If you haven't guessed, I am a sucker for the history of football. Last night, I was bored with the NFL game, so I went digging through my OnDemand for a good sports documentary. I found an interesting documentary on the B1G Ten network about the Iowa Rose Bowl run in 1985 (at one point those Hawkeyes were ranked #1 in the country under Hayden Frye.)
Anyway, there was a significant portion devoted to the match up with number 2 Michigan. In that segment, the players said that Michigan QB Jim Harbaugh was allowed numerous times to stop the game, because it was too loud to call the signals. The officials would step in, allow for a "discretionary time out" and then ask the crowd to be quiet. Iowa players then said Harbaugh would use the extra time to look over their defensive alignment.
I didn't start watching college football until a couple of years later, and it blew my mind that the rules allowed for the home crowd to be taken out of the game like that. I went on Youtube to see if I could watch that game. Sure enough, here is Harbaugh doing exactly what Iowa's players accused him of.
https://youtu.be/XMsBO10TJp8?t=12m1s
I apologize that I cannot embed the video. That function is turned off.
Can you imagine how much this would impact today's game? It is amazing how much the game has changed in a short period of time. I think as fans living in the moment, sometimes we lose site of that.
Comments
Watch about a minute from this starting point. It will blow your mind.
That's annoying
Jeesh
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That's insane for two reasons. First, that Harbaugh has always been a whiney d-bag and second, that you could even do that and that if they crowd didnt quite down the home team would get a 5 yard penalty!?!!
Great find.
In 1980 VT managed to get Clemson charged one of THEIR timeouts when after 3 attempts the crowd wouldnt be quite.
Ridiculous.
In 1980 VT was screwed by non enforcement of the rule. @ Clemson in a game that could prove VT could hang with the ACC despite being snubbed for an invite 6 years previously.
VT was riding a 6 game losing streak to the Tigers in front of a sold out homecoming crowd under Bill Dooley. Trailing 7-13 at 4th and goal with about 5min to play the QB Steve Casey 3 separate times stood up from under center to appeal to the Ref and even got Clemson charged a timeout. But on the 4th time the Ref bitched out and told Casey to run the lay which resulted in a penalty after our TE and a RB misheard his calls and both were in motion at the same time leading to the Illegal Procedure.
This is one of those little factoids that was suppressed in my memory banks long ago. When you mentioned it, I remembered seeing this happen on quite a few occasions. Was this rule changed, or did they just give up on enforcing it? I don't remember hearing about it being abandoned.
This is the best I could find on the rule and this is from another message board but it is the best thing I found:
the anOSU band was definitely playing after the line was set more than a few times on Labor Day.
It happens, most of the time it is incidental. In 2011 beamer called out the MV's for cutting it a bit closer then he prefers.
I remember watching a lions game in the 90s. Quick youtube searched and I found it. Refs stopped the game 2x cause the Jets QB couldn't hear. Refs threatened the crowd with a penalty if it happened again. Barry broke the 2k this game.
Insane that this was a rule.
I was at the Mississippi State - LSU game this weekend.
Cowbells are LOUD! They've come up with some rules in the SEC so that you can use cowbells except during plays, when the fans switch from cowbells to the standard yelling. It a close game, it was pretty significant.
I noticed a couple of other things about the game:
1) How much bigger/bulkier pads used to be. Did you see the shoulder pads on some of those dudes? Makes them look a LOT bigger than they were.
2) The good old neck roll. If you played anywhere near the line of scrimmage and didn't have a neck roll attached to your shoulder pads you weren't crap. I miss those days...
Out of respect for the spirit of the rules, Scott Stadium is always quite
* edit: quiet (VT education and I still can't spell)
Always quite what?
Photoshopped.
Assuming you meant quiet, I can attest that it was kind of noisy at times this past weekend. Usually due to ND fans, unfortunately for LOLUVA.
Wow. Glad that is no longer the case
Interesting notes on Miss St being able to ring the cowbells....
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2230031-an-insiders-guide-to-mississippi-states-cowbell-tradition
In years past, that meant only during and coming out of media timeouts and other times in which play is stopped. That changed this year, when the SEC allowed stadiums to play music up until the center touched the ball.
So can they get penalized if they ring them once the offense is lined up and the center is touching the ball?