Surprised to not see a topic on this yet. What did everyone think?
Well done and impressive in my opinion. Good food, packed house, great list of speakers.
Mitch Jacoby was clearly moved by his memories and being asked to speak. PJ Fleck was very soft-spoken.
Garrett Wolfe shared a wonderful story about his grandmother's funeral. Jerry Kill was very respectful and inspirational in his words, I'm looking forward to the Kill era. Joe took the podium last and must have spoken for a good 45 minutes. He relived some great memories. It was surprising just how many tidbits and details that he remembered incorrectly though. Among them, he said we had the lead at Illinois until the last minute in 2001, not true. He said the BGSU game in 2002 was on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, not true. There were others. I know small details get lost in the mix after several years, but it was just surprising. As Roger Clemens would say, I think he "mis-remembered".
All in all, a wonderful evening in a sold out Duke Ellington Ballroom. Thanks for the memories Joe and Carole, we'll miss you. :ncaabbs:
Very impressive event. I laughed, I cried. We can be very proud of what
Coach Novak gave us.
Coach Novak's top 6 games. Unfortuantely I don't remember the exact order. I know #6 and #1 are correct. I was happy to know I was at 5 of 6 and remember listening to the end of the Miami game in my car (Pre WSCR,the car radio had better reception than a home radio).
6) Win over Central Michigan to end the losing streak.
5) Win over Miami after being down most of the game with scoring 34 points in the fourth quarter. An NCAA record.
4) Silicon Valley Bowl victory
3) Win over Maryland
2) Win over Bowling Green when they were nationally ranked at Huskie Stadium. Thundersticks.
1) Win at Alabama.
Joe's Dream. 1) Sold out Huskie Stadium, 2) playing a nationally ranked opponent, 3) on national TV, 4) and winning. Dream fulfilled against Maryland. Talked about how someone informed him before the game that they were scalping tickets on Annie Glidden.
It was made very clear that the program was in dissarray when he started.
Coach Kill seems like he will be a great one.
Sat with some very nice Huskie fans with no connection (ie. not alumni, nor parents, nor children of alumni, etc.) to NIU other than they love going to the games, atmosphere, etc.
IMHO give PJ 15 years and your looking at a future Huskie coach.
I liked listening to Garrett Wolfe. He came across as a genuine young man, just like anyone else his age. Did not seem at all caught up in the NFL fame. Actually all of the current NFL players seemed genuine.
Best joke was when Coach Novak said you get a good education at NIU. Before coming PJ couldn't talk.
It was really a great day and night. An event like this should be an annual one where fans can meet and rub elbows with past Huskie greats and hear a speaker or two talk about what the program ment to them. I would pay $50 every years for a situation like last night. Very Well Done.
niubrad00 Wrote:Surprised to not see a topic on this yet. What did everyone think?
Well done and impressive in my opinion. Good food, packed house, great list of speakers.
Mitch Jacoby was clearly moved by his memories and being asked to speak. PJ Fleck was very soft-spoken. Garrett Wolfe shared a wonderful story about his grandmother's funeral. Jerry Kill was very respectful and inspirational in his words, I'm looking forward to the Kill era. Joe took the podium last and must have spoken for a good 45 minutes. He relived some great memories. It was surprising just how many tidbits and details that he remembered incorrectly though. Among them, he said we had the lead at Illinois until the last minute in 2001, not true. He said the BGSU game in 2002 was on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, not true. There were others. I know small details get lost in the mix after several years, but it was just surprising. As Roger Clemens would say, I think he "mis-remembered".
All in all, a wonderful evening in a sold out Duke Ellington Ballroom. Thanks for the memories Joe and Carole, we'll miss you. :ncaabbs:
My guess is he misspoke when thinking about the Wisconsin game where we got hosed by the refs on their final possession.
HUSKIEFOOTBALLFAN Wrote:Coach Novak's top 6 games. Unfortuantely I don't remember the exact order. I know #6 and #1 are correct. I was happy to know I was at 5 of 6 and remember listening to the end of the Miami game in my car (Pre WSCR,the car radio had better reception than a home radio).
6) Win over Central Michigan to end the losing streak.
5) Win over Miami after being down most of the game with scoring 34 points in the fourth quarter. An NCAA record.
4) Silicon Valley Bowl victory
3) Win over Maryland
2) Win over Bowling Green when they were nationally ranked at Huskie Stadium. Thundersticks.
1) Win at Alabama.
Joe's Dream. 1) Sold out Huskie Stadium, 2) playing a nationally ranked opponent, 3) on national TV, 4) and winning. Dream fulfilled against Maryland. Talked about how someone informed him before the game that they were scalping tickets on Annie Glidden.
It was made very clear that the program was in dissarray when he started.
Coach Kill seems like he will be a great one.
Sat with some very nice Huskie fans with no connection (ie. not alumni, nor parents, nor children of alumni, etc.) to NIU other than they love going to the games, atmosphere, etc.
IMHO give PJ 15 years and your looking at a future Huskie coach.
I liked listening to Garrett Wolfe. He came across as a genuine young man, just like anyone else his age. Did not seem at all caught up in the NFL fame. Actually all of the current NFL players seemed genuine.
Best joke was when Coach Novak said you get a good education at NIU. Before coming PJ couldn't talk.
