An oral history of an incredible night. Too bad not everyone on this board good could be there, but this gives an idea of what it was like. Good job, DeKalb Chronicle.

http://www.huskiewire.com/articles/2013/.../index.xml

The greatest sporting event I ever witnessed in person. Obviously, I did not get one minute of sleep that night. The euphoria lasted for days. I was so amped up and excited that as I was leaving the stadium, someone behind me bumped into my car and I did not even care - I just kept driving and listening to the incredible post-game. I wanted nothing to destroy that feeling. That incredible game was the start of it all. I will carry every memory of that game to my grave.

(08-28-2013 07:50 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  The greatest sporting event I ever witnessed in person. Obviously, I did not get one minute of sleep that night. The euphoria lasted for days. I was so amped up and excited that as I was leaving the stadium, someone behind me bumped into my car and I did not even care - I just kept driving and listening to the incredible post-game. I wanted nothing to destroy that feeling. That incredible game was the start of it all. I will carry every memory of that game to my grave.

Best.Game.Ever

NOVAK: [Yow] and Ralph (Friedgen) tried real hard to get out of that game. They did not want to come to DeKalb, they wanted us to come back to Maryland, and I give Cary Groth a lot of credit. She fought it off and forced them to live up to their contract, which nowadays doesn’t always happen, to be honest with you.

OK...Why haven't we enforced this other times?

Our fraternity was honored on the field at halftime for our support of NIU athletics the year before. The east stands were so packed we couldn't even get back in to them. At some points you could feel the stands swaying beneath your feet.

Amazing night, so lucky it was my senior year.

Mr. Frazier take note of groth's decision to not let Maryland buyout that game. Pretty sure the long term ROI far outweighed the buuyout cash!

(08-28-2013 08:01 AM)huskiealum03 Wrote:  

(08-28-2013 07:50 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  The greatest sporting event I ever witnessed in person. Obviously, I did not get one minute of sleep that night. The euphoria lasted for days. I was so amped up and excited that as I was leaving the stadium, someone behind me bumped into my car and I did not even care - I just kept driving and listening to the incredible post-game. I wanted nothing to destroy that feeling. That incredible game was the start of it all. I will carry every memory of that game to my grave.

Best.Game.Ever

NOVAK: [Yow] and Ralph (Friedgen) tried real hard to get out of that game. They did not want to come to DeKalb, they wanted us to come back to Maryland, and I give Cary Groth a lot of credit. She fought it off and forced them to live up to their contract, which nowadays doesn’t always happen, to be honest with you.

OK...Why haven't we enforced this other times?

Cary Groth was the best. Loved that woman.

(08-28-2013 08:06 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(08-28-2013 08:01 AM)huskiealum03 Wrote:  

(08-28-2013 07:50 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  The greatest sporting event I ever witnessed in person. Obviously, I did not get one minute of sleep that night. The euphoria lasted for days. I was so amped up and excited that as I was leaving the stadium, someone behind me bumped into my car and I did not even care - I just kept driving and listening to the incredible post-game. I wanted nothing to destroy that feeling. That incredible game was the start of it all. I will carry every memory of that game to my grave.

Best.Game.Ever

NOVAK: [Yow] and Ralph (Friedgen) tried real hard to get out of that game. They did not want to come to DeKalb, they wanted us to come back to Maryland, and I give Cary Groth a lot of credit. She fought it off and forced them to live up to their contract, which nowadays doesn’t always happen, to be honest with you.

OK...Why haven't we enforced this other times?

Cary Groth was the best. Loved that woman.

Cary would walk around and say to tailgaters..she would sit down with us and chat for a bit talk about the program answer any questions. We would offer her a beer she would decline with a grin..yes she was great. I also believe she was the 1st D-1 female AD.

Decided that night to enter parking lots from the west. Wise choice; cars were backed up forever on Lincoln Highway and on Annie Glidden Road. And THAT was a weeknight game which had no trouble attracting fans.

(08-28-2013 07:50 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  The greatest sporting event I ever witnessed in person. Obviously, I did not get one minute of sleep that night. The euphoria lasted for days. I was so amped up and excited that as I was leaving the stadium, someone behind me bumped into my car and I did not even care - I just kept driving and listening to the incredible post-game. I wanted nothing to destroy that feeling. That incredible game was the start of it all. I will carry every memory of that game to my grave.

I had brought 5 friends to the game and we all stayed in Dekalb that night..tailgating started early for us yet I remember that game as if it were yesterday. I had never before or since seen that stadium so packed, vibrant and loud. That to me was what a college football atmosphere should be. Anyone there had to be impressed. After the game that atmosphere carried right over to the bars...so much fun.

(08-28-2013 08:02 AM)scottiep12 Wrote:  Our fraternity was honored on the field at halftime for our support of NIU athletics the year before. The east stands were so packed we couldn't even get back in to them. At some points you could feel the stands swaying beneath your feet.

