Fremont Cannon Comes Back To Reno
How can you not love the excitement of college football, especially a rivalry game? Nevada and UNLV doesn't have the annual national implications of Oklahoma-Texas or Ohio State-Michigan, it doesn't have the life-or-death ferocity of Alabama-Auburn, the pagentry of Notre Dame-USC or the magnificent history of Army-Navy, but it is a college football rivalry, and on a cool autumn night that's enough.I've lived in Nevada on and off for five years now, but this was my first University of Nevada football game. Although it is a Division I school, no one is going to mistake Nevada for a big-time football program. The stadium is embarrassingly small, seating about 25,000 people; there are high school stadiums in Texas that seat more people. The P.A. system is completely inaudible during the game. The scoreboard seems old and often has a hard time keeping up with the action on the field. The concession stand in the south end of the stadium ran out of beer in the FIRST QUARTER last night. But the atmosphere was electric and the game was terrific, and that made up for everything else.
The winner of the Nevada-UNLV football game takes home the Fremont Cannon, a replica of the howitzer General Charles C. Fremont brought into Nevada while exploring the territory in 1843; according to legend he was forced to abandon it in a Sierra snowbank. The winning school gets to paint the cannon in its school colors. Until yesterday it had been five years since the University of Nevada had gotten to paint the cannon Wolfpack blue.
The game was close thanks to good defense and a tendancy on the part of both teams to miss scoring opportunites; Nevada's kicking team missed an extra point and had two field goals blocked, and UNLV managed to have two touchdowns called back for offensive penalties on two consecutive plays. A late Vegas touchdown made the final minutes in
teresting, but in the end Nevada's line play and defense were enough to pull out the win.It seems a little odd that Nevada plays it's biggest rival in the second game of the season, but you'll hear no complaints from me. When the final seconds ticked down and the Nevada student section charged onto the field to celebrate the win and forcibly take possession of the cannon, well, you couldn't help but get caught up in the moment. What a great time college football is.
posted by Yukon Sully | 10:38 PM
2 Comments:
Believe me, I'm not saying that UNR-UNLV isn't fierce, and I can't speak to your specific situation Sugafree9, but trust me: I have spent years in both Alabama and Nevada, and there really is no comparison when it comes to the obsessiveness of fans in regard to these two rivalries (I'm sure the experience is different for players, but I have next to no experience in this regard). You might be tempted to argue the question, but believe me when I tell you that I'm giving Nevada a compliment. Alabama and Auburn people are obsessed to the point that it distracts from the fun of being a fan and from life in general. I think people in Nevada have a much healthier attitude. Everyone in Reno wants to beat UNLV, but the general consensus among my friends and neighbors is that the sun will in fact come up the next day and we will all go on with our lives even if the big game is lost. That is not the case back home in 'Bama.
I, of course, have no experience in Alabama or the south in general. I guess I have no frame of reference. But in my small life, I can't imagine a more...say intense hatred(?) than what I was raised with. But, I do agree with you. I am bummed when Nevada loses, but I don't lose any sleep over it. (well maybe a few hours...)
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