I will regret missing the Peggy Fleming special on NBC ...
But I will enjoy listening to the radio, books on tape or my favorite podcasts on the drive over on Ky. 80 ...
Monday, January 23, 2017
The Freakin' Weekend (1971)
I will regret missing the Peggy Fleming special on NBC ...
But I will enjoy listening to the radio, books on tape or my favorite podcasts on the drive over on Ky. 80 ...
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No. 93 in this week's Cash Box chart: Sammi Smith's simmering "Help Me Make It Through the Night." That'll get you to swerve off Ky. 80 if anything will.
ReplyDeleteWestern 71 at Murray 73 ... I don't think this is the WKU game, but here are some pictures from MSU's 1970-71 yearbook that might give us some sense of the gym that night.
ReplyDeleteThe first words in the basketball section of pages in the Murray State yearbook that year are, "MURRAY BEAT WESTERN, 73-71."
ReplyDeleteAt The Racer Nation Murray State fan site, there's a conversation about the "greatest game ever played in old racer arena," and this Jan. 23, 1971, game figures prominently ...
ReplyDeleteA commenter called "racer1976" wrote in April 2015: "the best that I ever saw was the one Smidge referred to against Western in 1971. Yes, there were lines forming to get in early in the morning for an evening game. The doors opened at 5:00 pm for the game at 7:30. it was filled to capacity within 15 minutes. I know the old arena supposedly only held 5500; however, every aisle except for the ones by the chair seats were filled and the people were 3 deep around the top. It is estimated that there were 7000 people watching. Great basketball watching. The crowd was revved up. One of the particular things the students would do at that time was steal a basketball from the opposing team when it got close to the crowd, so one of WKU's basketballs was thrown around the arena for entertainment for a couple of hours. WKU's cheerleaders tried to chant, 'Let's go Western,' but were drowned out by the Racer crowd yelling on top of their cheer, 'Go to hell, Western!' The whole arena stood the entire game screaming and cheering for the Racers. The Courier Journal headlined an article on the game by writing, '6000 screaming meemee's tortured WKU's team.' You couldn't hear a conversation with the person sitting beside you. The game itself was a classic with both teams going back and forth, but the Racers outplayed WKU and sent Western packing. After this win, I believe Murray broke the top 20. Western lead by Jim McDaniel was also in the top 20. It was also the year WKU defeated UK in the NCAA and went to the Final Four. This may be the last time that two OVC teams were ranked in the top 20 at one time."
ReplyDeleteThen "Dan T" added: "That 71 game had to be at or close to the top. I hung out near the steel support at the edge of the lobby. I was only 16, but was tall enough to see over people who were standing 3 & 4 deep around the top. 7000? There were more than that. I'm sure there were a couple of thousand standing.
ReplyDeleteWestern was highly ranked. I do not recall what their ranking was at the MSU game, but they entered the NCAA at 3rd. UK was 7th or 8th. Western not only beat them. They embarrassed them. Western had about a 35 point lead when they called the dogs off. The funny part was, even though Western was higher ranked, folks around here thought they had no chance to beat UK. Hell, Murray would have whipped them by 20 easily. OVC basketball was just flat out superior to segregated ball at Lexington."
And "cowboyracer43:" "I was in Law School in Laramie, WY and had just been benched by fiance. I booked Frontier-Ozark flights to Paducah and flew in for 71 Western game. I couldn't even remember having had a fiance. Les Taylor stopped Western's bigs cold. Best trip I ever took. Best Racer Arena game ever."
ReplyDeleteListening to the radio on the trip to Murray ...
ReplyDeleteAnd on the country dial ...
DeleteIt's weird to think that you could simply miss the Peggy Fleming Special and literally never see it no matter how much you wanted to see it.
ReplyDeleteIt is.
ReplyDeleteThis is not the Peggy Fleming special that was on in January 1971, but I imagine it's pretty close. It's from 1968, and it's use of silence and near-silence and inventive sets and costumes make for a strangely compelling and mysterious program. Peggy Fleming maintained such a grip on the imagination of mainstream America well into even our childhood, and now I wonder if it wasn't at least as much because of these subsequent television specials (if they were all like this one) as it was her gold at Grenoble 1968. Check out this Simon and Garfunkel/The Mamas and the Papas combo.
Here were Sports Illustrated's top-ranked teams per region going into Western's loss at Murray:
ReplyDeleteEast--1. Penn (13-0). 2. La Salle (10-1).
Midwest--1. Marquette (13-0). 2. Kansas (11-1).
South--1. Tennessee (11-2). 2. W. Kentucky (12-2).
West--1. UCLA (13-0). 2. USC (14-0).
What's My Line? is not a good game show. It's a freaking great game show.
ReplyDeletehey this michael sport analyst sharing you that what is happening in sports world sports articles of the week
ReplyDeleteThanks, Justc. The week of now or the week of 1971?
Delete