Introducing myself to the NFL board

[Mr Opinionated]

Good day all,

I lived in the good ole USA for 8 years (thanks to duel citizenship)

My father grew up in Pennsylvania and was a huge Steelers and Penn State Nittany Lions fan and I remember watching a college bowl game between Penn State and Miami Hurricanes around New Years 1987 whilst snowed in a motel in upstate New York. I had no idea what was going on. That was my first game of American football.

I moved to the United States in mid '98 to a small college town near Buffalo so naturally I gravitated to the team that lost 4 Super Bowls in a row. Then on January 8, 2000 the Bills lost the unloseable game in the Music City Miracle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_City_Miracle

My girlfriend at the time was a tragic Bills fan and was devastated. I was not so. I don't think the Bills have been to the playoffs since.

In 2001 I was accepted to the University of Oklahoma. Home of the Sooners. And quickly fell in love with college football. I love the passion and rivalries associated with college football. The first thing I was taught when stepping on campus was to HATE the Longhorns (The University of Texas)

Weekends from September through January were spent in front of the TV (when not at a game) watching game after game, on channel after channel.
Saturday was college football day when there were as much as 15-20 games on TV, starting at 11am and finishing after midnight.
Sunday was pro day with less number of games on, but starting at 12pm and finishing around 10pm.

As for players?

I naturally have soft spot for OU players and ex-players. Adrian Peterson being prime example. I saw him in an all star high school gameand immediately knew he was going to be an amazing star. He has the talent to be an all time great (barring serious injuries)

Other players I admire/respect (of whom I have seen play):
Barry Sanders (didn't see much of him but what saw WOW)
Tommie Harris
Devin Hester
Peyton Manning (maybe considered the best ever when he retires)
Julius Peppers (first college game I saw was OU against North Carolina and this guy was a beast)
John Elway and Brett Favre
Jerry Rice

Teams I soft spot for (other then Buffalo and the Sooners):
Philadelphia Eagles
Minnesota Vikings
Chicago Bears
Syracuse Orange


Teams I loathe:
Dallas Cowboys
NY Jets
NY Giants (i tend to hate all NYC pro teams from the Yankees to the Rangers and Islanders)
Miami Dolphins
University of Texas Longhorns
USC
Florida State Seminoles (ex-girlfriends team)
and the worse of them all ... Oklahoma State Cowboys

But that is just my opinion

 

[Roll Tide]

Good day all,

I lived in the good ole USA for 8 years (thanks to duel citizenship)

My father grew up in Pennsylvania and was a huge Steelers and Penn State Nittany Lions fan and I remember watching a college bowl game between Penn State and Miami Hurricanes around New Years 1987 whilst snowed in a motel in upstate New York. I had no idea what was going on. That was my first game of American football.

In 2001 I was accepted to the University of Oklahoma. Home of the Sooners. And quickly fell in love with college football. I love the passion and rivalries associated with college football. The first thing I was taught when stepping on campus was to HATE the Longhorns (The University of Texas)

Weekends from September through January were spent in front of the TV (when not at a game) watching game after game, on channel after channel.
Saturday was college football day when there were as much as 15-20 games on TV, starting at 11am and finishing after midnight.

Welcome! I'm glad I'm not the only one here who has a passion for college football.

How do you follow the Sooners from far away? Do you listen to radio broadcasts online, or can you watch some games on satellite tv?

How many games did you attend while at OU, and what were the most memorable ones you attended?

 

[Mr Opinionated]

Welcome! I'm glad I'm not the only one here who has a passion for college football.

How do you follow the Sooners from far away? Do you listen to radio broadcasts online, or can you watch some games on satellite tv?

How many games did you attend while at OU, and what were the most memorable ones you attended?

It is hard to follow college football in Australia BUT Foxtel does show the odd game and showed most of the bowls AND with the improvement of internet technology (I have ADSL2 with downloads capabilities of 1mb/s) I will be able to watch American TV online this upcoming season.

I also listen to radio online

I attended most games while attending OU. Awesome being a student and seated among fellow students

Most memorable:
2001 vs North Carolina - first game I ever attended. Made even more memorable by thunderstorms hitting as the game finished. Also we won 41-27

2001 vs Texas - one of the most awesome experiences to watch OU and the Longhorns go hammer and tong at the Cotton Bowl. One half of the stadium is crimson and cream while the other half of the stadium is Burnt Orange. This year we won 14-3 thanks to a stout defence and the Superman Roy Williams play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1MpHG5x6q0

2001 vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys - lost 16-13 in the final minute at home to a pathetic team to ruin our chance to go up against the awesome power of the Miami Hurricanes. The previous day Nebraska got beat by Colorado, 62-24, but still got to play in the National Championship game. Sometimes the most memorable games are the ones you lose when you shouldn't.