I was at that game against BGSU with my wife and a couple of friends. God what an atmosphere that day; Huskie Stadium went nuts. You knew after that game that we were on the verge of something special.
NIU1981 Wrote:niubrad00 Wrote:Surprised to not see a topic on this yet. What did everyone think?
Well done and impressive in my opinion. Good food, packed house, great list of speakers.
Mitch Jacoby was clearly moved by his memories and being asked to speak. PJ Fleck was very soft-spoken. Garrett Wolfe shared a wonderful story about his grandmother's funeral. Jerry Kill was very respectful and inspirational in his words, I'm looking forward to the Kill era. Joe took the podium last and must have spoken for a good 45 minutes. He relived some great memories. It was surprising just how many tidbits and details that he remembered incorrectly though. Among them, he said we had the lead at Illinois until the last minute in 2001, not true. He said the BGSU game in 2002 was on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, not true. There were others. I know small details get lost in the mix after several years, but it was just surprising. As Roger Clemens would say, I think he "mis-remembered".
All in all, a wonderful evening in a sold out Duke Ellington Ballroom. Thanks for the memories Joe and Carole, we'll miss you. :ncaabbs:
My guess is he misspoke when thinking about the Wisconsin game where we got hosed by the refs on their final possession.
My memory matches Joe. We were leading late in the game (not last minute -- but hey, -- it's called artistic license!) and then I did they block a punt? And they won 19-12? I'm still waiting for the re-match!
The event sounds like it was great, like I thought it would be! I also would go in the future and hope they do something like it every year. Definitely count me in.
chihuskie Wrote:NIU1981 Wrote:niubrad00 Wrote:Surprised to not see a topic on this yet. What did everyone think?
Well done and impressive in my opinion. Good food, packed house, great list of speakers.
Mitch Jacoby was clearly moved by his memories and being asked to speak. PJ Fleck was very soft-spoken. Garrett Wolfe shared a wonderful story about his grandmother's funeral. Jerry Kill was very respectful and inspirational in his words, I'm looking forward to the Kill era. Joe took the podium last and must have spoken for a good 45 minutes. He relived some great memories. It was surprising just how many tidbits and details that he remembered incorrectly though. Among them, he said we had the lead at Illinois until the last minute in 2001, not true. He said the BGSU game in 2002 was on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, not true. There were others. I know small details get lost in the mix after several years, but it was just surprising. As Roger Clemens would say, I think he "mis-remembered".
All in all, a wonderful evening in a sold out Duke Ellington Ballroom. Thanks for the memories Joe and Carole, we'll miss you. :ncaabbs:
My guess is he misspoke when thinking about the Wisconsin game where we got hosed by the refs on their final possession.
My memory matches Joe. We were leading late in the game (not last minute -- but hey, -- it's called artistic license!) and then I did they block a punt? And they won 19-12? I'm still waiting for the re-match!
The event sounds like it was great, like I thought it would be! I also would go in the future and hope they do something like it every year. Definitely count me in.
We were trailing 17-6 late. We scored with 2 minutes left to make it 17-12 (missed the 2 pt. conversion). That was the final.
niubrad00 Wrote:chihuskie Wrote:NIU1981 Wrote:niubrad00 Wrote:Surprised to not see a topic on this yet. What did everyone think?
Well done and impressive in my opinion. Good food, packed house, great list of speakers.
Mitch Jacoby was clearly moved by his memories and being asked to speak. PJ Fleck was very soft-spoken. Garrett Wolfe shared a wonderful story about his grandmother's funeral. Jerry Kill was very respectful and inspirational in his words, I'm looking forward to the Kill era. Joe took the podium last and must have spoken for a good 45 minutes. He relived some great memories. It was surprising just how many tidbits and details that he remembered incorrectly though. Among them, he said we had the lead at Illinois until the last minute in 2001, not true. He said the BGSU game in 2002 was on a Tuesday or Wednesday night, not true. There were others. I know small details get lost in the mix after several years, but it was just surprising. As Roger Clemens would say, I think he "mis-remembered".
All in all, a wonderful evening in a sold out Duke Ellington Ballroom. Thanks for the memories Joe and Carole, we'll miss you. :ncaabbs:
My guess is he misspoke when thinking about the Wisconsin game where we got hosed by the refs on their final possession.
My memory matches Joe. We were leading late in the game (not last minute -- but hey, -- it's called artistic license!) and then I did they block a punt? And they won 19-12? I'm still waiting for the re-match!
The event sounds like it was great, like I thought it would be! I also would go in the future and hope they do something like it every year. Definitely count me in.
We were trailing 17-6 late. We scored with 2 minutes left to make it 17-12 (missed the 2 pt. conversion). That was the final.
We led at some point during the game, no?
niubrad00 Wrote:We were trailing 17-6 late. We scored with 2 minutes left to make it 17-12 (missed the 2 pt. conversion). That was the final.
We took a 6-3 lead into the fourth quarter, that is probably what Joe was talking about. The Illini took a 10-6 lead with 13:15 left in the fourth quarter and extended it to 17-6 with 4:15 remaining. NIU then made it 17-12 with less than a minute to go, recovered the onside kick and turned it over on downs. 17-12 Illini was the final score.
Scoring by quarter:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?c...=212510356
Play-by-play of the 4th quarter:
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/playbyplay...6&period=4
Don't bring up this game and the B11 refs that called the PF on a flop by Kitner.