Something Nice - Other Stadiums, Part I This series was originally supposed to be just about the "on- campus" football stadiums of the SEC, but I've changed my mind. I'm going to take a little side trip along the "Something Nice" road and take a look at some of the other stadiums in the South that have played an important role amongst SEC teams. These stadiums may be places that are famous for hosting bowl games. They may be venues where a school may play half their homes games every season. Or they could just be a stadium where an annual neutral site game is played. Regardless, they are places steeped in tradition, history and great memories (or not so great if you count the Lindsay Scott game of 1980 as one of your memories). I've broken this 'side-trip' into two parts. In this first part, we will take a look at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium, the Louisiana Superdome and Birmingham's Legion Field. WAR MEMORIAL STADIUM Before War Memorial was built in 1948, the Razorbacks usually would only play one game a year in Little Rock. The place they played, Quigley Stadium, was a dinky little place that couldn't hold much more than 13,000 and had horrible amenities (Amenities: derived from a French word meaning, no bathrooms). When John Barnhill took over the coaching job at Arkansas in 1945, he had majors plans for the Razorback football program. He wanted his teams to fly to their roads games in Texas. He wanted all of the games filmed, and he wanted the film developed immediately so he could begin studying it. All of his changes would cost him money and in some circumstances, cost a lot. He knew it was going to be hard to get folks to travel to Fayetteville six time a year and pack Razorback Stadium (and even if they did, the Hawgs had never drawn over 23,000 there). He also knew he wouldn't make any money playing little places like Quigley Stadium. He threatened to move the annual Little Rock game to Memphis unless something was done about building a bigger stadium in Little Rock (Actually, he did move the '47 Texas game from Little Rock to Memphis' Crump Stadium). Well, it worked (with the help of some influential Arkansas alumni in the state political system) and in 1948 War Memorial Stadium, built on the Little Rock fair grounds, opened for business. The Razorbacks took the field there for the first time on September 18, 1948, in front of a state record crowd of 27,000. The lighting system didn't work and the pressbox was not ready, but the Hawgs were, as they crushed Abilene Christian 40-6. Soon Arkansas was drawing crowds in excessive of 33,000. Through the years the stadium has seen three expansions that have brought total attendance to over 53,000. It's also seen artificial turf come and go. In 1969, the same year the turf originally was installed, special "color TV lights" were also added (Don't ask me how these color TV lights are different than regular stadium lights, but this is how the lights were described in Orville Henry and Jim Bailey's book, "The Razorbacks - A Story of Arkansas Football"). Two of the more entertaining games played in War Memorial were the 1970 Stanford game and the 1995 Arkansas/Auburn game. -Arkansas vs. Stanford September 12, 1970 After years of catching hell from Arkansas fans about not playing "good" non-conference foes, the Razorbacks lined up Stanford for the 1970 season opener. Not only would it soothe the home crowd, the marquee match-up would be shown nationwide on ABC. A huge chunk of the TV money would go to help pay for the $500,000 it cost to put artificial turf in War Memorial (not to mention those "color TV" lights). Stanford had Heisman trophy hopeful Jim Plunkett at quarterback, and the Indians (what they used to be called) would eventually go on to win the PAC-8 and the Rose Bowl. Arkansas had their own Heisman candidate in quarterback Bill Montgomery. Unfortunately for the Hawgs, Stanford came out with a bang. Before most of the crowd was into their second bourbon and coke, the score was 27-0, Stanford. Down by almost 4 touchdowns 20 minutes in to the game, Arkansas knew they would have to pass the ball to comeback. Comeback they did. With under a minute left, the Razorbacks had cut the lead to 34- 28 and had a third and one from the Stanford four-yard line. On third down, a Bill Burnett run netted nothing. Arkansas head coach Frank Broyles called time-out to discuss what to do on fourth. The call was for Montgomery to roll out to his left and have the option to run or pass. Montgomery took the snap and rolled left. If he'd looked down field, he'd have seen teammate Chuck Discus alone in the endzone. But he didn't and Montgomery kept the ball himself and dove forward. The Razorback players signalled first down, but after a measurement, the officials said he was one foot shy of the marker and awarded the ball (and the game) to Stanford. -Arkansas vs. Auburn, October 28, 1995 This