I grew up in CoMo and had to witness that carnage first hand every weekend like it or not. You could try to turn a blind eye, but could still hear the groans from the stadium in my neighborhood. You could still see the Nub fans taking over the whole town to toast another 55-10 belting. Bless Norm Stewart for existing and making us a basketball school then and easing the pain.
But the fact is that time period set the bar pretty simply. We all did cartwheels and jizzed all over the place just for making it to a bowl game - any bowl game of any kind - in 1997 because it had been 13 freaking years. And back then, yes, .500 teams in major conferences did go to bowls. We just sucked too bad to even make it to 6-6 for 13 years.
Drink has scraped together 6-6 regular seasons for two straight years now and gone to bowl games. We declined to play ku so as to play a harder opponent in Wake. Turns out, yes, they were harder. Not world beaters, but you alll need to Wake up (I slay me) to the fact that the Demon Deacons have been to 7 straight bowl games. Their program name brand is horrendous, worse than Mizzou's, so losing to them always looks bad no matter who you are. But they have been good for several years now, good coach, good program. Ask Clemson how fun they are to have to play against.
Was screwing around with this or the Armed Forces Bowl mecca? No. But it beats freezing your rear off watching 3-8 Mizzou do battle with 4-7 Iowa State in November in 1989 while the college football world isn't even aware enough of your program's existence to laugh at you. Been there, done that. Is it a low bar? Yeah. But it happened. And I ain't gonna take bowl game seasons for granted ever again. Not after 13 straight years of that hell. No.
But the fact is that time period set the bar pretty simply. We all did cartwheels and jizzed all over the place just for making it to a bowl game - any bowl game of any kind - in 1997 because it had been 13 freaking years. And back then, yes, .500 teams in major conferences did go to bowls. We just sucked too bad to even make it to 6-6 for 13 years.
Drink has scraped together 6-6 regular seasons for two straight years now and gone to bowl games. We declined to play ku so as to play a harder opponent in Wake. Turns out, yes, they were harder. Not world beaters, but you alll need to Wake up (I slay me) to the fact that the Demon Deacons have been to 7 straight bowl games. Their program name brand is horrendous, worse than Mizzou's, so losing to them always looks bad no matter who you are. But they have been good for several years now, good coach, good program. Ask Clemson how fun they are to have to play against.
Was screwing around with this or the Armed Forces Bowl mecca? No. But it beats freezing your rear off watching 3-8 Mizzou do battle with 4-7 Iowa State in November in 1989 while the college football world isn't even aware enough of your program's existence to laugh at you. Been there, done that. Is it a low bar? Yeah. But it happened. And I ain't gonna take bowl game seasons for granted ever again. Not after 13 straight years of that hell. No.
