January 2, 1987 - The Day We Realized How Awesome A Title Game Could Be

selmaborntidefan · Jan 2, 2019

http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=fiesta87

For the time it was a rarity. #1 met #2 in a winner-take-all game for the national championship. We had endured competing claims for the national title each of the four previous seasons.

The game was originally scheduled for New Year's Day - but was such a big deal that NBC put it on in Friday night prime time (again - this wasn't done back then on network TV).

While we have since found out some real dirt about the champions that year, it was nice at the time to have an undisputed champion.

And no, the better team probably didn't win. It happens.

Evil Crimson Dragon · Jan 2, 2019

Was that the game here Miami showed up at one of the pre game ceremonies dressed in camo , and walked out on a dinner that PSU players were at?

selmaborntidefan · Jan 2, 2019

Keeter said:
Was that the game here Miami showed up at one of the pre game ceremonies dressed in camo , and walked out on a dinner that PSU players were at?

Yep.

STONECOLDSABAN · Jan 2, 2019

Keeter said:
Was that the game here Miami showed up at one of the pre game ceremonies dressed in camo , and walked out on a dinner that PSU players were at?

Yep, And what is sadder is if you watched the 30 for 30 documentary. Most of those guys never grew up.

selmaborntidefan · Jan 2, 2019

There are a few factual errors in this article:

1) This was Jan. 2, 1987, and for the first time, the college football season had been extended beyond New Year's Day.

I'll set aside the years the bowl games were on January 2 because of NFL playoff games on Jan 1.
The fact is that the 1981 Peach Bowl was played on January 2 after the big bowl games were on January 1.

2) You know how everybody puts up four fingers when the fourth quarter comes around? That was us.

It's amusing how many times I've heard Miami folks say that. I have Alabama games on tape of the Tide doing that before most of those players were even born.

jabcmb · Jan 2, 2019

selmaborntidefan said:
...2) You know how everybody puts up four fingers when the fourth quarter comes around? That was us.

It's amusing how many times I've heard Miami folks say that. I have Alabama games on tape of the Tide doing that before most of those players were even born.

Thank you. Nobody believes me when I tell them and I have no proof except my memory of it starting. It was several years before it was copied by others.

selmaborntidefan · Jan 2, 2019

jabcmb said:
Thank you. Nobody believes me when I tell them and I have no proof except my memory of it starting. It was several years before it was copied by others.

I don't know whether we "began" it or not - but I've heard Miami players try to claim that nonsense, and I had seen us do it long before I even knew who Miami was.

BradtheImpaler · Jan 2, 2019

selmaborntidefan said:
There are a few factual errors in this article: 1) This was Jan. 2, 1987, and for the first time, the college football season had been extended beyond New Year's Day.
I'll set aside the years the bowl games were on January 2 because of NFL playoff games on Jan 1.
The fact is that the 1981 Peach Bowl was played on January 2 after the big bowl games were on January 1.
2) You know how everybody puts up four fingers when the fourth quarter comes around? That was us.
It's amusing how many times I've heard Miami folks say that. I have Alabama games on tape of the Tide doing that before most of those players were even born.

They're also a little fuzzy on the cutting of jerseys.

selmaborntidefan · Jan 2, 2019

Yeah, it's amazing how those self-important punks thought "we invented this and we invented that." The only thing they might have invented was the utter disrespect. (Their captains turned their backs on us rather than shake hands at the 93 Sugar Bowl).

Al A Bama · Jan 2, 2019

selmaborntidefan said:
Yeah, it's amazing how those self-important punks thought "we invented this and we invented that." The only thing they might have invented was the utter disrespect. (Their captains turned their backs on us rather than shake hands at the 93 Sugar Bowl).

And during the game, they got what they deserved!

When you think of CLASS, you think of Bama players. When you think of a LACK of class, you think of Miami.

DzynKingRTR · Jan 2, 2019

selmaborntidefan said:
There are a few factual errors in this article:

1) This was Jan. 2, 1987, and for the first time, the college football season had been extended beyond New Year's Day.

I'll set aside the years the bowl games were on January 2 because of NFL playoff games on Jan 1.
The fact is that the 1981 Peach Bowl was played on January 2 after the big bowl games were on January 1.

2) You know how everybody puts up four fingers when the fourth quarter comes around? That was us.

It's amusing how many times I've heard Miami folks say that. I have Alabama games on tape of the Tide doing that before most of those players were even born.

like the turnover chain. I still hear analyst say Miami was first and everybody copied it and got their own.

NationalTitles18 · Jan 2, 2019

In fact, Miami invented football. They're working on the stadum thing.

EnterBama · Jan 3, 2019

jabcmb said:
Thank you. Nobody believes me when I tell them and I have no proof except my memory of it starting. It was several years before it was copied by others.

My freshman year at Alabama was 1972. They were doing it in games then and I'll bet it had been going on for some time. Coach Bryant and Coach Saban both believe in players being in better condition than their opponent. I don't know if Coach Bryant actually had something called the 4th quarter program like Coach Saban does but Alabama players back then experienced it.

I won't mention his name but my freshman next door dorm roommate walked-on and eventually became a starter with a scholarship. He tried to talk me into joining him in walking on but I told him no way.

Redwood Forrest · Jan 3, 2019

NationalTitles17 said:
In fact, Miami invented football. They're working on the stadum thing.

Actually Urban Meyer invented Miami. You youngsters won't get this one.

RedWave · Jan 3, 2019

Redwood Forrest said:
Actually Urban Meyer invented Miami. You youngsters won't get this one.

I thought that was Al Gore.

deliveryman35 · Jan 3, 2019

I’ll never forget the name of the Penn State player that intercepted Testaverde on the last play to end that game—Pete Giftoupolos. For some reason it was just burned into my memory that night.

editder · Jan 3, 2019

Al A Bama said:
And during the game, they got what they deserved!

When you think of CLASS, you think of Bama players. When you think of a LACK of class, you think of Miami.

selmaborntidefan said:
Yeah, it's amazing how those self-important punks thought "we invented this and we invented that." The only thing they might have invented was the utter disrespect. (Their captains turned their backs on us rather than shake hands at the 93 Sugar Bowl).

The only thing that tempers my hatred for them somewhat was their beat down of Notre Dame around that time — might have been that same year or the next.

Update: It was 1987. I noticed while looking this up that Miami beat UF 31-4 that year. What an odd score.

TideEngineer08 · Jan 3, 2019

EnterBama said:
My freshman year at Alabama was 1972. They were doing it in games then and I'll bet it had been going on for some time. Coach Bryant and Coach Saban both believe in players being in better condition than their opponent. I don't know if Coach Bryant actually had something called the 4th quarter program like Coach Saban does but Alabama players back then experienced it.

I won't mention his name but my freshman next door dorm roommate walked-on and eventually became a starter with a scholarship. He tried to talk me into joining him in walking on but I told him no way.

Oh he definitely had a program. Probably going all the way back to the beginning of his head coaching days. I would say at least as far back as Kentucky, from the books I've read. In fact, everyone talks about Junction his first season at Texas A&M, but I've seen it written that his conditioning practices were even tougher at Alabama than they were at Junction.

January 2, 1987 - The Day We Realized How Awesome A Title Game Could Be

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