is the type of game that makes me both hate and respect Auburn. They're like the SEC's equivalent of Jason from the "Friday the 13th" series. Just when you think they're dead, they jump up and stab you. At the half of this game Arkansas led 27-0. They had controlled the clock for over 23 minutes. They had outgained the Tigers 300 yards to 118. The Hawgs scored on all five first half possessions. Auburns' first half? Three punts and two turnovers. Auburn did manage to rally, yet with under 20 seconds remaining the Tigers still trailed by ten points. But Auburn quarterback Patrick Nix hit Errick Lowe for a two yard TD pass and found Lowe again for the two point conversion. Down 30-28 Auburn tried an on-side kick. They succeeded, and one pass completion later the Tigers had the ball on the Razorback 35. Tiger head coach Terry Bowden, signalled for the field goal team to try a 52 yard kick (at this point, my jaw is scrapping the ground. I'm thinking, "Less than 20 seconds ago Auburn was down by 10, and now they're lining up to kick the winning field goal?!!!") Fortunately for Arkansas, the ball was tipped at the line and never made it to the goal post. Unfortunately for Auburn, a high snap made Tiger kicker Matt Hawkins hesitate. This may have been the difference. Regardless, it was incredible that Auburn had even managed to climb back to be in the position to win the game. The win thrust the Razorbacks in to "The SEC West driver's seat". The Hawgs would later go on to capture their only Western division crown. How do the Gators fit in to the War Memorial story? They don't. UF has never played a game in the stadium. The only time UF ever played in Arkansas the game was in Fayetteville. But the way Arkansas rotates their schedules between Little Rock and Fayetteville, I'd be willing to bet that the next time Florida plays Arkansas on the road, it will be in War Memorial Stadium (and thank God, not Quigley). THE LOUISIANA SUPERDOME The Superdome has everything I hate in a stadium. It's domed, it has artificial turf, and it has a terrible tailgating situation. But so what? I can buy a beer on my way out and carry it with me on my walk to Bourbon Street. Plus the place sells Rolaids at their concession stands (and as anyone who has ever spent a few days in New Orleans knows, having Rolaids at you quick disposal is important.) Before the Superdome was built in the mid-70's, Tulane Stadium was the home of the Sugar Bowl as well as the New Orleans Saints (and I guess the Tulane Green Wave, but to hell with them, they left the conference). Tulane Stadium had very little parking, it was away far away from the downtown hotels and it could be rather cold playing a game there in January. A decision was made to build the Superdome so it could not only be a stadium, but in a way be a convention center. It's downtown location made it a convenient walk from most of the city's hotels and it's proximity to Bourbon Street was a hit with tourists. It was created by law on November 8, 1966 that New Orleans would build a domed stadium. They should have made it a law that they would build it in a reasonable time. It wasn't until August of 1971 that ground was broke on the project and it took nearly four years to finish the damn thing. It's hosted everything from a Presidential Convention to the Final Four. A 1981 Rolling Stones concert drew a world's indoor record of 87,500 people. The NFL has had five Superbowls under the dome. Even the Pope has "played" the place, addressing 80,000 school children in 1987. These other events are all well and fine, but most importantly (as least as far as I'm concerned) it's been the place that has seen five SEC teams crowned the national champion (Alabama three times, UF and UGA one each). Let's take a look at a few of these games: ALABAMA vs. PENN STATE 1/1/79 With Penn State trailing 14-7 with under seven minutes left in the game, they elected to go for it on a 4th and short situation, from around the Bama 1/2 yard line. The Nittany Lions tried a run up the middle, but PSU running back Mike Guman was met by Bama's Barry Krause and never made it across the goal. Alabama took over on downs from inside their own one yard line. Many people say this was the key play of the game, maybe it was, but there was one more crucial play yet to happen that very well might have sealed PSU's fate. After the goal line stand, the Tide ran the ball three straight times for gains of 4, 1 and 2 yards. With the clock nearing the five minute mark, Alabama lined up to punt. The snap was bad and it "one-hopped" to the Bama punter. He managed to get the punt away, but it only made it out to the Tide 31. With 5:03 left in the game, the Nittany Lions had great field position and plenty of time left to score. The only problem? There was a flag on the green, plastic turf. Penn State had 12 men on the field. Instead of the Nittany Lions getting the ball back, Bama was awarded