Best game(s) you saw in person?

[Mike_Lowery]

for me...


...last game of the regular season for Hawaii and BYU in 2001. Hawaii hosted undefeated #8 BYU, a team angry for being snubbed by the BCS. Hawaii demolished BYU with 8 TD passes by Nick Rolovich. It would be Ashley Lelie's last game before being drated by the Broncos. Hawaii hung 72 points on Cougars, who scored 45.

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

Growing up in 1960s LA gave us opportunities to see baseball greats such as Dodgers - Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, Leo Duroucher and an over-the-shoulder catch and throw from Chaves Ravine's center field by Willie Mays, footballers/Rams Roman Gabriel, The Fearsome Foursome, nemesis Vikings' QB Joe Kapp hurtling over the line and into the end zone, Lakers Jerry West and Elgin Baylor, many USC/UCLA/UC rivalries at The Colussium.
But the best game in recent memory had to be the 1st game of the (199?) pre-season at Blaisdel between the NBA Champion Lakers w/Magic and the team they beat in the West finals at the previous season's end. Both teams, full of superstars, still had chips on their shoulder's and wanted nothing but to whoop the stuffing out of the other this night, and they all played like it was a final game #7 for World Title.

[Seeking Penance]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

10/18/1997 USC versus Notre Dame USC wins 20-17 - crowd went crazy!!!

USC kicked their cooties right where it hurts.

Huge USC fan!!! Generations of my family are USC alumni.

GO USC!!!!

[jdub]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

I got to see the Chicago Cubs stomp on the Twins 12-4 at Wrigley Field a few years back, from the bleachers in left field (one of several Wrigley games I am fortunate enough to have attended while my younger sister was working the improv circuit in the Windy City). Watching the Cubs play at Wrigley is a uniquely singular experience, and I'd suggest to anyone with a chance to get to one to get to one. The legendary hotdogs are legendary for good reason. Have one.

[Vanguard]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

Connect-4, 1986

[NoCal Boy]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

GO USC!!!!

(Cough!) NCAA sanctions! (Cough!) Strip '04 title! (Cough!)
Tell me, SP, does your moniker have anything to do with guilt over your school's illegal recruiting and booster activities?

This proud UCLA Bruin has to count the '95 Mens NCAA Final Four as the best game(s) I've ever attended. Watching my alma mater win the national championship in my favorite sport (college hoops) in one of my favorite cities (Seattle) is one of my most cherished memories. Flew up the morning of the semis without tickets, paid a scalper for nosebleed seats (third deck of the dearly departed Kingdome for a basketball game!), crashed in a friend's basement with their dog.... Aaah, the memories! Victory over Oklahoma State in the semifinals and defending champion Arkansas in the final. One of the best weekends of my life!

[Mike_Lowery]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

Connect-4, 1986

I actually saw a kid beat 5 straight adults in Connect Four today. Lil fella double troubled all 5 of them.

[Seeking Penance]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

(Cough!) NCAA sanctions! (Cough!) Strip '04 title! (Cough!)
Tell me, SP, does your moniker have anything to do with guilt over your school's illegal recruiting and booster activities?

*coughs* bite me

[oceanpacific]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

I've never seen a real NFL, NBA, or major league baseball game in person.. So my choices are all UH games.

FOOTBALL:

1) UH 56, BYU 14 (1989) - first win over the Coogs in 15 years; near-flawless execution of the offense by QB Garrett Gabriel (22-29 passing, eight TDs in first nine possessions); relentless defensive pursuit; the crowd was calling for blood, and they got it; I re-watch it on DVD on lazy afternoons when there's nothing else on the tube;

2) UH 59, BYU 28 (1990) - deja vu, all over, again; it looked like a re-run of 1989; BYU was #4 and Ty Detmar just won the Heisman that afternoon, but it was Gabriel with the Heisman-like performance; a fitting end to an otherwise mediocre 7-5 season;

3) UH 72, BYU 45 (2001) - total demolition of BYU (12-0 coming in); coming-out party for redshirt freshman Chad Owens; 543 passing yards and 8 passing TDs for Rolo; it put an end to the BYU talk of suing because the BCS snubbed them;

4) UH 31, Fresno 24 (1999) - this was the capper in June Jones' first season to bring UH back from the depths of 1998's "perfecto" (0-12); this clinched the winning season, bid to the Oahu Bowl, and a share of the WAC crown (worst-to-first);

5) UH 38, Fresno 34 (2001) - Rolo's fade to Ashley Lelie in the end zone for the winning TD with 00:13 left in the game; made possible by Nate Jackson's strip of the ball from Fresno QB David Carr in the dying minutes of the game;

6) UH 35, Washington 28 (2007) - amazing comeback from a 21-0 deficit to the Huskies to cap the perfect 12-0 regular season mark; Colt at his finest with five TD tosses, four to Jason Rivers; defense shut-out U-Dub in the second half;

BASKETBALL:

1) UH 30, Florida State 10 (1971) - the infamous "forfeit game;" In a mere 8:17 of action, the 'Bows sliced, diced, and shredded the bigger and taller Seminoles in all aspects of the game; it wasn't a matter of statistics, but of hustling, intimidation, and DEFENSE which carried the day; four days later, the re-match was played, this time for the entire game; UH won again, 81-76, to prove it was no fluke;

