Author: Scott Adamson

’69 Horns, Hogs clash holds a special place in my heart

At some point on Friday I’ll turn on the television, go to the YouTube channel, and find the 1969 Texas-Arkansas football game.

Scott Adamson’s sports column appears when he feels sporty.

Once I do, I’ll make myself comfortable and watch all two hours, 53 minutes and 39 seconds of the broadcast, coming to me live from chilly, wet Razorback Stadium.

OK, it’s not live anymore, but half a century later it’s still a major reference point of my life as a sports fan.

Football historians remember it as the final “Game of the Century” of the 1960s, a de facto national championship contest between the No. 1 Longhorns and No. 2 Razorbacks played on December 6, 1969.

Texas won, 15-14, in a thrilling comeback that remains a source of pride for “Boomers” who bleed burnt orange and an important football history lesson for younger fans.

So why do I – who grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, and has no ties to either school – feel such a strong connection to it?

Simple.

It’s the first college football game I ever remember watching.

Now to be clear, 50 years was a long time ago and I don’t claim to have total recall of my childhood sports memories. I know that by 1967 I was already big into pro football, cheering on the New York Jets in the American Football League and Los Angeles Rams in the NFL.

And growing up in the “Football Capital of the South” it would stand to reason that at some point I’d seen Alabama and Auburn while perched in front of the Curtis Mathes color TV console.

And I’m almost sure I did but – if so – I can’t recall.

That Texas-Arkansas clash played 50 years ago today, however, is unforgettable.

It was the only major college football game played that day, and the fact that it featured the two top ranked teams in the country made it seem more special – something like a college football Super Bowl.

Mom made a rare appearance in the den to watch (she didn’t care much for sports) and decided she’d pull for Arkansas.

Pop also went with the Hogs because they were the underdogs.

I had no string feelings one way or another; the Jets were playing the Houston Oilers at 1 p.m. and I was gonna try to talk my folks into changing channels once that game kicked off.

As it turned out, I got so engrossed in the college clash I forgot to ask.

While I’ve always been dazzled by high-powered offenses (that’s one of the reasons I loved the AFL), there was something about this sloppy game played in sloppy weather that was mesmerizing.

Aesthetically it wasn’t much to look at – Texas had four fumbles and two interceptions working out of the wishbone while Arkansas threw two picks from its pro-style attack. Still, the hard hits and emotion resonated with me.

Frank Broyles’ charges led 14-0 heading into the fourth quarter and looked to be well on their way to victory.

But Texas coach Darrell Royal pulled out all the stops over the final 15 minutes.

A 42-yard touchdown run by quarterback James Street and 2-point conversion cut the Razorbacks lead to 14-8 early in the fourth quarter, making things interesting.

Then facing a fourth-and-3 at his own 43 later in the frame, Street dropped back and hit Randy Peschel on a 44-yard bomb that gave the Longhorns a first down at the enemy 13.

Jim Bertelsen scored the tying TD from the 2 a couple of snaps later, and Happy Feller kicked the extra point to make it 15-14.

Although I hadn’t cheered for either team up to that point, I was happy when Texas snagged an interception with under a minute to go to clinch the victory. The guts and the drama turned me into a college football fan for life – so much so that I didn’t even mind missing a good chunk of the Jets game.

Several years ago I found a shortened version of this 1969 classic on YouTube, and back in 2017 the complete ABC telecast was posted.

Listening to Chris Schenkel and Bud Wilkinson call the game is like travelling through time.

And watching it in its entirety makes it worth the journey.

Grey Cup means it’s party time for me

Hamilton and Winnipeg will battle for the Grey Cup on Sunday in Calgary./Johany Jutras/CFL.ca photo

In the week leading up to the Super Bowl – any Super Bowl – I can walk into my local supermarket and find a wide variety of party items geared toward the big game.

Scott Adamson writes about alternative pro football leagues because it makes him happy, Follow him on Twitter @adamsonsl

Super Bowl cakes and Super Bowl cookies are already baked and decorated in team colors, meaning I can grab them and go.

I’ll let you in on a little secret, though – by the time most of you celebrate your Super Sunday, mine will have already come and gone. And any cakes to mark the occasion will have long since been eaten (and special ordered).

When it comes to tackle football, the Grey Cup has become my favorite single event, and this weekend it’ll be played for the 107th time when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats – the team I root for – meet the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium.

I’m quite sure there won’t be any premade goodies to snatch up at the nearest grocer. In fact, I’m guessing many of the people who work there have no idea the Grey Cup is even going on.

But that’s OK. For me, the championship of the Canadian Football League has almost always been a party for one.

It’s especially festive this season because the Ticats haven’t won the league crown since 1999 and are favored to break their 20-year drought.

I won’t bore you with my CFL back story – I’ve shared it more times than I can count and if you care, you already know it. I will say, though, that with each passing year I grow to like it much more than the NFL. I find it – for lack of a better word – cozy.

There are only nine CFL franchises and except for the ill-fated “American experiment” (which peaked at 13 teams in 1995), that’s as large as it’s ever gotten.

By NFL and Power 5 college standards, attendance is modest – and that’s a generous description.

The single game high in 2019 was 40,113 for a clash between Calgary and Edmonton at Edmonton’s Commonwealth Stadium on September 7, and the average per game attendance was 22,917.