a first down. The Tide were able to get another one, but more importantly they were able to take valuable time of the clock. By the time PSU got the ball back, there was only 2:42 left. And instead of having it on the Bama 31, they took over on their own 21. They managed to get to the Alabama 40, but no further as the "hatless" Bear Bryant (The Bear would never wear a hat indoors) won his first national championship in the "Dome". GEORGIA vs NOTRE DAME 1/1/80 Herschel Walker. You need not say anything else when you talk about the 1980 Georgia Bulldog squad. He was their everything that year (and being a Gator, I can tell you he was Mr. everything for the next two as well). The Bulldogs came in to the game undefeated and ranked number one. Their opponent? Perennial "spoiler", the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. If they were going to win the game, Notre Dame knew they had to contain Walker. The Irish felt they had a pretty good shot at doing so, considering they hadn't allowed any back to run for over 100 yards in a game the entire season. Notre Dame found out rather quickly that they weren't playing Purdue, and by halftime Walker had 95 yards rushing and the Dawgs had a 17-3 lead. What's so impressive about Walker's performance is, on Georgia's second offensive play, Herschel separated his shoulder. If that wasn't enough, the Georgia offensive had nobody else to turn to (Bulldog quarterback Buck Belue, didn't complete any of his 6 first half passes, and was sacked five times). The Irish could just focus on Walker. Notre Dame continued to key on Walker in the second half and limited him to "only" 55 yards, but the Dawgs were able to come up with some crucial turnovers late in the game and hold on for their only national championship. FLORIDA vs. FLORIDA STATE 1/2/97 Seldom is a punter the most valuable player on a Steve Spurrier coached team. Though Danny Wuerffel was named the game's Most Valuable Player, the honor could have just as easily gone to UF punter Robby Stevenson. In his previous two games, Stevenson was anything but MVP. In the Gators' first game against FSU he had a punt blocked that led to a Nole touchdown. In the SEC Championship game, he dropped a low snap and was tackled on the Gator five yard line, leading to a Crimson Tide score. Coming into the Sugar Bowl, many considered him a liability (including my wife), but Stevenson redeemed himself. He punted 7 times for a 48 yard average (compared to a 29 yard average against FSU and a 37 yard average versus the Tide). Mid-way through the 3rd quarter, with UF clinging to a 4 point lead, he boomed a punt 69 yards to the Nole two. This put FSU in a hole they never managed to climb out of. The Gators went on to score 28 unanswered points and ended up crushing those cheap-shotting bastards from Tallahassee (Hey I never said this series would be something nice about FSU). The Gators have played five games in the Superdome. Four Sugar Bowls and a 1982 regular season win over Tulane. LEGION FIELD "There is a fine Gothic gloom to rainy November days in Birmingham. Clouds hang low on the earth and make a clammy, gray shroud, which nearly obscures the fiery furnaces in the city's vast landscape of steel mills and ironworks. It is easier, however, to dim the flames of Birmingham than to dull it's passion, which, on any November day, is football... It was on this day that Birmingham was going to lay lasting claim to being The Football Capital of the South." -Sports Illustrated November, 1968 This was from an article talking about how Legion Field hosted both an Alabama/LSU game and a Auburn/Tennessee game on the same day. The Bama game was played during the day and drew a crowd of 67,000. Four hours after that game ended, the Tigers and the Vols met in front of 69,000. Legion Field may well be the football capital of the South, but it sure has fallen on some hard times. This past Spring it was discovered that chunks of concrete had fallen from four sections of the stadium. The estimated cost to repair the place are estimated at $2.3 million. Presently repair work is being done with a scheduled completion date of September 1st. The University of Alabama has told the city of Birmingham that most of the work needs to be finished by August 1st. If it's not, then the school will be forced to move their three scheduled Legion Field games to Tuscaloosa. Surprisingly the Crimson Tide weren't involved in the stadium's dedicatory game. That honor went to Howard and Birmingham Southern who played the first game at Legion Field on November 17, 1927 (Alabama met Georgia one week later). Regardless if Bama played in the first game or not, it is the Tide who are thought of when great Legion Field games are remembered. Two of the more memorable games (and I had a whole barrel full of memorable games to choose from) played there, are the 1969 Alabama/Ole Miss shoot out and the 1972 "Iron Bowl" between