2) UH 84, Michigan State 62 (2005) - a total rout of the pre-season top 10 squad and to think that MSU brought in their own officiating crew; a treat for the "white-out" crowd in the nearly sold-out SSC;

3) UH 76, Kansas 65 (1997) - Rainbow Classic title game; so what that Rafe LaFrenz was out due to injury; the Jayhawks still had Paul Pierce on hand with a host of McDonald's AA prep recruits; AC, Alika, Easy E, and Micah Kroeger were too much (remember Galloway's blocked shot?), the final margin of 11 was only that low because of two Pierce treys in the last minute of the game;

4) UH 84, Long Beach 79 (1990) - second-round NIT; the 49ers were quick, explosive, and loaded from top-to-bottom; UH countered with Smalls, Houston, Bowe, Gaines, and a host of role players to overcome a halftime deficit; the crowd was unreal;

5) UH 84, Pitt 82 (1190) - Rainbow Classic title game; 1-2 punch of Ray Reed (35 pts.) and Phil Lott (19 pts.), both RC all-star picks carried the day for UH; ironically, Reed did not win the tourney MVP award, that going to Pitt's Jason Mathews, who scored only 15 points in the finale;

6) tie between UH 69, BYU 66 (1994) and UH 70, BYU 67 (1995) - the first was the Trevor Ruffin buzzer-beater, the second was Tes Whitlock's, both were preceded by BYU turnovers with the scores tied; Whitlock's shot was an ESPY nominee.

Not listed are the 1994 WAC Tourney title game (UH 73, BYU 66) and 2001 WAC tourney title game (UH 78, Tulsa 72 OT) because like most of you, I saw the game on the tube, not in person.

[Seeking Penance]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

So my choices are all UH games.

*laughs uncontrollably*

[oceanpacific]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

SP, you sound like a pompous U$C apologist!

[Kalalau]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

Oregon v. BYU @ Autzen Stadium in Eugene in the early 1990's; the place was packed, loaded with screaming fans even a half hour before the game. BYU came in with a nice record and Oregon totally demolished them. Its always nice to see BYU lose. Afterwards, up on Skinner's Butte overlooking town, some BYU fans were...crying! So we all chanted Go Ducks!!! BYU had no poise at all, they seemed totally intimidated, maybe by the crowd, I have never seen them play as badly since, or Oregon with such total domination.

[matapule]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

Huge USC fan!!! Generations of my family are USC alumni.

GO USC!!!!

Today California at USCsucks.

GOOOOOOOOO Bears!

Oh, they had a little party down in Newport;
There was Harry, there was Mary, there was Grace.
Oh, they had a little party down in Newport,
And they had to carry Harry from the place.

Oh, they had to carry Harry to the ferry,
And the ferry carried Harry to the shore;
And the reason that they had to carry Harry to the ferry
Was that Harry couldn't carry any more.

For California, for California,
The hills send back the cry,
We're out to do or die,
For California, for California,
We'll win the game or know the reason why.

And when the game is over, we will buy a keg of booze,
And drink to California 'till we wobble in our shoes.

So drink, tra la la,
Drink, tra la la,
Drink, drank, drunk last night,
Drunk the night before;
Gonna get drunk tonight
Like I never got drunk before;
For when I'm drunk, I'm as happy as can be
For I am member of the Souse family.

Now the Souse family is the best family
That ever came over from old Germany.
There's the Highland Dutch, and the Lowland Dutch,
The Rotterdam Dutch, and the Irish.

Sing glorious, victorious,
One keg of beer for the four of us.
Sing glory be to God that there are no more of us,
For one of us could drink it all alone. Damn near.
Here's to the Irish, dead drunk. The lucky stiffs....

[Surfingfarmboy]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

I'm with Mike on this, at least when it comes to UH football: I too was in the stands December 8, 2001 when I saw the Warriors demolish BYU. So many things I remember about that game: The "over-rated" chants, the "Louisville" chants, the Craig Stutsman punt into the upper deck, talking story with my seat neighbors from Waikele, the guys eating dried cuttlefish behind me, the intense heat and sun (it was a 12 PM start to accomodate the national ESPN audience) and listening to Evan Dobelle on 1420 say, after the game was over, that he, due to UH's record and by virtue of their victory over the then #10 Cougars (who would probably gone BCS had they not lost), wanted to get UH into a post-season bowl.

That game took so long to finish. I remember thinking that I had better hydrate big-time after sitting in the stands for the entire game, as I was running the Honolulu Marathon the next day. I'm pretty sure I left Halawa pretty badly dehydrated as I finished off a six pack of Hawaiian Sun nectar with ease when I got home later that afternoon. If I recall, I ultimately finished the marathon in 3:22.

I still have my ticket stub to that game, and I keep telling myself I'm going to frame it someday, along with the special Advertiser newspaper cover, sold by all the little kids in the parking lot with Advertiser newspapers after the game, proclaiming the Warrior victory over BYU. The ride back to the Windward Side on TheBus' Football Express! after the game was one big party...good times for all who were UH fans.

That game was clearly my favorite UH football game of all-time.

[oceanpacific]

Re: Best game(s) you saw in person?

Farmboy, that game was exactly as you described. It went so long that ESPN broke away from it in the 4th quarter for an NCAA basketball game featuring Syracuse. The actual running time was four hours twenty-five minutes. There was a re-play availble from Oceanic's video-on-demand (VOD) for $2.99 which I ordered and recorded. No commercials or breakaway to the basketball game.