"This Is Amazing"

Dolphin Stadium. Section 102. Row 8. Seat 15. Less than 30 yards away "The Hair" (Jimmy) and "The Stache" (Dave Wannstedt) were doing pre-game commentary for Fox TV on a stage in the back of the Louisville end zone. I was finally there. It was less than an hour until kickoff--the University of Louisville football Cardinals in the Orange Bowl! It was finally happening.

I sat next to Brian Daniels, president of the Atlanta Alumni Club. He had made the trip down with his father, Dan. "I'm so glad I'm here," Brian said. "This is amazing."

Right as Ce Ce Wynan nailed the final note of the National Anthem, three F-16s roared over the stadium, electrifying the crowd before the coin toss, which featured sports legends Muhammad Ali, (wearing a Michael Bush jersey) and Arnold Palmer, a Wake Forest graduate. Wake Forest won the toss and elected to take the ball. UofL always wants the ball first, so it's usually a no-lose opening toss for the Cardinals because most teams elect to defer to the second half. But UofL opponents have found that its best to keep our offense off the field, so they've been taking the ball. That's what Rutgers did earlier in the season. Bad flashbacks to the second half that game haunted me during much of the Orange Bowl last night.

I don't need to tell you how the game went. We won with a perfect two-touchdown, fourth quarter rally. Most of the first-half was a defensive struggle. Wake kept the Cards offense out of its rhythm. UofL's defense, led by Amobi Okoye, constantly disrupted the Demon Deacon offense by exploding into the backfield. The Cards were able to take a 10-3 lead into halftime thanks to flee flicker from Brian Brohm to Patrick Carter to Anthony Allen.

I've always thought the most crucial time of a game--in basketball or football--is the first five minutes of the second half. UofL got the ball first. If they were able to mount a strong touchdown drive, they would be up 17-3, the possible beginnings of a comfortable second-half route. But Wake Forest prevailed early in the quarter, tying the game at 10 at the 11:34 mark and then taking the lead 13-10 on the second play of the fourth quarter.

That's when the Cardinal offense started clicking, Brohm leading two long touchdown drives with key passes to Harry Douglas, who was dynamite all game. The drives were capped by TD runs by Allen and Brock Bolin. Brohm finished the game 24-34 for 311 yards--the third-highest passing yard total in Orange Bowl history. Douglas finished with 10 receptions for 165 yards.

Brohm was named Orange Bowl MVP, and from the awards stage he was asked if would come back to UofL for his senior year. He implied that coming back was very appealing to him because the Cards have so many good players returning. Can you imagine if both Brian Brohm and Michael Bush come back? I don't want to think about that right now. Let's enjoy this. We can think about that tomorrow.

Comments

[Orange Bowl Tickets]

I haven't been to Dolphin stadium in years, so I am ready to go this year.