In observation of my 30th birthday tomorrow...
...here are my own Top 78 moments of my first 30 years as a Mizzou fan. (Why 78? Because I was born in 1978, naturally. And because I couldn't quite come up with 100.) Most of them take place after August 1997, when I entered Mizzou as a freshman. But there are a few pre-'97 stragglers.
I'm sure I've forgotten some, so feel free to leave your own in the comments...if you make it through all 78, anyway.
- The safety that ended the MU-KU game in 2007.
- The fake field goal (Nebraska, 2003).
- Eddie Brooks' go-ahead TD against NU in 1997.
- James Kinney erases Jammal Lord from existence in Q4 of the 2003 Nebraska game.
- The Thrust Nunchuk Upward touchdown against Colorado in 2007. You know the one.
- Tony Temple's final carry as a Mizzou Tiger, breaking the Cotton Bowl rushing record and scoring a TD with one good hamstring.
- Rickey Paulding's thunder dunk that punctuates the 2002 win over Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament in Albuquerque.
- The rest of that trip to Albuquerque. A shining moment for The Beef and myself.
- Brad Smith's long run that sets up the game-winning TD in the 2005 Independence Bowl.
- I almost break my hand on the low ceiling in my bedroom watching Corey Tate's game-winning shot against Kansas in 1997.
- Seeing Chase Daniel on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
- Eric Piatkowski's 3-pointer somehow rims out, and Mizzou finishes the 1993-94 conference season undefeated.
- Brad Smith scores the go-ahead TD in Q4 against OU in 2002. The Beef and I high-five each other and say simultaneously, "We're still going to lose!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!"
- The Cookie Belcher/Monte Hardge game.
- Brad Smith's 80-yard TD run against Nebraska in 2005. The entire NU defense was lined up within a yard of the line of scrimmage. God bless Kevin Cosgrove.
- Chase Daniel saves the 2005 season by directing a Q4 comeback against Iowa State. And consequently...
- Adam Crossett makes the game-winning FG in OT and runs to the 25-yard line in tribute to Aaron O'Neal.
- Mizzou beats Oklahoma, 104-94, at Lloyd Noble Center in 1994. It's my first ever Mizzou basketball game, and my favorite players (Mark Atkins, Melvin Booker) both go off.
- Mike Kelly and John Kadlec call the Mizzou-Illinois 2002 game. Kelly: "Missouri fans, you've got yourself a quarterback." Kadlec (voice cracking): "We've got a quarterback."
- William Moore erases Marlon Lucky from existence at the beginning of the 2007 Nebraska game.
- Mizzou furiously comes back to beat UCLA in the 2002 Sweet Sixteen.
- John Woods steals the ball from Paul Pierce, and Mizzou wins my first ever MU-KU basketball game (1998). Also: my first M-I-Z-f***-K-U chant.
- Tate "Flying Aardvark" Decker's shining moment: he makes the game-tying FT to send the 1998 Iowa-Mizzou basketball game into OT less than a week after the KU game.
- Mizzou-Kansas Basketball, 2000: the game where Clarence Gilbert made a 3-pointer with Jeff Boschee in his shirt.
- I eat 12 different kinds of meat in Shreveport the day of the Independence Bowl in 2003.
- Mizzou's home crowds during the 2005 NCAA Volleyball Tournament. Greatest Mizzou crowds I think I've ever seen in any sport, sans any Mizzou-Nebraska game at Faurot or Mizzou-Kansas game at Hearnes/Mizzou Arena.
- Mizzou beats Hawaii in 4 games to advance to the 2005 Volleyball Elite Eight, and I think Mizzou might actually win a national title in something.
- Julian Winfield makes the go-ahead jumper against UCLA in the 1995 NCAA Tournament. SURELY they can't go the length of the floor and score in under 5 seconds, right?
- Those two seconds where I actually thought Al Sterling intercepted the ball with 0:45 left against Nebraska, 1997. Actually, I still think he intercepted the ball.
- Those two seconds where I actually thought John Dausman caught the game-tying TD pass in Lincoln, 1998. He didn't, but those two seconds were awesome.
- Those two seconds where I actually thought Rickey Paulding's end-of-regulation jumper was going to go in and we were going to beat Dwayne Wade and Marquette in the 2003 NCAA Tournament.
- Those two seconds where I actually thought Corby Jones was going to unleash a really long run against Ohio State at home in 1997...before Andy Katzenmoyer unleashed the hardest hit I've ever seen in person.
- Those two seconds (okay, one second) before the Royal Ivey shot that Arthur Johnson blocked to turn around Mizzou's 2003-04 basketball season landed in the hands of a wide-open Brian Boddicker for the biggest gut-punch 3-pointer I've ever seen.
