
It’s been 28 years since I have traveled with the Louisiana Tech football team. In November of 1995, I went to Nashville, Tennessee with the Bulldogs as their right tackle. We had a forgettable date, 29-6, with the Vanderbilt Commodores.
Last Friday, as the sideline reporter for the LA Tech Football Radio Network, I traveled with the team to Lincoln as the Bulldogs faced Nebraska on Saturday.
In some ways it seems like a hundred years ago since I’d traveled with the team. In other ways it seems like it was yesterday.
Something about packing in the old Tech charter bus with my brothers and heading east on I-20 to the airport in Monroe. Going to battle!
In my day, the bus would pull up on the tarmac – about 40 yards from the plane – and “the race” would be on.
The race was between the taller offensive linemen who coveted those seats on the wing with the extra leg room. The defensive linemen were not in play. They didn’t have a chance. They were on Bus No. 2.
Back then, the last people to get on the plane would be the administrators, coaches and wives, and supporters.
The late Dr. Guthrie Jarrell was always with us on those trips. Always. He sat in first class where – being a tall man himself – I’m sure he appreciated the extra leg room, too.
“It must be nice.” If I didn’t say it back then, I thought it. It must be nice to be able to take in a college football game and root, root, root, for ol’ red and blue. It must be nice to not have to worry about your blocking assignments and taking the proper first step before trying to knock the block off a guy who is a 6-3, 245-pound, five-star SEC defensive end who runs like a deer.
Don’t get me wrong.
There is nothing like the rush of trotting out on the field in some of the sport’s biggest and best venues in front of thousands of people and playing the greatest game God ever created. Williams-Bryce. Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Been there. In the trenches. Hand-to-shoulder pad combat. Hat on a hat. At the bottom of the pile. There is nothing like it.
Even back then, I said I always wanted to take a trip with the team and experience it…without the pressure. Thanks to Learfield and the Tech administration, I was able to do that last Friday.
The trips are a little different now. There were no security checks back then. Now, you get your snacks before getting on the plane. Assigned seats. A little thank you note from Tech head coach Sonny Cumbie.
It was nice…even with knees jammed into the back of an airplane seat and praying to God a sixth grader sitting in front of me doesn’t want to see how far his seat back can go.
The University of Nebraska is known for storied tradition, 100-year old Memorial Stadium, the fumblerooski, and their loyal fan base. Among other things. 391 consecutive sellouts! Are you kidding me, Cornhuskers? Wow.
When the Louisiana Tech entourage arrived in Lincoln, everyone went straight to the stadium and walked out on Tom Osborne Field. Red signs reading “There is no place like Nebraska” were lit up all over the stadium.
Back in the day, we would get in our shorts and T-shirts and have a walk-through practice after arriving Friday. The walk-through for the Bulldogs on this trip happened in the parking lot of the Marriott in Omaha, Nebraska early Saturday morning.
Impressive was the adjective for when Memorial Stadium was empty. Incredible would be the word for Saturday at 2:30 p.m. when Big Red took the field against my Bulldogs with 85,000 Cornhusker fans in the stands.
When the announcer says “and that will bring up THIRRRRRDDD DOOOOWWWNNNNN!!!,” most in the sea of red stand on their feet and scream their heads off. On third down, I’ve never heard a louder stadium…ever.
The score was 7-7 at halftime and I could not have been more proud of how the Bulldogs competed.
Things got away from Tech as the second half started. The big offensive line from Nebraska, with the smallest lineman being 6-3, 315, leaned on the Tech defense. Pulling the left guard and running off tackle to the right side all the way down the field.
Penalties. Personal fouls. And one flag – a pass interference call – which was thrown and then picked up, hurt the Bulldogs. A good fight, but 28-14 was the final.
While the outcome was not what Louisiana Tech wanted, it was a memorable time – at least for this old Dawg, able to take the trip of a lifetime with the Louisiana Tech football team.
Contact Jerry at sbjjerrybyrd@gmail.com