2002 vs. Alabama Crimson Tide - you might remember this one. OU big at the half (24-7 or 24-3) then the Tide came roaring back and took the lead before the Sooners snuck home with two late TD's. Awesome game.

Then I went to Alaska for 6 months and missed the rest of the season.

2003 vs. Texas. 65-13. I'll repeat that. 65-13. 65-13. Very satisfying to see one half the Cotton Bowl void of Burnt Orange.

2003 vs. Texas A&M. 77-0. I'll repeat that again. 77-0. And the score could have been much higher since the Sooners (even though criticized later) tried not to score in the final quarter. Yeah, that's right, they did everything not to score in the 4th quarter.

2004 vs. Bowling Green. 40-24. First glimpse of Adrian Peterson (AD - the nickname of Adrian Peterson).

2005 vs. Oklahoma State. 42-14. One of the last games I got to attend and I saw two HUGE runs by AD. One was an 80+ yarder. The other was a 70 yarder. The second cutbacks in the second run was just phenomenal ...

http://www.adrian-peterson.com/adrian-peterson-video-tribute.html

(plays begin at the 3:43)

What about you?
What are your most memorable games?
How long have you been a fan?

 

[Bumble]

You don't hate the Ravens

You can stay.

 

[Mr Opinionated]

You don't hate the Ravens

You can stay.

The Ravens have quite a few Sooners on their roster, so I don't mind watching them at all.

Kelly Gregg
Mark Clayton
Chris Chester
Dan Cody
Allen Patrick (just drafted, probably will get cut)

Probably the best Sooner representation on any pro-team.
Plus Gregg is a legend.

 

[pennywisealfie]

by god king! boomer sooner! what a slobberknocker!

i cant stand the sooners and u cant stand the trojans, we will get along famously

 

[Ron Jeremy]

G'day, mate i'm a huge Bills fan, i remember the 4 superbowls, players like Reed, Talley, Smith, Hull, Kelly etc, i remember games like trouncing KC with the likes of Montana, Allen 44-10, i remember Doug Flutie and f**kwit Rob Johnson, i remember the music city game ( even though i thought the pass wasn't thrown behind the line).

I'm extremely looking forward to this season, our draft was terrific, our recruits eg Stroud etc are class, and we have a great young QB and runing back together with a offensive line that produced the least amount of sacks last year in Buffalo history.

 

[Bumble]

The Ravens have quite a few Sooners on their roster, so I don't mind watching them at all.

Kelly Gregg
Mark Clayton
Chris Chester
Dan Cody
Allen Patrick (just drafted, probably will get cut)

Probably the best Sooner representation on any pro-team.
Plus Gregg is a legend.

You're not wrong.

Welcome

 

[Roll Tide]

2002 vs. Alabama Crimson Tide - you might remember this one. OU big at the half (24-7 or 24-3) then the Tide came roaring back and took the lead before the Sooners snuck home with two late TD's. Awesome game.

Yeah I was afraid you would mention that one, but it was great to see two of the most storied college football programs play a home-and-home series. I hope Bama and OU play each other again, but with a different result of course. ;-)

2003 vs. Texas A&M. 77-0. I'll repeat that again. 77-0. And the score could have been much higher since the Sooners (even though criticized later) tried not to score in the final quarter. Yeah, that's right, they did everything not to score in the 4th quarter.

I thoroughly enjoyed the outcome of that one too. Texas A&M's coach at the time, Dennis Franchione, left Alabama in an unethical way the previous year, so an embarrassing defeat like that couldn't have happened to a more deserving coach. ;-)

The 2003 Sooners were an awesome bunch and really knew how to dismantle their opposition.

2004 vs. Bowling Green. 40-24. First glimpse of Adrian Peterson (AD - the nickname of Adrian Peterson).

I owe a debt of gratitude to the 2004 Sooners for keeping Auburn out of the national title game.:thumb

It's a shame that Adrian Peterson left after his junior year. If he had stayed, it would have been a two man race for the Heisman between he and McFadden.

Thanks for sharing your experiences as a spectator.

What about you?
What are your most memorable games?
How long have you been a fan?

