Football memories

An aerial photo of the 1976 Iowa State vs. Nebraska football game was published on Twitter recently. I was at that game.
Video Link - 6 minutes



That's me in the student section - lower level, upper right (that's the NE side) this photo is from the ISU archives

 Check out what is now know as Jack Trice Stadium - it was just a baby then. It was born a year earlier in 1975. I was oblivious to all of this, of course. I was a college freshman - the world was my oyster. They built the place for me!

I attended one game at the old Clyde Williams Field, located on the west side of Iowa State University's beautiful campus. I was with the Rodgers family and was about 12 years old. My friend Sally's older sis Cindy attended ISU, so Wayne and Anna Day (2 of my very favorite people in the whole world) - Sally's folks, took me along to the school several times as a distraction for their youngest daughter. That's when I fell in love with the school - without even realizing it! The old stadium didn't seem much bigger than the Valley High School stadium!

I've said before how one of the first things I did when I started school was meet a new lifelong friend, Vicki Gernand (now Behr) and walk to the new football stadium while sharing life stories to buy a ticket. That year they were General Admission (like they are again now) for students. That meant for big games, some students camped out all night in order to be first in line for the best spots.

You may be able to see in the photo that the stadium was surrounded by a mere chain link fence. I must have gotten up darn early that day. I'm sure it was Vic that insisted we do so. The years we lived in the dorms in Shilling House, we variously attended games with our dorm group matched up with a guys' dorm house and just on our own. I remember that game was over the top! I got a "Huck the Fuskers" sticker to commemorate the occasion. Recall I'm from Atlantic, where Husker fans have tormented ISU fans from the beginning of time.

It was November 13th. We lined up on the east side of the stadium, not far back from the front of the line - perhaps 6 deep. There were no security guards back then - so we carried in anything we wanted to. Most of us had pints of some type of liquor. I think it was some type of vodka for me...this leopard don't change her spots. As the gatekeepers began to approach to unlock the gates, the crowd began to surge, pushing those in front against the fence.

I saw people begin to get crushed - it was scary! A girl got some of her long hair pulled out and began to scream and cry. Paul told me he heard someone lost a finger (the lore!). The gates opened and people ran willy nilly (you can't tell that from the video linked) up the stairs. I saw someone drop their fifth of vodka. Tragic! We ran up the steps and found decent seats with our group.

My Junior year, ISU decided general seating was too dangerous - after several incidents like those described above. Everyone purchasing tickets got their group together and went into a lottery for ticketing location - kind of like how the adults do it. We (my roomies Jane, Sal, Vic and I) bought our tickets with Moose and Steve. We were assigned Section R. That's bad - nosebleed. Steve even came up with a cheer.

We like our Cyclone Football
We like it near not far
So F#*$ the damn computer
That stuck us here in R

I'm surprised computers had been invented! haha. We did that cheer every game. After a few years, I think the administration gave up on assigned seats. I still look at section R to see who is sitting there.

Rocking the big glasses and ISU cowboy hats and button down shirts - Hauser is in front of us - with hair!

Do I remember much about the game? Sadly not really. I have a blended memory of many games. We had those big plastic cups with soda pop and ice - perfect as mixers with liquor. We usually drank many! Those cups stacked nicely and were reused in dorms rooms and homes for years. There were not enough restrooms at the stadium then. During team warmups, the cheerleaders had big speakers on the field - no Jumbotron, sound system or fancy scoreboard. We listened to Rubberband Man and Shake Your Booty.

The Cyclones forced several turnovers and Luther Blue ran a kickoff back. Dexter Green was great and Mike Stensrud was a stud on D.

Final Score - ISU 37 - Nebraska 28. We students rushed the field. It was crazy and a bit scary. I'll never forget seeing the goalposts heading down Lincoln Way after the game - traffic parted! My freshman year was a good football year, and I didn't even realize it! I was busy getting acclimated to college. Such a long time ago. Football and I have changed a lot. We're both a bit more jaded now! I miss playing Nebraska in football - such a natural rivalry. Ah well - things change.

I can't wait to watch next week's games.