I've always considered myself a tomboy. When I was little I would dig up worms with the boys and I very seldom enjoyed playing with dolls. So it comes as no surprise that I like watching sports. I used to be into NCAA basketball, which I still enjoy, but the sport I love watching the most is football. The action, the crushing of helmets, the great catches, the spectacular plays, the tight pants....
Can you feel it in the air? It's football season once again and I am stoked. Sure, it's difficult when my favorite pro team hasn't been great lately. The Seahawks had won their division for several seasons, but after that "loss" in Super Bowl XL things haven't been going so well. But, they have a new coach, former USC coach Pete Carroll, so we can always hope that this is the start of something great.
Well, I can at least hope that the Seahawks do well enough that our local Fox affiliate won't just stop airing their games partway through the season.
Go Seahawks!
Happy football season, folks!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Sports Buzz: Are you ready?
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Sports Buzz: Rivalries
Recently in the state of Idaho college sports rivalries have been in the news. My former school, the University of Idaho and the local school Boise State have had a rivalry for years and it's pretty intense. It's no North Carolina-Duke or Florida State-Miami, it's more like Oregon-Oregon State or Washington-Washington State. It's the biggest interstate rivalry in college sports.
But, Boise State has gotten a little bit overzealous with a couple of Fiesta Bowl wins and pouting about not being included in a BCS championship game. They just announced this year will be their last in the Western Athletic Conference and that in 2011 Boise State will be a part of the Mountain West Conference. With Boise State wanting to play bigger non-conference teams, this pretty much leaves the Governor's Cup game in the dust. Well, then Boise State changed it's mind and said maybe it'd be okay but there was no way they would play the game as the away team. It seems to me that perhaps Boise State is a little bit scared that if they lose to Idaho at Idaho larger school might think them weak.
Although Boise State essentially wants to end the rivalry series (admittedly they've won the last 10 years in a row, but there was a time when Idaho won 12 in a row. Idaho has had their best season in more than ten years last year, so it could be possible for Idaho to make a comeback), it was only fueled by some comments the president of the university made. Bob Kustra basically said there was no point in playing the game because the Idaho fans were not respectful (when is anyone respectful in a rivalry?). Kustra also indicated that if Idaho did win, what was the advantage for Boise, which would indeed indicate some fear that Idaho may be a worthy opponent.
Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples makes the best point I've read so far: Boise State is essentially shunning their past as "underdogs" and "the little guy" to become a big powerhouse team (which they aren't). By shunning this past, Staples says that Boise State loses the right to ever complain about not being included in something big, say a BSC championship game, ever again.
Certainly I have my opinions and I'm sure they've come out in this post, but it does kind of seem like a case of a famous sibling being too good to visit his roots. It doesn't matter, though, I'm still proud to be a Vandal, even if I live in the middle of orange and blue it won't stop my from bleeding black and gold.
Related Links:
Andy Staples' Commentary on the Rivalry
Boise State-Idaho Wiki
More on Bob Kustra and Duane Nellis on the Rivalry
Editorial About the Rivalry
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
A Special Word...H-Bowl Champs!
I posted earlier today that it was Roady's Humanitarian Bowl on the Smurf Turf in Boise, Idaho. I had no idea the game would be so awesome! For those of you lucky enough to have caught the game, wow! For those of you who missed it, check out ESPN for the highlights or check them out on ESPN's website.
More than 26,000 fans braved the cold and snow to watch this game..."Came a tribe from the North, brave a bold, bearing banners of silver and gold...I-D-A-H-O, Idaho, Idaho, Go, Go, Go!"
It was definitely a tight game, with both teams playing hard. I also liked the fact that it was a friendly game. With three minutes left in the game and in a tie, Idaho had to punt. Bowling Green scored with 31 seconds left. I thought it was over, my other half was consoling me. But Idaho's quarterback Nate Enderle showed the nation why his passes are so great and got the ball down the field. With some great coaching and playing, Idaho ended up scoring a touchdown with 4 seconds left.
Now the team was faced with a dilemma: kick a point and go into overtime or try for two and the win? Coach Akey has so much faith in his team he didn't think twice about sending them in for two. Again with Enderle's great arm they hit the two. With the score 42-43 and 4 seconds left and a 15-yard penalty, Bowling Green still had a chance. But, Idaho's special teams brought down the returner and ended the game!
It was prognosticated that Bowling Green would win by 1 point. They had the 1 point right, they just didn't take into account the heart of Coach Akey, the Idaho Vandals, and the Idaho fans. Idaho hadn't won a bowl game since the 1998 Humanitarian Bowl, so it was great to see this win. I've never been more proud to be a Vandal!
Coach Akey with the trophy:
The Humanitarian Bowl Trophy:
A Special Word: The Humanitarian Bowl
It's the midst of College Football Bowl season, so I wanted to take a special blog post to talk about the Roady's Humanitarian Bowl taking place at Bronco Stadium (on the infamous "Smurf Turf") in Boise, Idaho today at 2:30 local time on ESPN.
This is a relatively small bowl game, this year pitting a MAC (Mid-American Conf.) team against a WAC (Western Athletic Conf.) team. However, what makes it special is that my Alma Mater Idaho is going to be playing in a bowl game for the first time in....well, about 10 years.
I've talked before about the Vandals' problems with players (some had trouble with the law), coaching (a revolving door until Akey came along), and winning (very seldom). This year they've gone 7-5, which could have been better, but is such a huge improvement over last year, where they won, I think, 3 games. The thing about being a fan is that you hurt with the losses, but sticking with your team makes the winning so much sweeter (as opposed to those fans who jump on a "bandwagon" and become fans because a team is winning), so for Vandal fans everywhere, this is a long time coming.
Both Idaho and Bowling Green are already in town and the bowl festivities have commenced including a bowling tournament for charity (good job, BG!).
I want to say good luck to both teams, but I really want to say...
It's exciting for all of the Idaho alumni here in Boise to be able to see our team (instead of our rivals) and in a bowl game nonetheless.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
A special word from...
I have tentatively decided that I like the Tuesday/Thursday format for posts, that way I don't get burned out on exciting content. Hah!
I wanted to make a special Saturday post. Today is a huge day in college football. Okay, it's a big day in college football for the state of Idaho. Today is rivalry day and the University of Idaho Vandals are taking on the Boise State Broncos on the smurf turf. (Note my diplomacy here).
I've been a Vandals fan forever. I don't really know why or how it started, it just did. It only escalated when I actually attended U of I, and I proudly display my diploma at work and a window sticker on my car, despite living in the middle of Bronco nation.
The two teams have been meeting since 1971, of those games the Vandals have won 17 (including a streak from 1982-1993) and the Broncos have won 20 (including a streak that's been ongoing since 1999) and one tie in 1975 before NCAA rules changed. Not only are they playing for bragging rights (which is huge) but also for the Governor's Cup, which has sadly only been in the hands of Boise State because it was created in 2001.
It's no secret that the last 9 years or so the Vandals have been, well, bad. They had some rough luck with single season coaches and team member issues. Finally, coach Robb Akey (click here to vote for him as coach of the year) left his job at nearby Washington State University to take the head coaching position at Idaho. The turnaround the Vandals have seen this year has been incredible. They've gone from winning, I think, 2 games last season to already being potentially bowl bound with a 7-3 record so far.
That's why this rivalry game is so important. This is the first year in a long time that Idaho has a fighting chance to claim bragging rights for the state of Idaho. All of the Vandal fans that I know are extremely proud and excited.
