IU football memories past and present

OK, the next post will be for real. Tomorrow, I'm meeting up with WIUX's finest, Dan Morgenstern, on the way to Indy. Saturday, we hit the road.

But before we get out the Travel Yahtzee, I asked the guys to come up with a list of football memories - good and bad - we've accumulated over the years. Here's what we came up with in no paticular order.

1. Beating Purdue this year. Watching the students rush the Memorial Stadium field was one of those surreal moments where you barely trust your senses. Is this really happening? In Bloomington? After everything? Couldn't have been scripted any better.

2. Meeting Coach Hep. The man seemed a bit delusional at times (He once referred to the IU football program as a "soaring rocket ship" on live television.), but it was the kind of crazy that made sane people want to forget about silly things like being realistic. Coach Hep turned a bunch of hard Hoosier cynics into mild believers. That in itself is a commendable accomplishment.

I can remember the day IU announced Terry Hoeppner as the new coach and thinking "Who?" Today, I can answer my question with "The greatest thing to happen to IU football since Bill Mallory, that's who."

3. Loss to Penn State in 2004. Another forgettable year in IU football, but this game was particularly painful because of the way the Hoosiers found a way to lose. In the closing minutes of the game, IU had the ball near the goal line down by four with four plays to score the go-ahead touchdown. Two runs up the middle, a failed option right and another pathetic attempt up the middle. Game over. Good one, Gerry.

4. Kellen Lewis saves IU's bacon in Muncie. Down 17-0 in the second quarter against a MAC school with the third-string freshman quarterback taking his first snaps under center? Not the typical formula for victory. Then again, there's not much that is typical about Kellen Lewis. In his Hoosier debut, Lewis led IU to a 24-23 come-from-behind victory, accounting for more than 300 yards of offense and recording his first passing and rushing touchdowns.

A bunch of us made the trip to Muncie for that Sept. 2006 game and braved the rain that soaked the stands in the second half. Lewis' athleticism made a miserable downpour seem like a slight sprinkle.

5. Tailgating mayhem and general debauchery. Some of us awoke like children on Christmas morning on those autumn Saturdays to round everyone up and ensure prime parking position in the tailgating fields. Some of us constructed pinatas of the opposing quarterback to beat on before heading to Memorial Stadium. Some of us misused Wiffle Ball bats. All of us had a good time - at least we look like we are having a good time in the surfacing pictures. Oh, and the highest row of Memorial Stadium is a no-kite flying zone (even if you are wearing your Halloween costume).

6. Unlike baseball, there is crying in football. Everyone has felt it creep up on them at some point this season. Whether it was during the tribute to Coach Hep before the season opener, a dramatic ESPN exclusive with Jane Hoeppner or a sudden mental connection that brought a lump to the throat, everyone has felt the loss of Coach Hep in some way. The man will never be replaced, but his legacy will always inspire us.

7. Loss to Southern Illinois in 2006. This was another low point. The Salukis, a Division I-A program, steamrolled over the Hoosiers 35-28, while we watched from the stands wearing garbage bags beneath ominous skies. One of those days where you question the value of a college education.

8. Wins over Iowa in 2006 and 2007. No team has boosted IU's confidence like Iowa the last two seasons. In 2006, the Hoosiers toppled the No. 15-ranked Hawkeyes 31-28 prompting the "rocket ship" comment from Coach Hep. In 2007, IU spoiled the Hawkeyes' homecoming 38-20 and prompted one of the oddest scoring plays in football history when Kellen Lewis was credited with a 71-yard touchdown pass to...Kellen Lewis. Yeah, he's that good.

(OK, actually he recovered a fumble off of a passing play and took it to the house. The box score, however, makes Lewis look mythic.)

9. Gerry gets a road win in 2004. IU's win against No. 25 Oregon in 2004 was a fluke, we will be the first to admit that, but it was a memorable fluke. On that night, we watched the game from City Grille, DiNardo looked like a competent coach with a 2-0 team and I devoured the hottest wings on the menu. Since then, City Grille has gone out of business and Gerry has moved from the sideline to the TV studio. My stomach, however, is still recovering from those wings.

10. The first down march. It's a good workout. Plus, football is a lot more fun when your team gets first downs.