- Marcus James becomes the first Tiger in about 174 years to return a punt for a TD (Iowa State, 2002). We fall all over ourselves celebrating in the Mizzou section at Jack Trice Stadium, and a friend of ours ends up accidentally getting punched in the face...by another Mizzou fan, of course.
- Jeremy Maclin becomes the first Tiger in about 174 years to return a kickoff for a TD (Kansas State, 2007). I wasn't in attendance for this one, and nobody I know got punched in the face.
- Mizzou's furious comeback to beat Iowa in the finals of the 2001-02 Guardian's Classic. This would rank higher if a) I'd been there, and b) I'd been able to watch it on TV instead of catching updates on a really slow internet connection at a girlfriend's mom's house in Arkansas.
- Mizzou stuffs the swinging gate and beats OSU, 51-50, in double-OT in Stillwater, 1997. Hoo boy. Bill Teegins with the greatest call of all-time. "Lindsay takes the snap out of the swinging gate...(lower volume) he's gonna be stuffed...(unintelligible) Mizzou wins the game..." God I miss Bill Teegins.
- Adam Crossett booms a 50-yard FG in the 2005 Independence Bowl, and I start to believe that we're going to win.
- Rickey Paulding's crotch dunk in Manhattan, 2004. If you saw it, you know what I'm talking about.
- OSU-MU Basketball, 2000. The "Let's Go Tigers" chant. See this post for further elaboration.
- Carlos Posey (I think) returns a fumble for a TD against Ohio State in Columbus, 1998. I start to believe we're actually going to win the game (we don't).
- Jeremy Maclin erases all Illinois momentum with a kick return TD in 2008.
- Michael Crabtree's alligator arms, 2007.
- Devin West's record-setting performance against Kansas, 1998.
- The all-night tailgate before Nebraska, 2001. (This would also go on a "worst moments" list.)
- Justin Smith gets confused as West Virginia runs the Statue of Liberty play in the Insight.com Bowl, 1998. He doesn't know what's going on, so he shoves Marc Bulger into Amos Zeroueue (sp?), and they both go down. Problem solved.
- Chase Daniel scrambles for about 23 seconds before finding Danario Alexander for a touchdown against KU at Arrowhead, 2007.
- The back-to-back Pick Sixes against Texas Tech in 2006.
- Mizzou beats Iowa State at Hearnes in 4 OTs, 2001.
- The wave against Nebraska in 2007. "Boooooooooooo....YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY...boooooooooooo....YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY."
- Two friends and I attend the 1998 Texas Tech-Mizzou game in Lubbock. We spend an hour under the bleachers during a lightning delay, and Mizzou almost blows a decent-sized lead before Harold Piersey breaks up a 2-point conversion and Mizzou wins, 28-26.
- Mizzou beats OSU in double-OT at Hearnes, 2004. We've turned the season around!!! (Or not.)
- I have to lean against the left-field wall for an entire game (Mizzou-Louisville, 2007) because of the size of the crowd at Simmons Field.
- Watching on ESPN as Ben Askren becomes Mizzou's first national champion in any sport in about 7 centuries.
- Jimmy Jackson scores the go-ahead TD in Q4 against OU in 2007.
- Clarence Gilbert makes the game-winning jumper against Georgia in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.
- Brad Smith's final TD against Texas Tech in 2003. He rushed for approximately 678 yards that day.
- Brad Hammerich kicks the game-winning FG to beat OSU in OT in Stillwater, 2001. Gary Pinkel's first conference win.
- Jared Perry torches Aqib Talib, 2006.
- Mizzou beats Oklahoma State, 41-7, in 1991...my first ever Mizzou game.
- Mizzou beats Oklahoma State, 42-9, in 1993...my second ever Mizzou game. Freshman Rashetnu Jenkins makes the most amazing catch I've ever seen--a diving, one-handed catch reaching around a defender. I predict then and there that Jenkins will be an All-American one day. Whoops.
- Will Franklin's absurd sideline catch in Q2 against Colorado in 2007.
- Chase Daniel runs over a Texas Tech defender on the way to a first down in 2006.
- Brad Smith tiptoes the sidelines in his patented "you think I'm going out of bounds...NO I'M NOT" move, Troy State 2002.
- Hearing Arkansas State's fight song for the first time, Arrowhead 2005. 'CAUSE I-N-D-I-A-N-S SPELLS VIC...TOR...YYYYYYYY." No, no it doesn't.
- We beat KU in Lawrence in 2001, and I retire from ever going there for a game again. That retirement seems like a ridiculously good move after debacles in 2003 and 2005 that I did not attend.
- Every Sooner Poops Nuggets. Again, see this post.
