The fat lineman legacy
Jack Hittinger
Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: Opinion
I have this list. I know I always write lists in my columns, but this one stands out. It's a sports-themed list: "Top Sporting Events I Have Witnessed Live."
A few of these are shoo-ins, like the Tigers and White Sox game Tony Gonzalez (a fairly rabid Sox fan) and I attended in 2006, where Craig Monroe hit the game-winning grand slam in the sixth. It shut Tony up - until the World Series, at least.
Also on the list is the single Michigan football game I attended, where Ben Roethlisberger almost beat the Blue as a freshman, and the hurling match (Yeah, Jerk, it's a real sport; look it up.) I got to see in Ireland.
But sneaking in at a fairly solid number two on that list is the "Student Section Game." Mention these words to anyone in the senior class, and they'll know the game.
For those of you who don't know, I'll summarize: first weekend of my freshman year (2004). First game of the season, against Indianapolis. Lots of scoring. Quadruple overtime. Every student ran to the other end of the field when the teams switched during overtime periods. Hillsdale won 49-43.
It's now forever known, in the memory of the my class, as the "Student Section Game." I don't know why we decided to call it this; it could just as easily be called "The Overtime Game" or "The Indianapolis Game," or even "The Game Where That Fat Opposing Lineman Insulted Our Entire Student Body."
In all honesty, I'd probably call it the latter (That dude was huge!), but I've realized that deliberate attempts at naming or creating something consciously "cool" hardly ever work.
A few years ago, some friends of mine decided to rekindle the tradition of smoking on the Central Hall steps between classes, recalling a scene from the 1972 Winona that "Dazed and Confused" may as well have ripped off.
After a few days, and even a hilarious exchange with Dean Petersen ("What are you guys doing?" [pause] "Bringing back the 70s!" [longer pause] "Awesome" [eye roll]), it just stopped. I haven't smoked there since.
A few of these are shoo-ins, like the Tigers and White Sox game Tony Gonzalez (a fairly rabid Sox fan) and I attended in 2006, where Craig Monroe hit the game-winning grand slam in the sixth. It shut Tony up - until the World Series, at least.
Also on the list is the single Michigan football game I attended, where Ben Roethlisberger almost beat the Blue as a freshman, and the hurling match (Yeah, Jerk, it's a real sport; look it up.) I got to see in Ireland.
But sneaking in at a fairly solid number two on that list is the "Student Section Game." Mention these words to anyone in the senior class, and they'll know the game.
For those of you who don't know, I'll summarize: first weekend of my freshman year (2004). First game of the season, against Indianapolis. Lots of scoring. Quadruple overtime. Every student ran to the other end of the field when the teams switched during overtime periods. Hillsdale won 49-43.
It's now forever known, in the memory of the my class, as the "Student Section Game." I don't know why we decided to call it this; it could just as easily be called "The Overtime Game" or "The Indianapolis Game," or even "The Game Where That Fat Opposing Lineman Insulted Our Entire Student Body."
In all honesty, I'd probably call it the latter (That dude was huge!), but I've realized that deliberate attempts at naming or creating something consciously "cool" hardly ever work.
A few years ago, some friends of mine decided to rekindle the tradition of smoking on the Central Hall steps between classes, recalling a scene from the 1972 Winona that "Dazed and Confused" may as well have ripped off.
After a few days, and even a hilarious exchange with Dean Petersen ("What are you guys doing?" [pause] "Bringing back the 70s!" [longer pause] "Awesome" [eye roll]), it just stopped. I haven't smoked there since.
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