every step of the way (To be honest, I may have flipped the 5,000 and 10,000 ... I know those were the two races, biet I'm not sure which won he lost on Friday and which one he won on Saturday).

One last thing ... when was the last time the students tore down the goalposts? I know they did it in 1969, when Duke beat UNC on the Leo Hart-to-Wes Chesson shoestring play. I'm pretty sure it happened into the late '80s, but I'm not sure the last time. Anybody else remember?

PS Buddy, I remember the Blue Tuna campaign ... didn't the Duke swimming team actually adopt the Blue Tuna nickname for a few years?

[budwom]

Ha, that would be fitting, the swimming Blue Tunas. I do know we had have some true believers.

I loved those track meets....astonishing world class talent on display.

[wilson]

One last thing ... when was the last time the students tore down the goalposts? I know they did it in 1969, when Duke beat UNC on the Leo Hart-to-Wes Chesson shoestring play. I'm pretty sure it happened into the late '80s, but I'm not sure the last time. Anybody else remember?

We tore one goalpost down in the pouring rain on Aug. 31, 2002 after a win over East Carolina. That snapped a 23-game Duke losing streak. As a junior, it was the first time in my undergrad tenure that Duke won a football game.
I also heard tell of a goalpost coming down after the win over Clemson in 2004, though I had graduated by then. And at least one goalpost should have come down after Jamison's catch to beat the heels in 2012, but my understanding is that stadium security types make it a lot harder to tear one down nowadays than it used to be.

[SilkyJ]

Great list but you forgot the Rolling Stones.

We tore one goalpost down in the pouring rain on Aug. 31, 2002 after a win over East Carolina. That snapped a 23-game Duke losing streak. As a junior, it was the first time in my undergrad tenure that Duke won a football game.
I also heard tell of a goalpost coming down after the win over Clemson in 2004, though I had graduated by then. And at least one goalpost should have come down after Jamison's catch to beat the heels in 2012, but my understanding is that stadium security types make it a lot harder to tear one down nowadays than it used to be.

Yes, yes, and yes.

The game vs ECU was my first game as a freshman. We stormed, we brought down 1 post, we marched it all the way back to east campus.

The Clemson win was my junior year, and we brought them down (or at least 1) again.

My dad came down for the Stones in 05 during my senior year--that was quite a show. The building they erected behind the stage was taller than than the top of the bleachers!

What a long way we've come!

[drcharl]

On November 16, 1963, Navy came in with Roger Staubach and they were ranked #2. Was a very close game until well into the 4th quarter. With Navy leading by 6, and in possession with the ball on their own 3, it looked like Duke was going to force them into a punting situation. Duke stacked the defensive line, but Navy RB Johnny Sai broke through and went 97 yards for a TD. This was the year Staubach won the Heisman and Navy played for the national championship vs Texas (but lost to Texas).

Another memory from those years - Was sitting in the stands with friends when someone pointed out that comedian Bob Newhart was sitting in the row right in front of us.

[fuse]

I remember the pummeling Virginia put on Duke, 59-0.

I was maybe one of a handful of people who stayed to the end of the game.

Why bring up such a horrible memory? Show how far we have come, and how long it took to get there.

Really amazed at how the football team has transformed under Cut.

[grossbus]

Navy RB Johnny Sai broke through and went 97 yards for a TD. .

With Biff Bracy, recently returned from an ankle injury, two steps behind him the whole way.

[Acymetric]

We tore one goalpost down in the pouring rain on Aug. 31, 2002 after a win over East Carolina. That snapped a 23-game Duke losing streak. As a junior, it was the first time in my undergrad tenure that Duke won a football game.
I also heard tell of a goalpost coming down after the win over Clemson in 2004, though I had graduated by then. And at least one goalpost should have come down after Jamison's catch to beat the heels in 2012, but my understanding is that stadium security types make it a lot harder to tear one down nowadays than it used to be.

I'm pretty sure we tore the goalposts down after one of Roof's rare wins (last season or two of his career). Seems as though there was a head injury, possibly not enough people there to properly tear one down.

[duke09hms]

I'm pretty sure we tore the goalposts down after one of Roof's rare wins (last season or two of his career). Seems as though there was a head injury, possibly not enough people there to properly tear one down.

Yep, fall 2007, I was there. We had beaten Northwestern away in Evanston, and so we tore down a goalpost and dragged it all the way to the front of the Chapel. For some reason, we then tried to stand it up, and it fell over and nailed a girl in the head. She was fine afterwards.

[AtlDuke72]

We tore one goalpost down in the pouring rain on Aug. 31, 2002 after a win over East Carolina. That snapped a 23-game Duke losing streak..

The goal posts came down in 1972 when Steve Jones led the Devils to a 9-3 win over Stanford which was #3 in the country at the time. The game was played at Stanford.