- Mizzou upsets Iowa State in OT in 2004, ruining ISU's chance at a North title and creating the first and only truly good moment from the 2004 season.
- Students tear down the goal posts after beating Baylor in 1997...simply because they couldn't the week before against Nebraska.
- I eat the "Filthy Diablo" with a large tray of chili cheese fries at Dyer's Burgers on Beale Street after the Mizzou-Memphis football game in 1999. What's a Filthy Diablo? A triple cheeseburger. With two whole kielbasa sausages on it.
- Mizzou finally beats OU on a basketball court, Hearnes Center 2003.
- With a bunch of a--holes suspended and on the bench, a depleted Mizzou basketball team beats Michael Beasley and K-State at home, 2008.
- Wesley Stokes drains a jumper to beat SLU and move Mizzou to 8-0 in 2001-02.
- Mizzou beats Arkansas, 89-88, in Fayetteville, 1990. Don't know why I remember this game and not others from that season (other than the losses to Colorado and Northern Iowa that ended it), but I do.
- Charlie Batch throws for about 850 yards, but Mizzou beats Eastern Michigan, 44-24, in my first official home game as a Mizzou student.
- Brad Smith scores a late TD to send the Middle Tennessee game to OT, saving Mizzou from an embarrassing loss.
- Mizzou beats Texas, 54-47, in Austin to clinch 2nd in the Big 12, 1999. (Norm's last win.)
- Being told not to s--- on the grass by a cop before the 2002 Mizzou-Bowling Green game. The only good moment of that entire trip.
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30 comments
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Happy birfday.
"One man, five scoops." -- shroomer
by ghtd36 on
Sep 9, 2008 5:59 PM CDT
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Was gonna save my happy birthdays for the roundtable tomorrow
but, happy birthday anyway. 30, eh? I remember my 30th like it was 2 years and 3 months ago. Because it was exactly 2 years and 3 months ago. June 10, September 10, Chase Daniel wears 10, can’t be coincidence can it?
- - The Boy finds ZouDave at midfield on October 11, 2003, right where we both promised we’d be “if it happens.” We then proceed to make “snow angels” on the new midfield logo, which leads to me picking out pieces of ground up tires from my hair for the next 30 days.
by ZouDave on
Sep 9, 2008 6:23 PM CDT
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That was supposed to say "#79"
but apparently it doesn’t like that.
by ZouDave on
Sep 9, 2008 6:23 PM CDT
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honestly...
…#2 should just be “Everything that happened in and after Q4 of the ’03 Nebraska game.”
http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!
by The Boy on
Sep 9, 2008 6:27 PM CDT
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Happy Birthday
Not to judge your list (it is your b-day after all)…but how does Thomas Gardner scoring 40 at home to beat kansas in OT, with Moody missing the free throws at the end NOT make this list?
I think that was the greatest Mizzou basketball game I’ve ever attended.
by RoyalsFanInBillings on
Sep 9, 2008 6:39 PM CDT
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Ditto.
The only game my older brother (Texas Tech grad) came to with me. Just awesome. Gardner was unconscious. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone “in the zone” as much as he was. Every time he shot, everyone just knew it was going in. Unreal.
Oh, and MOODY! MOODY! MOODY!
"One man, five scoops." -- shroomer
by ghtd36 on
Sep 9, 2008 6:42 PM CDT
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that's a good one...
…in my defense, it didn’t make as much of an impression because I was packing for a work trip and was only half-watching it until the end.
http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!
by The Boy on
Sep 9, 2008 6:48 PM CDT
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Greatness, sir, greatness.
How about the 30 greatest moments for Rock M Nation since its existence? ZouDave’s “hide the fruit” reference has to be Top 5.
http://www.RockMNation.com
Chance McDanielson for Heisman
by rptgwb on
Sep 9, 2008 7:04 PM CDT
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happy b-day
nice list. i had forgotten about the cookie/monte game. its weird how most of the good memories used to come from mu basketball, but now its all football. maybe one day we’ll be good at both.
by Wooderson on
Sep 9, 2008 7:21 PM CDT
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#25 - I would have been there
(like, literally would have road-tripped with you, ZD and Beef) Except I decided to go visit my parents in Florida over Christmas. Alas, what could have been. Instead, I ended up spending New Years with Meaghan and 4 years later we’re married with a house and a son.
But, I could have spent New Years in Shreveport with Dave!
by Andy--01 on
Sep 9, 2008 7:25 PM CDT
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you sure as hell did not want to spend that new years with me
hhooooooo boy…my head still hurts thinking about that night.