I've been a fan since the end of the '92 season. I was 7 years old at the time and began to understand the game

I have many memorable games which I've attended. Among them:

1993 vs. Louisiana Tech - My first Bama game. On the field it was a 56-3 Bama victory, but they had to forfeit the win later in the season due to an ineligible player's participation.

1995 vs. LSU - Alabama 10 LSU 3. Low scoring, but the Bama defense was awesome that day. I sat in the LSU fan section, and it was funny to watch the LSU fans whine about the outcome of the game.

1996 vs. Ole Miss - Alabama 37 Ole Miss 0. The Rebels could have played 12 quarters of football on that day and they still wouldn't have scored.

1998 vs. East Carolina - Alabama 23 ECU 22. A blocked extra point by Bama which was returned for 2 points saved The Tide from a humiliating defeat.

1998 vs. Auburn - Alabama 31 Auburn 17. Auburn scored the first 17 points; Alabama scored the last 31! This was the last Auburn game in Legion Field.

1999 vs. Auburn - Alabama 28 Auburn 17. Bama's first in in Auburn. Shaun Alexander ran wild in the 4th quarter and led The Tide to victory!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=giMfJmsLP4k

2001 vs. Mississippi State - Alabama 24 Mississippi State 17. Bama was down by 7 at the start of the 4th quarter, but the Crimson Tide offense scored 2 touchdowns, and the defense played their hearts out to win it.

2002 vs. Middle Tennessee State -Alabama 39 MTSU 34. The Mid Tennies appeared to be on a game winning drive in the 4th quarter. On said drive, Bama linebacker Freddie Roach picked off a pass and took it straight to the end zone. MTSU would score again, but The Tide recovered the onside kick attempt.

2003 vs. South Florida - Alabama 40 South Florida 17. This game featured an interception return for a touchdown by Charlie Peprah and a punt return for a touchdown by Shaud Williams. This was Bama's final game at Legion Field.

2003 vs. Tennessee - Tennessee 51 Alabama 43 after 5 overtimes. Bama had about 4 or 5 chances to win the game on one play. This was the 2nd most shattering loss I've experienced as a fan; the '97 Auburn game was slightly worse. I hate overtime and I wish ties would return to college football.

2004 vs. Western Carolina - Alabama 52 WCU 0. The outcome wasn't a surprise, but QB Brodie Croyle tore ligaments in his knee which ended his season. The 2004 Alabama offense never recovered from his absence.

2005 vs. Southern Miss - Alabama 30 Southern Miss 21. Tyrone Prothro made a catch for the ages.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=T2ikUyrOhkg

2005 vs. Ole Miss - Alabama 13 Ole Miss 10. Jamie Christensen broke the tie with a 31 yard field goal as time expired. I was sitting behind the goalposts which he kicked it through.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=x98QiEHDpKk

2006 vs. Hawaii - Alabama 25 Hawaii 17. This was the first game after Bryant-Denny Stadium's most recent expansion. 92,138 fans saw Bama's defense prevent Hawaii's vaunted offense from scoring a tying touchdown and conversion in the final seconds.

2006 vs. Duke - Alabama 30 Duke 14. Bama trailed at halftime to the worst team in the BCS. This was a moral defeat.

2006 Division II title game - Northwest Missouri State vs. Grand Valley State. This game is played annually in Florence, Alabama, so I drove up to see it for the first time. Sometimes it's nice to go to a game where you don't have an emotional investment in either team. GVSU won 17-14.

2007 vs. Arkansas - Alabama 41 Arkansas 38. Bama twice had a 3 touchdown lead, but Darren McFadden and the Hogs fought back to pull ahead. Bama got the ball back after a huge defensive stand with less than 3 minutes to go and scored the game winning touchdown with 8 seconds left on the clock. When Matt Caddell caught the game-winning TD pass, it was the loudest I've ever heard Bryant-Denny Stadium. I know I acted like a complete idiot when it happened! It was the first big win of the Saban Era, and Bama had finally overcome a 4th quarter deficit.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Q89Qbwmgyw&feature=related

2007 vs. Tennessee - Alabama 41 Tennessee 17. I'll say that again - 41-17! I finally got to see The Tide dismantle the vomiteers! QB John-Parker Wilson and WR DJ Hall were outstanding on that day, as was Terry Grant. Kareem Jackson had two interceptions. He single-handedly quelled any momentum the Tennessee offense had after his first pick. It was fun to wave goodbye to the orange clad fans leaving BDS!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WTktptMiooI

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EnjCsNnIpyE

I wish I could give all the details of every Bama game I've ever attended, but I think I've taken up enough server space!