| 14 July 2009
Iconic Moments
Football
Almost too many to count here. There was Jeremy Maclin’s so-this-kid’s-pretty-good punt return for 6 in his first game against Illinois as well as Pig Brown’s coming out party in the same game.
But the ones that have special places reserved in Tiger lore came in three games. First was 41-6. The coming out party. Whether it was Willy Mo pile-driving Marlon Lucky or Chase Daniel jogging in for another easy touchdown, this one was all kinds of awesome and historically significant when you consider how Nebraska was still The Man in the Big 12 North at that point in time. My favorite moment of the night, though, was seeing the smirk on coach Pinkel’s face after he ran the F-U fake field goal in the fourth quarter. After that there was no doubt that Nebraska’s bullying days were over.
But even 41-6 couldn’t compare to Armageddon at Arrowhead. Most Mizzou fans have this entire game ingrained in their memories. But there are two moments that stand out to me as particularly unforgettable: Chase scrambling and avoiding basically the entire kU defense before firing a bullet to a streaking ’Nario Alexander for 6 and then of course Sod Reesing (do I need to elaborate on that?).
Finally, there’s the finale, the Cotton Bowl. The biggest bowl game the Tigers have played in since….crickets….crickets. There was no doubt we were all excited for this game but we’d be lying if we tried to say we weren’t worried about a letdown following the BCS snub. But Tony Temple put those fears quickly to rest on this beautiful New Year’s Day. What would be a perfect ending to a damn near perfect season? How about Chase Daniel and Kurtis Gregory carrying Tony Temple off the field after a record-setting performance and then hearing HCGP belt out “How bout them Tigers?!” in the postgame celebration? Works for me. That finale left no doubt that this was an iconic season full of iconic moments.
Basketball
I think college basketball is a sport that lends itself to being appreciated more by examining the entire body of work than it does individual moments. Even the Tigers’ biggest regular season win, against kU, is more impressive when you take into account the entire second half comeback. That’s not to say there weren’t singular moments that I’ll never forget.
How about Laurence Bowers getting his SportsCenter on? Or Keith Ramsey turning the paint at Mizzou Arena into the House of Ramsey? Not good enough for you?
How about DeMarre Carroll’s follow-me-to-freedom three-point shot in the second half against kU? Or J.T. going kamikaze after loose balls in the same game? Then there was Zaire Taylor’s transformation from a decent point guard to The Closer with game-winning shots against Texas and kU.
Don’t forget the full-circle senior night ceremony. After three years of listening to a half-empty Mizzou Arena cheer half-heartedly for its seniors, Leo Lyons and Matt Lawrence (as well as JYD and MAJic Man) had a sold out Mizzou Arena sending them off in style. And they rewarded the fans with an 18-0 season at Mizzou Arena.
But they weren’t done. There were the workmanlike victories in the Big 12 Tourney, which ended with the Tigers cutting down the nets in OKC before heading to the Big Dance.
And if anyone thought the Tigers were only going to make an appearance at the Dance before going home they were sorely mistaken. Mike Anderson’s troops stole the show. The first real iconic moment came in the first half against Marquette when Kim English was inserted into the game and scored 15 points in something like 37 seconds. Then after blowing a huge lead in the second half the Tigers were trailing by four with minutes remaining when Matty Ice hit a cold-blooded three-pointer that essentially erased any memories Tiger fans might have had of him clanking three-pointers as a junior. And then Kim English again. I’ll let this pic do my talking (if you’re a Marquette fan, this WILL piss you off:
The Memphis game, like the entire season, is better appreciated if you examine the game in its entirety. It’s hard to really portray just how the Tigers mopped the floor with the fightin’ Calipari’s in one or two plays. But lets just say, things were finally going Ol’ Mizzou’s way on this day.Edge: I’m giving the edge to the football team. If we were talking about how impressive the entire season of these two teams were this might be another story. But were talking about flashbulb moments that portray a greater significance. As I said, I think football in general is more conducive to moments like these.
Response to adversity
The football team kinda became what it was because of adversity. The players on the team came together in the months and years following AO’s death. But during the season there were three times the team faced major adversity. The first time was after their loss to Oklahoma early in the season. And the Tigers responded by making a run to No. 1. The second time they faced major adversity was when Pig Brown went down with a ruptured achilles. It’s easy to forget this in hindsight but it was widely believed that injury would completely derail Mizzou’s season. That’s what had happened the previous season when Brian Smith went down with a broken hip. But instead Willy Mo stepped up and became the best defensive player in the country. And finally, there was the BCS snub. Ask Darren McFadden how the Tigers responded to that one.
Much like the football team, the most adversity the b-ball team faced came in previous seasons. These guys made it through Athenagate and survived. They were stronger because of that. But take a look at the Tigers’ schedule and how they responded to each setback during the season.
The frustrating early season loss to Xavier was followed up by seven straight wins including big victories over USC and Cal. Their Braggin’ Rights disaster was followed by four solid wins including a hard fought one on the road against Georgia. After getting upset by Nebraska in the conference opener they defeated Colorado by the biggest margin in Big 12 history. They lose at K-State and then win seven straight including huge victories against Texas and kU. Embarrassment at Allen Fieldhouse leads to a Senior Night win against OU and the road setback at A&M was followed by a Big 12 Tourney Championship and Elite 8 run. That’s called perseverance.
Edge: This one’s close but I’m giving the slight edge to the hardwooders if only because I think they faced more adversity than the football team did. I guess a lot of credit should be given to Pinkel’s boys for avoiding adversity by not losing, but I just think it’s incredibly impressive how every setback the b-ball team faced was immediately followed by some of their best efforts of the season.
Coaching
Who would win a fight between Mike Anderson and a hurricane? Wait, it’s not that easy. The hurricane’s name is Pinkel.
In my opinion, the hardest and most important thing a basketball coach has to do is develop good chemistry with all the players on his roster. The Tigers were defined by their chemistry. How rare is it that you see a team with every player on its roster buying into a system like MA’s and sacrificing major minutes for the good of the team?
The most difficult job a college football coach has to do during the season is get his players ready to play every single game week in and week out. In 2007, there wasn’t one week that the Tigers came out unprepared or slow-footed. In seasons prior to this one the Tigers were notorious for teasing fans early on and then collapsing in November. Not the case this time. Like the b-ballers, the gridiron Tigers played with consistency all year long and responded every single time they suffered some sort of letdown.
Edge: Push. I’m convinced an Anderson-Pinkel boxing match would totally trounce Ali-Frazier.Final Results
So when all is said and done we are gridlocked at 2-2-2. So the teams are equally likable? Oh no, that would be a copout, and that’s not what MizzouRah does. We’re gonna decide this thing. We’re going to overtime, penalty kicks, shootout, sudden death, etc. Come back tomorrow for the final analysis and final decision on this matter.
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