Guest Post: Adam S. revisits 1991 UW @ Cal
Frequent H&F commenter Adam S. is one of the greatest Huskies any of us know. How could I not share his thoughts upon rewatching the UW @ Cal game from the National Championship year? Enjoy.
Hearken back, ye, to the days of old. Back to a time when Rodney King was a simple man drinking malt liquor with his friends. A time when O.J. Simpson was best known for his role as Detective Nordberg. A time when wars in the Middle East were fun and light-hearted and nobody got hurt. The year was 1991, and there was a team that roamed the land, dominating the West Coast and all who came within its grasp. That team, of course, your Washington Huskies. I find myself watching a re-broadcast of the Huskies legendary matchup with the vaunted Cal Bears on ESPN Classic. And drinking. And taking down a whole bag of Jack Links beef jerky.
lovelydarkanddeep.org
The matchup pitted the undefeated Huskies and the then undefeated Bears doing battle in Strawberry Canyon at Memorial Stadium, which even then was a complete crap-hole full of Orientals, Indians, and other filler people. Here I present to you an account of the re-broadcast, which differs significantly from my original memory of this game (I was 11, so fuck you).
The game is under way, Brent Musburger and Dick Vermeil on the broadcast. Musberger starts with a veiled shot at the Bears fans, noting they hardly ever show up. He further notes that instead of attending the games, they usually spend Saturdays updating their resumes and planning their Sunday study groups. Beautiful.
Hobert comes to the line with a punishing neck brace that no one would dare wear today, especially not a QB. This is the kind of neck brace that you get free with your Camaro.
Early action is dull, 3 and outs on both sides, definitely not a dominating performance by the Dawgs. Huskies have a plethora of tailbacks to choose from – Beno Bryant, Jay Barry, Matt Jones at FB and Nip Kaufman on the bench. Much like the dearth of tailbacks we’ve had the last 7 years. But different.
Many of the Dawgs chose to cut the mid-riff from their jerseys, and I for one love it. Besides looking like total badasses, the ladies in their Vuarnet glasses are completely wet.
The broadcast skips almost to the end of the first quarter because nothing is happening. However, they do show a couple lovely shots of Huskies on the sideline. Brightly colored silk shirts, white-washed jeans and white hats with straight brims. This is what gangstas used to look like. I wear more intimidating clothing for High Holy Day services. Oy!
Mario Bailey hauls in a TD catch after outrunning the Bears fastest DB. Musburger licks his taint nicely by calling him the Desmond Howard of the West Coast and comparing him favorably to Jerry Rice. Look out NFL Europe!
Quick break in the action to update you on some irrelevant facts: Today’s sideline reporting will be performed by a young Cheryl Miller who sports a lovely white sweater vest and won’t stop talking about slydexia. Huskies offensive coordinator Keith Gilbertson is glaring across the field at Bears defensive coordinator Kent Baer and D-line coach Rod Marinelli. The collective brain trust must be thinking up some incredible schemes and plays. Or, perhaps corned beef is the topic.
The first quarter ends 7-7. It’s such a strange feeling to be tied, knowing your best football has yet to be played.
Joe Kralik sighting. According to the internet (www.internet.com), Joe Kralik recently donated to the Mike Huckabee campaign. So there you go.
Orlando McKay has dropped 3 balls. This kind of production is actually frowned upon on this team. Gilbertson and friends will soon rid the team of those negative reactions.
A field goal by each team. Future NFLer Doug Brien hits a 50 yarder. Jason Hanson’s retarded brother shot-puts a 23 yarder. Cal was going with the logo on one side of the helmet in 1991. The asymmetry kept their fans interested for 100 billion nanoseconds. Glavin.
A moment to reflect on the heat the Huskies were packing. The offense, consisting of Hobert, Bryant, Jones, McKay, Bailey, Lincoln Kennedy, Dave Cunningham, Supeli Malamala et al, pales in comparison to the specimens on the defense. Emtman, Dave Hoffman, Shane Pahukoa, Dana Hall, Walter Bailey, Andy Mason, Chico Fraley, Donald Jones, Jaime Fields, James Clifford, Tyrone Rodgers, Tommie Smith. Just let that soak in. Bathe in it. Sidenote, the Bears have Sean Dawkins.
Huskies punch it in the end zone on a Jay Barry run, with the assistance of a few leg whip blocks. The Don James way differs from how I remember it. The Dawgfather of leg whips and tripping.
Towards the end of the second quarter the Huskies D is starting to roll. The pressure on QB Slava Pawlawski is almost too much to Bear. Bear Puns. We find out Andy Mason, Huskies DL, was second in the state 100m dash, twice. I’m sensing a fundamental difference between the ’91 and the ’08 teams.
Dawgs intercept, but can’t convert as Jason Hanson’s younger, more terrible brother misses the field goal. Husky D gets flagged for “disconcerting signals”. This defense was so good they actually made up penalties to level the playing field. The next play is a Bears 68 yard TD run. The Pac-10 hated us then, as they do now. It’s 17-17 at the end of the third quarter. There are a lot of excited foreigners in the stands wearing white t-shirts, Lee jeans and Croakies.
Now we’ve been trained to think that when the 4th quarter comes and the other team has the momentum, you might as well head to the parking lot and search through strangers coolers for beer. But these Huskies are different. They take the ball and after a holding call Beno Bryant explodes all over my face for a 66 yard TD. Apparently he too is a state champion in the 60m and 400m.
The Huskies grind the clock with a 9 play, 5 minute drive only to see their scoring chance stymied by Jason Hanson’s younger brother, Slowpoke Rodriguez, miss a one-legged attempt at a field goal. The Bears immediately throw downfield and complete passes to get down to the 23 yard line with 5 seconds left to play. A Husky defender jumps offside, giving the Bears a free play. The ball falls off the outstretched hands of the receiver in the end zone. But, since the game can’t end on a defensive penalty, we have one untimed play.
Bears throw down to the 2 yard line where a leaping Walter Bailey deflects the pass, prompting Brent Musburger to call the Bears “huge losers”. Huskies go on to world domination and the Bears resume their place as the best biology students in the conference.
espn.com
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