Twenty-One Years ago this weekend

[NewsCopy]

 
November 22 1987 — University of Louisiana quarterback Brian Mitchell rushes for 271 yards and four touchdowns and passes for 205 yards in a 35-28 victory over Colorado State.

[RCAJUN90]

_ _

Wow! I believe that was my first Cajun game. Dang it was fun to be a Cajun fan back then. I guess that is why so many of us hang on.

[Just1More]

_ Wow! I believe that was my first Cajun game. Dang it was fun to be a Cajun fan back then. I guess that is why so many of us hang on. _

A great friend of mine and I were talking this week about how we thought at that time, the Nelson Stokley years, that we were finally seeing the beginning of our emergence as a good football program on the regional and national scene. My friend and I were both wise enough to know what it would do for all of UL, the community and beyond. We didn't realize then that we had reached the pinnacle that our lifetime would witness. Younger Cajun fans got a little taste of it in our 4 game win streak this year. Like at that time, we sniffed on bowl invites... shared conference championships... but no bowl. We even did some of our damage as an independent.

It is amazing who we thought were our equals in those days... and who we thought we had risen above. Sadly, I honestly thought back then that by now I would be arguing with a Louisville fan or a Texas Tech fan that we had beat them 2 out of 3 bowls we matched up and that we were being robbed to drop from 19th ranked to 23rd this week. I thought by now we would be trying to figure out where to put the 45k fans in our stands. Why didn't that happen? It happened to our contemporaries in other states. Even the D1AA teams that were "beneath us" are on the rise to forever? dominate us. What happened? I don't get it.

Why are we talking about "if we sneak into a bowl" for the first time in 40 years... we should have already been in 6, 8 or 12 bowls and only be wondering which one next? What happened? I slept too many times since then... what happened?

[RaginFan2]

_ A great friend of mine and I were talking this week about how we thought at that time, the Nelson Stokley years, that we were finally seeing the beginning of our emergence as a good football program on the regional and national scene. My friend and I were both wise enough to know what it would do for all of UL, the community and beyond. We didn't realize then that we had reached the pinnacle that our lifetime would witness. Younger Cajun fans got a little taste of it in our 4 game win streak this year. Like at that time, we sniffed on bowl invites... shared conference championships... but no bowl. We even did some of our damage as an independent.

It is amazing who we thought were our equals in those days... and who we thought we had risen above. Sadly, I honestly thought back then that by now I would be arguing with a Louisville fan or a Texas Tech fan that we had beat them 2 out of 3 bowls we matched up and that we were being robbed to drop from 19th ranked to 23rd this week. I thought by now we would be trying to figure out where to put the 45k fans in our stands. Why didn't that happen? It happened to our contemporaries in other states. Even the D1AA teams that were "beneath us" are on the rise to forever? dominate us. What happened? I don't get it.

Why are we talking about "if we sneak into a bowl" for the first time in 40 years... we should have already been in 6, 8 or 12 bowls and only be wondering which one next? What happened? I slept too many times since then... what happened? _

I was wondering the same thing. I first started going to UL games during the last year of the Russ Faulkinberry era. I, too, felt that the Stokley era was the beginning of THE CHANGE. And we had some great times and outstanding teams during much of that time. I was sorry to see it deteriorate so badly at the end.

[CajunNation]

... what happened?

For all of those years, there was one constant.

The man who had his foot pressed firmly on the pulse of Cajun football.

The man who stood by and did nothing while a football program burned.

The man who sold this basketball program up the river.

The man who turned down hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps millions, in donations because they came with "suggestions".

Do I have to spell it out for you?


..

[MetryCajun]

_ For all of those years, there was one constant.

The man who had his foot pressed firmly on the pulse of Cajun football.

The man who stood by and did nothing while a football program burned.

The man who sold this basketball program up the river.

The man who turned down hundreds of thousands of dollars, perhaps millions, in donations because they came with "suggestions".

Do I have to spell it out for you?


.. _

If you are trying to draw Z out of his cave, this post may do it!

[Just1More]

_ If you are trying to draw Z out of his cave, this post may do it! _

I was waiting for him to emerge with a one word response that rhymes with "apostle"... but means something entirely different.

[Cajuns71]

It is depressing about how few victories we have seen since the 80's and early nineties in football and basketball--My wife and I recalled the Stokely and Pascal days---we also remembered the door slammed on a proven college head coach in favor of an assistant in hiring for basketball--Where is that assistant now and does his son still wear long socks?---Where is Larry Blakely?--oh, now I remember---bad day today--At 68, I may never see a decent UL team play in a bowl.