A Peace Offering In The Form Of The Greatest Homecoming Ever

I have watched it 3 times already.

work, schmurk.

I hope and pray ZooDave has time this year to make amazing highlight reels for the 2011 season.

We only got 2 last year :(

That was indicative of a Tiger team that wasn’t going to be intimidated.

I’m going to need to just go back and watch this whole game, see what else I missed.

ummm, hell yes

Once Gahn got in the clear I ripped my shirt off. I don’t know what. Just felt right. Once he juked EVER SO LAZILY past the cleaerly-defeated defenders into the endzone I hugged a man who was ALSO shirtless for no real reason (this is in section CC mind you). Screams. Jumping. Mass crush of our section into an awkward 15-person hug. And then the Event Staff telling me that, if my shirt was to remain in the off position, that they would have to escort me out of the stadium. Pure. Magic.

Unfortunately, I promised to go to the Vu for my girlfriend’s best friend’s birthday a couple months early and didn’t check the schedule. Got to catch the KO return before we left, and caught most of the 4th quarter after show (and kept up with the game on my phone during).

I’ve never been a part of such a spontaneous and exuberant celebration in my life. There was this lingering doubt while watching the game at the bar that, somehow, we’d “pull a Mizzou” and lose the game. I could feel it in the room. A subtle tension that persisted almost until the final play. Then the clock ran out, the field was rushed and the ENTIRE FREAKING BAR erupted. Truly magical.

I needed that, hopefully that lasts me a little over two months till football starts back up again.

That also gave me chills. Maybe we should make a tally of how many people that video gave chills to?

…, get hit hear the 45, and drag one, then two, and finally three OU backs for another 20 yards.

Talk about finishing a run, and a game!

I watched the game at my friend’s home in Germany (he had HD). The game started around 2am and everyone (he, friend, friend’s wife) was exhausted, my friend’s wife went to sleep. In all honesty, I was about ready to pass out too. As excited as I was for MIZZOU, I had the typical Missouri gut feeling that this was going to be 2007 all over again. And I had been drinking since 7pm. Then the kickoff. Unfreakingbelievable! My friend thought I went insane and he cheers for LSU. Any hint of me being tired disappeared and my friend was treated to me acting like I was in the student section for the rest of the night, well until he went to bed at halftime. I only wish I coluld have been there in person.

one year anniversary slash work trip. And my wife got it…for the most part. It was her first and only time in Hawaii. She was guilting me that whole morning. “You’re going to make me waste a day in Hawaii watching this game?” And by the fourth quarter, she’s all like, “You couldn’t have missed this. This is awesome.”

It worked out well.

I think it’s great that Mizzou fans conducted themselves so well after the game.

All of the Homecoming babies should start being born next month :)

My two best friends and I all went to the game together. We all live apart and don’t often get to see each other. We were lucky enough to get some of the last G.A. hill tickets available. 1 for each of us guys and 1 for my buddys 12 year-old son. The trip in hindsight seemed like it was meant to be. Fist time we had all been together in a year. The game fell on the 12 year-olds birthday and the 1 year wedding anniversary of our other friend. Luckily they had plans for the following weekend, so his new wife was completely cool with a little guy’s day. We were to all come together in KC, drive down for some tailgating and the game then drive back after the game.
We had an awesome time tailgating and hanging out with fellow fans before the game. Got some great spots on hill and settled in. The atmosphere, as most of you know was electric. The opening kickoff was just mad. We were engulfed by people, hugging, high fiving and going crazy. That was the beginning to a night that had the excitement of nothing like i have ever been a part of. We had the normal "Mizzou’ drama that made you think the game was going to slip away, but then the 4 quarter happened. Not only was this OU, and the #1 team that we started to take over, but it felt like it was more. Like finally MU wasn’t the school that pee’d down their leg in the 4th. We were no longer the team that got taken over in the end, we were the taker. MU was pulling away. The night was too much to take almost. In the final moments I almost became over whelmed with happiness. There had not been many moments of celebration in my life as a Tigers fan, and this was the first I was able to be at. Everyone in our area hugged and celebrated then we made our way to midfield. Celebrating at midfield with my 2 best buds, who happen to be the biggest Tiger fans i know, besides myself, was priceless. However, one of the absolute moments that I will never forget was my buddy’s son, who at 12 was just so happy. Nothing beats the pure joy that kids can have, and seeing it on a young Tiger fans face is just awesome, especially on his birthday. That drive back to KC after the game was never so short or easy. I had no worries about falling asleep that was for sure.

then drove an hour to Columbia alone to hit my friend’s bar, McGinty’s and start getting plowed. He hadn’t opened it yet by midday but I saw some OU flagged RV’s in a parking lot next door. I went over and said hi to their fans camping out there and they invited me to sit down under their tarp, drink some cold ones and offered me some of their food. They had multiple TVs set up with multiple games and I watched ISU beating up on Texas with them and shared the joy of that. They were pretty confident that they were going to beat us but they had one guy who didn’t have a good feeling at all.

After McGinty’s opened up, I walked over there and continued to pound down the brews. The place was filling up quick and had that instant electricity that something big was happening in our town. Mid afternoon I figured I’d work my way closer to the stadium and shared a taxi with a wonderful drunk married couple. I just wanted a ride up the big hill to be dropped off in the middle of some parking lots. It was crazy, unlike any tailgating atmosphere I had been a part of at Mizzou. Long lines of inebriated people, buddying up on each other at every porta potty. It reminded me of some type of Armageddon setting from a chaotic future. Twice, young people with liquor bottles came up to me and told me to chug it, which I declined. People gave me beers out of their colors and food off their grills like they knew me forever. I wandered around and partied with anyone and everyone.

Finally I hooked up with my buddy who had invited a beautiful young date to come sit with us. They were whisky trashed. At the game, he almost fell over a railing on a deck above the student section after high fiving me and I had to grab him. At the end of the game he was getting ready to go down and storm the field with his girl and I told him I was too old for that shit that I would just stay in the stands and soak it all in. I cautioned him to pay attention to his girl and make sure she stays safe down there. That final cannon blew, the smoke ring sailed over the field, camera flashes were repeatedly going off around the stadium and the moment was pure magic. I will never forget that moment. I never found my friend again that night. He was long gone in the sea of celebration. I hugged so many strangers in the stands that night and again later at McGinty’s that I ended up getting sick with some sort of cold virus in the days after.

It might not be the biggest game ever, it might be, but I know for sure that it was my favorite Mizzou football experience of all time and it lasted all the week prior to the game into the depths of the weekend.

he’ll still be unforgettable.