Dec 6, 1969, a date that will live in Razorback infamy…
It was a day much like today. Overcast & cold. (It snowed that night in Fayetteville, but by then I was on the road back home & didn’t know it.) The sun was not going to shine again, either. There was no joy, no light, only overcast & cold. I’ve been thinking about it all day. Then of all things, I went to a late lunch & ran into Mike Boschetti. I asked him, “Mike, do you know what today is?” He said yes that he & his lunch friend were just talking about the new coach. He said the anniversary came up in their conversation, too. I asked him if his leg still hurt from the clip. He said no, but the pain of the day never goes away. We commiserated a few more moments on that. Then we discussed how it was good that Tenn apparently also wanted Morris. I confessed I was still bitter about the 1971 Liberty Bowl. He said he was, too. His friend, a Vandy grad & Razorback fan, opined that he was still bitter about that one, too. After all, he doubly hates Tennessee.
Suddenly we realized we had only talked about bad memories & had all worked to ruin each others’ day. We all left the diner at the same time–into the overcast sky. At least we all believe Morris will bring some sunshine back to the Razorback nation that looked as if it’d never return–48 years ago today.
That game is seared into my brain and I always wonder what might have been had we met Notre Dame instead of having our dreams crushed and stumbling into Archie Manning. Great team and still very proud of their accomplishments.
Very nice story…how ironic you had the Boschetti interaction on this date.
was thinking recently about that game and realized unfortunately that game has supplanted the Jan 1, 1965 game as our football’s program most memorable moment. As much elation I experienced following the NC game, have to admit, I have lamented the “game-of-the-century” outcome more than I have celebrated the NC game.
And really nothing has happened since then to change that. On another unfortunate note, the Stoerner fumble game in Knoxville - which I also attended, came very close to mirroring the horrible feeling I had following the December '69 game in Fayetteville.
I don’t know what it will be, but in my lifetime I fully expect an Arkansas game to take place that on a national scale will offset those two horrible games. In my fantasy, its a NC game against Texas that Arkansas wins going away. I wanted it to happened Frank’s lifetime - now I just hope it happens in mine.
I thought about it today as I was looking for info on the new coach. I thought about what it meant to start on 6 Dec. of all days. I know the date is not so meaningful to many, many on here, but if you were there, you know and the pain is always there - it never completely goes away.
I have heard some try to compare the TN loss to that game. Not even in the same Universe!!!
I too dream of redemption some day. Wonder if I will live long enough?
I enjoyed reading of your nostalgic pain of the loss to TN on Dec 6, 1969. I still ache over the Texas loss and forever it is etched in my mind when Jimmy Street made that sideline pass completion. Also the Storener getting stepped on the toe and losing the ball in TN game. But I do not remember anything about the game you wrote about. Would you kindly give a brief description, maybe I remember.