By Mark Scott
Toronto, Ontario – Well, the UB Bulls lost to the University of Connecticut 38 to 20 at the International Bowl in Toronto on Saturday. But the loss does not diminish what was an exciting and historic season for the Bulls.
I came down with a cold and nasty cough that has kept me off the air in recent days. I decided I wouldn't go to the game as a member of the working press. I didn't think it would be wise to be sneezing and coughing during Coach Turner Gill's post-game news conference. But I wasn't about to miss the game of a lifetime. So, my wife, Mary Lou, and son, Anthony, and I headed to the Rogers Centre. We were joined by 25,000 of our "friends" from Western New York.
Permit me to put this championship season in context and what it meant to me and other long-time fans of UB football.
I attended my first UB game in 1964 at War Memorial Stadium. I don't remember the opponent. I don't even know if the Bulls won. It took another 20 years before I became a "true blue" Bulls fan. I rooted for Coach Bill Dando and Quarterback Marty Barrett during the Division III era of the 1980s. I was there for the first football game at UB Stadium when the Bulls rejoined Division I in the 1990s. And I bought season tickets when UB made the leap to the top level of college football in 1999.
We saw some pretty bad football in the early 2000's. I would often reflect as I sat amongst the sparse crowd at UB Stadium and wonder what it would be like for the Bulls to be in a bowl game. It didn't even seem possible with loss and loss. Yet, there were occasional bright spots. One was a game against Ohio University in 2001. I couldn't even find someone to go to the game with me, so I went alone. I'm glad I did because something special happened that day. The Bulls crushed Ohio 44-0. It was the biggest win yet of the MAC era.
Anthony is attending Medical School at Case Western Reserve in Cleveland -- the heart of MAC Country. But his heart is with the UB Bulls. That's why we literally cried on the phone when UB won the MAC championship in December. We were separated by 200 miles. But we shared the TV image of the long embrace between Athletic Director Ward Manuel and Coach Gill. What seemed impossible a few short years ago had happened. The Bulls were champions! And they were going to the International Bowl.
The memories of this magical season will never be forgotten. There was the strong opening night victory over UTEP. The Hail Mary pass to beat Temple is vying for best play of the year in college football. There was the come-from-behind victory over Army that quite possibly saved the championship season. On a night when Barack Obama was elected US president, they were playing football at UB Stadium. I have to admit to changing the newsroom TV from CNN to ESPN to watch the victory over Miami while I was working on our election coverage. But it would only get better!
My head is still spinning from the remarkable victory over Akron in four overtimes. One week later, the Bulls captured the MAC East championship in an incomprehensible come-from-behind win over Bowling Green in double overtime.
Then came the MAC Championship game. Ball State was undefeated and was heavily favored. But the Bulls were holding their own. Could they actually win this game? That question was answered when UB recovered a goal-line fumble and returned the ball 92 yards for the go-ahead touchdown! The UB Bulls were champions of the Mid American Conference!
Saturday's International Bowl was made extra special by the appearance of members of the 1958 UB Bulls football team. By now, all of America is aware of the courageous decision made by that team to reject an invitation to the Tangerine Bowl in Orlando. They stood together in the face of discrimination. The crowd of 40,000 plus at the Rogers Centre cheered heartily as the '58 team joined this year's captains for the opening coin toss.
In the game, the Bulls held a 20-17 lead at halftime. UB's special teams contributed to 17 of those points. But UConn s defense stymied UB's offense. And the Bulls' defense couldn't contain the Huskies' powerful running game. So, the Bulls lost their inaugural bowl game 38 to 20. As the seconds counted down, I remarked how this team would not trade its MAC Championship for a bowl win. A Buffalo News sportswriter Sunday was much more eloquent. Bob DiCesare wrote, "UB ate the cake, just left the frosting." Sure, a win would have been the perfect topper to a season to remember. But the accomplishments of the 2008 Bulls were not diminished by this loss.
"I know I speak for the whole UB community when I offer hearty congratulations to Coach Turner Gill and the entire UB Bulls football team for the fantastic season they gave us," said University at Buffalo President John Simpson. "Even though today's International Bowl game didn't turn out as hoped, we are immensely proud to call ourselves the 2008-2009 Mid-American Conference champions! The Bulls have brought all of us a lot of excitement and more than a few heart-stopping games this year. With Coach Gill on board, we're already looking to a very exciting 2009-2010 season."
UB not only captured the attention of Western New York sports fans. It certainly gained fans from across the nation. The MAC championship game was the highest rated televised game in the league's history. Former NFL player Desmond Howard, who is now an ESPN analyst, said UB capturing the MAC championship was his "moment of the year" in college football. The heartwarming story of the '58 team contributed to the good feelings surrounding the International Bowl.
But that apparently wasn't good enough for Bill Littlefield of the public radio program "Only A Game" and some no-name college football analyst he was interviewing on Saturday's show. Littlefield and his analyst touched on the International Bowl and used it as an example of how there are too many college football bowl games. Sure, that's a subject that's open for debate. But the two of them suggested this particular game wasn't worthy. They laughed that the Canadian consulate should issue a protest for the U.S. "exporting" this game to Canada.
How uninformed can these two sports "experts" be? The International Bowl was thrilled to have UB. An estimated 25,000 UB fans crossed the border to attend the game, which helped set an International Bowl attendance record of more than 40,000. Moreover, the comments were especially insulting to the '58 team and its moment of glory for the stand the players took. This was an exciting game. Given the Bulls record of come-from-behind victories this season, all fans had faith that maybe there was one more as Drew Willy drove the team down the field before that disastrous interception and touchdown return for UConn. Rest assured, Bill Littlefield and his producers will be hearing from me this week.
But enough of the negative. Let's all celebrate an "unbelieva-BULL" season! Congratulations to Coach Gill and the entire team on a job well done. Next season can't get here soon enough!