
Book It

I’ve never worn a mask like this. I’ve never been in a temperature that was a single degree. The folks in this pic are sitting (voluntarily) outside, in thirteen degrees below zero. Now I know many of you Yankees (that’s everyone above the Mason-Dixon line to me) and Canadians will scoff and wave your hands. “Oh, that’s NOTHING!” Well, it sounds horrendous. But football fans are die-hard, and this couple was among 50,000 other crazy fools.
It was the FIRST NFL game ever played in subzero weather. New Year’s Eve, 1967, Green Bay’s Lambeau Field, kicking off to the Dallas Cowboys. And while the Packers scored a victory, the fans may have proven a bit too rowdy. RIP, goal post.
During the 1946 football season, it took five KU Jayhawks to bring down down Wichita “Wheatshockers'” Linwood Sexton. However, the final score was Kansas 14, Wichita 7. Sexton, one of the first African-Americans to play for Wichita State, went on to play halfback for the Los Angeles Dons. A member of the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame, he passed at the age of 90.
Below he is pictured in 2008 with son, Eric, in front of a mural at Koch Arena.
Perhaps it’s the combination of shades and smokes that makes these fellows look too cool for school–too cool to jump up and down anyway. Methinks they don’t want to look overly enthusiastic and wind up looking like Mr. Plaid down below, who appears to be uneasy in applause. Perhaps he has tender palms?
And then there’s the other end of the spectrum. Fans who come out to support the team, rain or shine, not afraid to look excited.
And the cheerleaders sure appreciate it!
In case you didn’t know it, today is National Cheeseburger Day, and Fuddrucker’s is offering their 3-Pound Burger Challenge. If you can finish your burger and 1 lb of fries in ONE HOUR, then you will receive a $25 gift card. Woot! That’s enough to buy some Pepto and Tums. At least now we know where the beef is.
And as far as the image up top, well, that’s actually football coach Bo helping Indiana University beat Minnesota’s Golden Gophers in the fall of 1942.
I found this little nugget in a new-to-me yearbook (that reeks of cigarette smoke and has little torn football ticket halves inside) this morning. Every bit of it makes me smile. The dark-bearded fellow in the floral shirt evokes the (not-then-yet released) movie Urban Cowboy. The fellow in crimson and cream is clearly the aggressor, perhaps Bud-induced, and his failure to don a belt makes me cringe. Beltless jeans make me crazy.
The towheaded guy in orange reminds me of a younger (perhaps more Appalachian) Terry Bradshaw.
Bradshaw Fun Fact: Dallas Cowboys’ linebacker “Hollywood Henderson” infamously said Bradshaw “couldn’t spell ‘cat’ if you spotted him the ‘c’ and the ‘t.'” OUCH.
September 1, 1997
Two Medicare-eligible ladies in sensible flats don their finest LSU purple apparel (they have spirit, yes, they do) and enjoy a pre-game tailgate lap luncheon.