Bottom line, if you want a ticket to a CFL regular season game, you won’t have much trouble getting one.

But the fans who do show up show off, and I see them as my kindred spirits even though our relationship is through social media more than social interaction.

I love how they love their teams, and the players on those teams seem to truly appreciate them. The CFL gives off a working class vibe and part of that reason is because guys don’t pull down NFL money.

People relate to that.

I like that Canadian kids can grow up to star in a league that’s very much part of their culture, and American kids can make their pro dreams come true even if those dreams blossom in another country.

There’s plenty of brawn on either side of the line in any given game, but there is also a place for small, fast guys.

As someone who is small (and used to be fast), this makes me very happy.

And while some might scoff at rules that feature three downs to make 10 yards, conceded points and end zones that are 20 yards deep, I fully embrace them.

For me, the Canadian Football League isn’t a novelty – it’s grown into my favorite version of the gridiron game.

So while most of the football fans around me will be watching the end of the Dallas Cowboys-New England Patriots game at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday and gearing up for the upcoming showdown between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers, I’ll be tuned into ESPN2 for the Grey Cup.

Shoot, I might even order a cake.

I’ll be the only one at the party, but hopefully I can party like it’s 1999.

The NASL’s Team America experiment

Long before there was a fully functioning United States Men’s National Soccer Team – and long before the USMNT fell into dysfunction – there was a professional franchise known as Team America.

Scott Adamson’s column on soccer appears periodically, usually when he’s feeling especially soccerish.

Blink and you might’ve missed them, but for those of us who followed the original North American Soccer League during its spectacular rise and equally spectacular fall, this one-and-done club is a unique part of its history.

Formed on January 20, 1983, and disbanded on September 13 of that same year, Team America was an idea much better in theory than in practice.

“The establishment of Team America will serve as a tremendous vehicle to enhance our chances of qualifying for the World Cup, soccer’s greatest spectacle,” United States Soccer Federation President Gene Edwards told United Press International during the launch announcement in New York. “It’s an exciting new endeavor – no country has ever placed its national team in a professional league – and will serve as an important step towards making the United States a viable force in international competition.”

The USMNT hadn’t been relevant since 1950 – the last year it qualified for the World Cup. Thirty-three years later the plan was to test the mettle of an American team against foes in a circuit whose stars were primarily from soccer hotbeds around the world.

The 20-player roster would be formed by taking the top United States players (including naturalized citizens) from the NASL, American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League. To make sure Team America had the best athletes available in an effort to earn a berth in the 1986 World Cup, each NASL team had to nominate 40 players for consideration, with the expansion team allowed to sign away any who wanted to join.

“Team America is a landmark development as the United States prepares for international competition,” NASL President Howard Samuels told UPI. “A total commitment is being made by the United States soccer community, which believes that the U.S. can and will become a force in world soccer.”

I was hopeful that Team America would not only give domestic soccer a boost, but provide a loft to the NASL as well.

After its late 1970s heyday when huge crowds showed up to see players like Pele, George Best and Johan Cruyff, the league was struggling in the early 1980s.

Boasting 24 franchises in 1978, it was down to 12 in 1983 and fan interest was waning. Perhaps Team America would inspire new soccer supporters who were looking for a team to call their own (even though its home games were played in Washington D.C.) and reinvigorate the fan base for the rest of the league.

Nope.

The club averaged just over 13,000 fans for its matches at cavernous RFK Stadium. Plus, the team itself was punchless; some of the better American players such as Rick Davis of the New York Cosmos opted not to join.

“In the final analysis, it came down to a decision to where I could contribute to the development of the game more,” Davis told the Los Angeles Times. “The Cosmos have their own version of Team America. They have a very successful Americanization program that I’ve been an important part of. For many reasons, the best place for me at the moment is with the Cosmos.”

Due in part to the lack of top-tier U.S.-born players, Coach Alkis Panagoulias chose a team that had an abundance of naturalized citizens. He even added those who were in the process of applying for citizenship.

This would’ve been a non-story for any other NASL squad, but it strayed significantly from Team America’s “homegrown” mission.

Aside from finishing with a league-worst record of 10-20, Panagoulias’ charges netted just 33 goals the entire season and were shut out in 11 matches – making them unsuccessful and boring.

Less than eight months after it began, the experiment was over.

“The plan is to put Team America together next year as the U.S. team-in-training for the 1986 World Cup,” Samuels told the Chicago Tribune. “We’ll reassemble right after the indoor season.”

Spoiler alert: they did, but not as a member of the NASL. The franchise model was abandoned.

Team America owner Bob Lifton said he lost $1 million during the season and didn’t have many kind things to say about the experience.

“We were without the offensive strength we needed and that weakness showed up egregiously,” Lifton told the Tribune. “The team was certainly not a role model to the kids in this country.”

The USMNT would go on to reinvent itself and qualify for seven consecutive World Cups beginning in 1990 – including a quarterfinal run in 2002.

The squad missed the cut in 2018, however, and recent performances have done little to inspire confidence among supporters.

But while it’s interesting to look back at the tribulations of Team America, they really don’t have anything to do with the turbulent times the USMNT is going through now.

Then again, you know what they say about those who forget the past…