I was going to post some information about the VT / Princeton wrestling match but found this SI article and nostalgia set in. Not being able to see the match I could not offer any info you could not find elsewhere; I will defer to the SI article found here at this link:
http://www.si.com/college-football/2016/12/30/college-football-1966-steve-spurrier-bear-bryant
Oh, we won the match 30-11 after a slow start.
I was 12 in 1966 I remember having to watch the Browns play every Sunday on a B&W TV and having to fiddle with the rabbit ears just to receive some sort of picture. Being in western NY, they were the only game in town. Everyone kicked straight on in those times and I vividly remember Lou Groza kicking and kicking without missing. I learned to hate the Browns before their was a reason.
](https://postimg.org/image/50gs5f3nl/))
That year the up start American Football league was starting to make some noise and people were beginning to take notice. For some reason I hated the Bills. Go figure, we lived 20 miles outside the city. I always loved the Chargers and still check up on them. I believe that was because they have lightening bolts on their helmets: plus, they had John Hadl and Lance Alworth. They threw the ball all over the place.
](https://postimg.org/image/uef0ptnpz/))
My one and only athletic claim to fame came in 1966. My LL football team, the Clarence Badgers went 6-0-1. We tied a team from Snyder 6-6 and were invited to have a play off game before and during half time of a Bills / Raiders game.
Fuck Snyder!
But I digress. College football during this time was not the big deal that it is today. Games were few and far between as far as TV was concerned. I do remember that every New Year's Day it was cut in stone; NBC had the Sugar, Rose and Orange Bowls in that order. I think CBS threw the Cotten Bowl in there somehere, but no one gave a damn. At that time I was a huge Michigan fan and remember them going to the Rose annually and always getting their asses kicked by either USC or UCLA. So I said screw them (little did I know). No one ever heard of Oregon.
So how has the CFB scene changed! Whoa!
On a side note. I ragged on my father until the day he passed about the Buffalo Bills. Ralph Wilson bought the franchise for $35,000.00. "Now are you are telling me you couldn't scrape up that little bit of money to buy in? Man, I could be living on Grand Caymen right now!"
Comments
Yes, definitely a different era. I remember watching the NFL before cable TV on the CBS or NBC affiliates, my Dad and I figiting with an antenna to get the best picture. Growing up in a Baltimore Colts household, I still have this debate with a buddy of mine that the classic 1977 Divisional Playoff Game (Colts vs. Raiders, "Ghost to the Post", double overtime) on 12/24/77 was blacked-out in the Baltimore market because it wasn't sold out in time (it was replayed on the Baltimore NBC affiliate on Christmas Day), so living around 30 miles NE of Baltimore, I was able to work the antenna so we could pick up the feed from the Philly NBC affiliate. Wish the game had a better outcome, but it's one of those things you don't forget and makes you appreciate the availability of television coverage nowadays.
Don't have vivid football memories from 1966, most of my early football recollection begins with Super Bowl III and the Jets. But I was aware of the Packers earlier, given the fact that Carroll Dale was from my hometown. I do remember watching the AFL on NBC, listening to Curt Gowdy make the calls. For some reason, I was a Vikings fan (no idea what caused that). I loved watching their defense shut down other teams. Alan Page, Carl Eller, Jim Marshall, and Gary Larsen on the D-line were great. I remember seeing college football, especially when there were Saturday night games, usually LSU or Bama. I credit my uncle for fostering my love of the college game, because he would have a game on when we were there. He especially loved watching Bama. I remember watching a lot of football with him, college and pro. I saw the immaculate reception with him. Lots of great times.
All nice posts above replete with lots of nostalgia. In SW Virginia we were treated mostly to Colts (the Baltimore version) games before they switched allegiance to the Redskins late in the decade I think.
However, when I recall those days, a few strong emotions rise to the surface:
I still hate Bart Starr.
I still hate Alabama.
I still hate Notre Dame.
VMI must have been really, really good.