"Write a wise saying and your name will live forever." - Anonymous
by The Beef on
Sep 9, 2008 8:02 PM CDT
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Has that hangover dissipated yet?
http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!
by The Boy on
Sep 9, 2008 8:15 PM CDT
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It has left its mark, that is for certain
Am never getting back 1/1/04…that is for sure
"Write a wise saying and your name will live forever." - Anonymous
by The Beef on
Sep 10, 2008 6:50 AM CDT
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Happy Bday
Man this is shocking, you’re 30 now? This is like when Kobe Bryant turned 30, man I feel old
by JayC on
Sep 9, 2008 8:25 PM CDT
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how old are you now?
48? 59? Someday you need to tell me what it was like growing up with Curtis Mayfield…love that guy…
http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!
by The Boy on
Sep 9, 2008 8:31 PM CDT
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great post...
even though my team is featured in a bad way in several of these…As a Jayhawk fan I think one of my favorite Mizzou moments was when they gave Norm Stewart the rocking chair at Allen Fieldhouse(I was at that game)…and also even though the outcome wasn’t the best, the Border War at Arrowhead last year was an incredible atmosphere
-Chuck Norris recently had the idea to sell his urine as a canned beverage. We know this beverage as Red Bull.
by Denverjhawk on
Sep 9, 2008 9:36 PM CDT
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Nice list..
but what about the Mizzou-Gonzaga basketball game in 2003 (I think)? As a 13-year-old snuck into Zou Crew with my older brother, it was definitely and awesome game.
by cpjrmd on
Sep 9, 2008 11:18 PM CDT
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2005, I think...
That game was fun…but I hated that we rushed the court for beating a West Coast Conference team that obviously wasn’t as good as its ranking. If rushing the court hadn’t jumped the shark when we did it for beating Virginia in ’02, it definitely did then.
http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!
by The Boy on
Sep 10, 2008 8:00 AM CDT
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Good stuff
May that list be without end. I forgot about the Justin Smith play against West Virginia. Hilarious. And happy birthday.
by Southside on
Sep 10, 2008 1:49 AM CDT
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I almost put...
…“sitting on press row for the Albert-White-throws-up-behind-the-bench-at-Gallagher-Iba-and-still-carries-Mizzou” game on there, but…well…we lost. Kinda killed the buzz. Though talking to Eddie Sutton was pretty damn cool…
http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!
by The Boy on
Sep 10, 2008 7:58 AM CDT
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He offer you a drink?
What? Too soon?
"Write a wise saying and your name will live forever." - Anonymous
by The Beef on
Sep 10, 2008 8:52 AM CDT
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I meant to ask:
Was the tray of chili cheese fries really needed to supplement the Filthy Diablo? Hell, I’m surprised they didn’t just throw them on top.
http://www.RockMNation.com
Chance McDanielson for Heisman
by rptgwb on
Sep 10, 2008 5:39 PM CDT
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I don't know...
…but I should emphasize that this was a tray of chili cheese fries. Like, 9" × 11".
http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!
by The Boy on
Sep 10, 2008 6:43 PM CDT
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Not even sure the Diablo is still on the menu
I dont recall seeing this past summer when we were down there. Had a bunch of their wings though….and when they say wings…these things are enormous
"Write a wise saying and your name will live forever." - Anonymous
by The Beef on
Sep 11, 2008 7:22 AM CDT
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I don't think it is...
…don’t remember seeing it when we went back in ‘01 or ’03…I guess they removed it from the menu mostly because IT’S A TRIPLE CHEESEBURGER WITH TWO WHOLE KIELBASA SAUSAGES.
http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!
by The Boy on
Sep 11, 2008 8:04 AM CDT
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It's times like these
… when I’m most proud to be an American.
Did Brass Bonanza start playing in the background when you finished it? Because if there was ever time for celebration music, that was it.
http://www.RockMNation.com
Chance McDanielson for Heisman
by rptgwb on
Sep 11, 2008 9:12 AM CDT
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All I remember...
…was leaning up against the wall outside Dyer’s for about 15-20 minutes afterward, trying to get my bearings and not die a la Chris Farley in those Superfan skits. It was not a time for celebration.
http://www.rockmnation.com
Thrust nunchuk upward!
by The Boy on
Sep 11, 2008 11:05 AM CDT
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"That makes a baker's dozen, Todd"

http://www.RockMNation.com
Chance McDanielson for Heisman
by rptgwb on
Sep 11, 2008 11:08 PM CDT
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I'd add 71-63
The score of the basketball win over KU in Lawrence in 1999. The last time Mizzou has won in Allen Fieldhouse, and it was on Norm’s last trip there (as a coach anyway). I’ve always hated that Norm went out the way he did, but at least he went out with a one-game winning streak in Lawrence.
by Professor Chaos on
Sep 18, 2008 8:08 PM CDT
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