A walk down memory lane
- Thread starter CaliRdBrd
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Wow....a lot of great memories from then. I went to my first ISU game when I was 9 and became hooked. Sitting packed into those crappy north bleachers with someone's knee in your back was AWESOME!! The atmosphere was so exciting. No piped in music or commercials, just the fans, the pep band, cheerleaders, and great exciting basketball. That environment will never come back, but there have been a handful of games at Redbird that compared to it. How fun would it be to get back to that kind of atmosphere. Watching the Illinois vs Ohio State game last night in Champaign looked like so much fun. Fans just going crazy. Hopefully days like that lay ahead for us.
stielowp
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I remember looking for the promotional giveaway too. Whether it was a plastic cup, pom-pom, t-shirt iron-on. I think I still have some of those collectibles buried in some storage box. I also had most of the game programs (I learned basic math skills keeping stats) until they were ruined in a basement flood.
RedbirdSoxFan
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Loudest crowds I can remember @ RBA were probably the MVC Championship game with SIU and the Washington St NIT game when Coop hit the 3’s. I’m sure there were some that might compare, but those are the two off the top of my (bald) head!
Manchester Matt
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Agree on the Washington State game. I'd toss in the double-overtime win against SIU when they had Carr and Timmons. Place was electric.
Redbird222
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I graduated in '88 and was fortunate to attend all three of thise games . I didn't have season tickets and attended 1 or 2 games a year ... so just randomly went to these games. All great games and the fans were outstanding. There was another game I attended that was rocking. We played Creighton in like 2008 or 09 and were undefeated during the nonconference schedule and the first couple of MVC games. We were 13 - 0 and stomped Creighton at home. It wasn't a nail biter game but the crowd was pumped. I believe we lost the next game and played .500 ball the rest of the season.
All games vs. SIU in the 90s were energetic and loud. KP's 11 points in 70 seconds game in '98 specifically was a lot of fun. The '90 title game was the loudest overall, sustained. It was rocking from warmups onward. "Rich Herrin calls timeout, but who can hear him?"
The Washington St. NIT game had the loudest moment though. That game was electric the whole way but when Coop drained that second three, the upper bowl shook.The 2009 game vs. Creighton was a lot of fun. That put us at 14-0, one of three unbeatens left in the country, and it was a sellout over Xmas break which was unheard of to that point. We lost the very next game at Bradley I believe. Then finished 24-9 or something after another heartbreaking OT loss to UNI on Sunday in the Lou. One friggin layup away from dancing. God that sucked. Crowds during Jank's first couple years were really energetic and attendance was great. We had some star power. It felt like the old days. Both those teams were good enough to win a game in the Dance, I'll die on that hill.
Speaking of the good old days, remember the guy who'd fly the remote control blimp around the arena? Little fan service like that and the flaming tubas are what's sorely missing these days. In the 90s it always felt like the thing to do to watch a game at RA.
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For sure.
And, IIRC, it was the final officiating call in the history of Redbird basketball in Horton Fieldhouse.
Getting to Horton early to watch No 4 UNLV play is. The field house was packed and hour early to get a seat - band playing-cheerleaders entertaining us and watching the UNLV players walk in the field house - they were shocked at the noise!!
The Good Old Days!
The Good Old Days!Getting to Horton early to watch No 4 UNLV play is. The field house was packed and hour early to get a seat - band playing-cheerleaders entertaining us and watching the UNLV players walk in the field house - they were shocked at the noise!!
How about ISU handing out super balls before the orange men came to play us and some fans threw the balls on the court
And the band playing three blind mice and coach Donowald walked over to band and told them to stop! Bob was unhappy after the game on the radio
And the band playing three blind mice and coach Donowald walked over to band and told them to stop! Bob was unhappy after the game on the radio