the Tide and Auburn. ALABAMA vs. OLE MISS 10/4/69 This nationally televised game was one of the more spectacular offensive games in SEC history. Alabama's Scott Hunter led the Tide to victory by throwing for over 300 yards and completing 22 of his 29 passes. But it was the Rebels' Archie Manning who was the real star that evening. All Archie did was rush for 104 yards on 15 carries and throw for over 540 yards (rumor has it he sold hot dogs at halftime as well). His 3 touchdown passes looked like they would be enough to carry the Rebs to victory, but Bama score with under 4 minutes left to take a 33-32 lead. Manning had one last shot when Ole Miss got the ball back on their own five with 1:48 left. Despite completing a 4th and 12 from the Rebs' own 3, and eventually advancing the ball across the Tide 50, he simply ran out of time. ALABAMA vs. AUBURN 12/2/72 In my opinion this game is one of the top three games ever played in the Southeastern conference. "Punt, Bama, Punt". With 9:15 left in the contest, Auburn's head coach, Ralph "Shug" Jordan, ordered the Tiger field goal unit on to the field. Down 16-0, most thought he was nuts. The kick cut the Tide lead to only 16-3. AU forced Bama to punt and Auburn's Bill Newton blocked the kick and teammate David Langer, returned it for a touchdown. Lighting struck a few minutes later when the exact same thing happened. The Tigers had blocked two punts in the final minutes to beat Bama. Bear Bryant would later say this game was the hardest loss he ever had to deal with. At a Birmingham awards banquet after the season, former Tide running back Johnny Musso introduced Newton to Bryant. In his book, "Shug", Rich Donnell describes the meeting like this: Newton stuck out his hand. "Coach Bryant, it's nice to meet you." Bryant looked down on Newton, looked at his hand and grumbled, "Yeah." Then he turned and walked away. The first time I was ever in Legion Field was for Florida's 1988 All-American Bowl appearance. I had a pleasurable time (they sold beer and the Gators won). UF has had a few fond memories there: -In 1987 Emmitt Smith made his starting debut for UF and ran for 224 yards as the Gators shredded Alabama 23-14. -In 1993, UF won the second SEC Championship game 28-13 over the Crimson Tide. But it's the first championship game that brings the bad memories. Alabama was 11-0 and UF was only 8-3 and regardless that it was virtually a Tide home game, I had a good feeling going in to the game. I thought Alabama was beatable. I heard rumblings all week of how the some Tide players were not too happy to be playing in the game. They had thought they had already won the SEC by going 8-0 in conference, during the regular season. Heck, the way some sportswriters in the state of Alabama were talking, you'd think it was beneath the Tide to be playing in something called the SEC Championship Game. I thought an upset was in the making. And it was. That is until the last few minutes. After falling behind 21-7 in the 3rd quarter, UF rallied to tie, and actually had the ball in Bama territory, but couldn't score. The next time Florida got the ball they started from their own 20 and Shane Mathews' first down pass was intercepted by the Tide's Antonio Langham, who returned it for a game winning touchdown (and personally detoured my New Year's plans from New Orleans to Jacksonville). The last time I was in Legion Field was this past January. I was in town for business and had a few hours off one afternoon, so I decided to go and see the stadium again. It was a chilly and windy day and the empty stadium just made things seem colder. There had been some high school championship games played the previous month so the field was still marked for football. It looked odd to see the endzones painted in green and white checkerboard, but what made things seem even odder, was thinking that this great "Bastion of Southern Football" was on its last leg. A plan for a domed stadium was announced that morning and it was to go to vote later in the year. Even if the plan doesn't pass, things don't look good for Legion Field. Alabama's recent expansion of Bryant-Denny stadium doesn't bode well for "The Football Capital of the South". You know they can build stadiums with domes. They can build stadiums with club sections that sell shrimp scampi. The can even build stadiums with retractable roofs and hot tubs for seats, but the one thing they can't build is memories. And it's the memories that hit you when you walk in to Legion Field. You can't help but see the history of SEC football unfold in front of you. As I walked out of the place I passed a plaque honoring Bear Bryant. I passed a bar named "The Tide and Tiger" and I walked by a stop sign with a Roll Tide bumpersticker on it. The whole scene made me kind of sad. Then again, I'm always sad the first week of January. This is when I realize I've got 8 months until the next college football game.