Fireside with Fury; Some Random Musings

Last week I discussed a book written by Steelers sportswriter Jim Wexell called Steeler Nation, Pittsburgh Team, an American Phenomenon.  I stated that I've never really been a fan of Wexell but I thought this was a great book, especially if you love trivia or other useless information.  The gist behind the book is Wexell and his buddy take a road trip across the U.S. during the 2007 season's away games in search of Steelers fans, players, family members, coaches and local sports experts to better understand the following the Steelers have.  A few tidbits from Wexell's book that I found interesting:

• Saturday Night in Cleveland.  Perhaps the start of the Steeler fans domination of opposing stadiums.  It started in 1960 and went until 1970.  Art Modell came up with the idea and they found that the Steeler fans made the short trip across the turnpike and bought a ton of tickets.  The league later agreed with with Congress to suspend these games (Friday and Saturday) until high school and college seasons were finished.
• Dan Rooney once put a drunk Steeler fan into a cab leaving a Cleveland game and paid his fare back to Pittsburgh.  Rooney said a Cleveland cop once told him: "Look, we don't mind when your fans get off the bus drunk, but when the bus driver gets off the bus drunk that's too much."
• Heath Miller is very shy but also very intelligent.  His sister said that he finished 3rd in his high school class but the rumor is he did that on purpose so he wouldn't have to deliver the valedictorian speech in front of everyone.
• Willie Parker didn't see much playing time at North Carolina.  His sister called up coach John Bunting and pleaded with him to allow Willie to get in on one play for his last college game.  Willie was never put in.
• Lawrence Timmons grew up in South Carolina but his father played college basketball for Duquesne.  His father was elated when Lawrence ended up in Pittsburgh.  Timmons attended Wilson High School and his team produced two NFL linebackers his senior season, Timmons and Justin Durant.
• When James Harrison was in high school he was accused of shooting a teammate in the butt with a BB gun.  He was looking at a possible felony but he didn't do it.  Turns out the Assistant Coach did but Silverback didn't want to tell on his coach.  The coach ended up getting fired but it also caused scholarship offers to many big colleges to disappear causing James to end up at Kent State.
• According to Harrison's father, "The only person I knew that James didn't like was Cowher" but James said "I don't have to like him to play for him."  Mrs. Harrison also said Cowher was "so full of himself, I don't care for that man."
• ESPN, The Magazine did a story in 2007 about Belle Glade, Florida.  It was an unusual story about the harvesting of sugar cane and how the farmers would burn the cane stalks so the tractors could harvest the cane.  This caused the rabbits to run around and kids would run after them and try to catch them.  ESPN estimated that in the last 30 years, Belle Glade produced 28 NFL players that used to chase the rabbits.  Santonio Holmes was one of them (His cousin, Fred Taylor was another rabbit chaser).
• Greg Lloyd may be the most intense player, in games and in practice, to ever wear a Steeler uniform.
• The locker room at Colorado State University is named The Joey Porter Locker Room.  Crestwood High School (Ohio) stadium is named after Jack Lambert.
• The New York Jets honored Curtis Martin for his great career.  He said he was bringing 50 people to the ceremony in New York but they were all Steelers Fans.
• Remember the movie "We are Marshall?" The leading actress played Annie Catrell who was a cheerleader and fiance of one of the Marshall players that was killed.  That actress was named Kathleen Rooney Mara; great-granddaughter of Art Rooney and Giant's owner Tim Mara.

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29.

I remember reading about this game on some sports lists which called this game one of the most exciting college football game of all time.  I really never gave it much thought until last week when driving home listening to the radio.  I was listening to a movie critic, who is usually harsh.  She was talking about this movie and gave it great reviews.  I later heard some sports journalists talking about the same movie and they gave it equally good reviews.  I decided to look more into this game.

In college football there are many rivalries such as Ohio St/Michigan, Alabama/Auburn, Notre Dame/USC and many others.  Two long lasting rivalries feature teams that are small and a lot of folks could care less about in recent years but their history is significant in sports.  One is the Army/Navy game and the other is Harvard/Yale. 

This game occurred in 1968.  The U.S. was going through turbulent times with Vietnam at its peak and Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy being assassinated in '68.  1968 also featured a match-up of two undefeated football teams, Harvard and Yale playing in their final game of the season.  This game marked the first time that both teams were undefeated since 1909.  Yale was nationally ranked and heavily favored to win.

Both squads featured many stories, which is the goal of this film.  It is not a motion picture, per say, but a documentary.  The director, Kevin Rafferty, uses actual TV footage of the game with players discussing the game.  Some of the players include:  actor Tommy Lee Jones, starting guard for Harvard and roommate of Al Gore.  Harvard's starting safety had just returned from fighting in Vietnam.  Yale's Quarterback had not lost a game since he was in the 7th grade and was featured in a young cartoonist's work, Gary Trudeau's Doonesbury.  Yale had a fullback that was dating Meryl Streep and a tackle that was roommates with George W. Bush.¹

The game is history and started off as a blowout in Yale's favor.  With 42 seconds left in the game, Yale is leading 29-13.  Somehow, Harvard is able to put up 16 points in 42 seconds to tie the game as the gun sounded.

The Harvard Crimson newspaper headline proclaimed:  Harvard Beats Yale 29-29!

Below is a trailer of the movie:

Quote of the Week:

SteelerFury.Com poster Crosby4Life discussing the 2009-10 Pittsburgh Pirates:

"It's like having your car blow up time and time again, only to keep buying the exact same car over and over again."

Thing(s) the Get Fury's Blood Boiling:

The 2009 NCAA Men's Basketball final.  How in the world did CBS come up with a 9:21 PM (EST) start time?  Maybe I'm getting old but this was a horrible choice by a dying network.

¹