Amazing night, so lucky it was my senior year.

Mr. Frazier take note of groth's decision to not let Maryland buyout that game. Pretty sure the long term ROI far outweighed the buyout cash!

Unfortunately I did not attend the Maryland game, but I do remember last time NIU hosted WIU the east side was crowded enough that I could feel the stands swaying. My mom came to that game with me and did not enjoy sitting in the stands that day.

(08-28-2013 08:17 AM)BobL Wrote:  

(08-28-2013 08:06 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(08-28-2013 08:01 AM)huskiealum03 Wrote:  

(08-28-2013 07:50 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  The greatest sporting event I ever witnessed in person. Obviously, I did not get one minute of sleep that night. The euphoria lasted for days. I was so amped up and excited that as I was leaving the stadium, someone behind me bumped into my car and I did not even care - I just kept driving and listening to the incredible post-game. I wanted nothing to destroy that feeling. That incredible game was the start of it all. I will carry every memory of that game to my grave.

Best.Game.Ever

NOVAK: [Yow] and Ralph (Friedgen) tried real hard to get out of that game. They did not want to come to DeKalb, they wanted us to come back to Maryland, and I give Cary Groth a lot of credit. She fought it off and forced them to live up to their contract, which nowadays doesn’t always happen, to be honest with you.

OK...Why haven't we enforced this other times?

Cary Groth was the best. Loved that woman.

Cary would walk around and say to tailgaters..she would sit down with us and chat for a bit talk about the program answer any questions. We would offer her a beer she would decline with a grin..yes she was great. I also believe she was the 1st D-1 female AD.

I will never forget how she attended the basketball games at Evans and shook everyone's hand as they left and thanked us for coming. THAT is how an AD should connect with fans and donors.

I can't believe that was 10 years ago already.

(08-28-2013 08:21 AM)timxlydon Wrote:  

(08-28-2013 08:02 AM)scottiep12 Wrote:  Our fraternity was honored on the field at halftime for our support of NIU athletics the year before. The east stands were so packed we couldn't even get back in to them. At some points you could feel the stands swaying beneath your feet.

Amazing night, so lucky it was my senior year.

Mr. Frazier take note of groth's decision to not let Maryland buyout that game. Pretty sure the long term ROI far outweighed the buyout cash!

Unfortunately I did not attend the Maryland game, but I do remember last time NIU hosted WIU the east side was crowded enough that I could feel the stands swaying. My mom came to that game with me and did not enjoy sitting in the stands that day.

Really? My parents were there and loved it! East side too :)

(08-28-2013 07:50 AM)Dog Fan Wrote:  The greatest sporting event I ever witnessed in person. Obviously, I did not get one minute of sleep that night. The euphoria lasted for days. I was so amped up and excited that as I was leaving the stadium, someone behind me bumped into my car and I did not even care - I just kept driving and listening to the incredible post-game. I wanted nothing to destroy that feeling. That incredible game was the start of it all. I will carry every memory of that game to my grave.

Was traffic ever backed up getting into the stadium that night. I remember the cops had a lot of people going west around the corn fields cause Annie Glidden was so backed up.

The win over Maryland & topping Purdue in 09 probably the two best games (except for Alabama).

I missed Maryland's first drive because we were stuck on Annie Glidden

U guys are making me jealous. I had to work.

Wasn't an NIU student or fan yet, but I remember this game being used in a motivational pregame speech by my sophomore football coach the next night. It was our opener and we were facing a really good team, so he parallel'd our game to the NIU game the night before and we got all fired up.



But then we lost.

Was a sophomore in high school. Remember reading about it in the Tribune during my break at Jewel-Osco the next day.

I was at the following home game for Band Day though. The place was still buzzing, even though I believe we were playing Tennessee Tech.

This was the first NIU game I actually ever watched, it was a complete accident, I just had nothing to do and was flipping the channels and was like "hey, football!" Being a sucker for an upset, I was heavily invested by the end. It was a blast to watch as a casual fan.

100% agree....to see what happened before my eyes was incredible. Never felt so proud of my HUSKIES. I was at Alabama 3 weeks later and to beat them and their history was a cloud 9 experience, but being at home and on our turf with our "nobodies" was over the top. That group / era will always be in my heart and in my favs.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

Ah Maryland "03"...
I was on the east side of the stands with my 80 + year old mother.

(Did not know it at the time but that was dumb, did not know it was general admission.
A HUGE THANK YOU to the usher who assisted me and my aging mother in those stands that night. Classy guy and God Bless You)

It was my daughters first game.
I still remember my mother looking down at the field, seeing her grand daughter on that field and saying
"Son, aren't you proud"
and me replying to her,
"Ma, shes not the starting tailback"
To that, my 80 + year old mommy promplty swatted me.
There were a few chuckles from some innocent bystanders that I had to warn
"Careful, she will swat you too" ..... Mom will still do that you know...

It was a good time....and a great memory.