On Bowls and Bowling

  For most NCAA football teams, the season is now over.  I know the Army-Navy game is coming up on Saturday, but other than that, I can’t think of any regular season games left to be played.  That means what is left are the conference championships and bowl games.  In my case, since I’m a Temple alum and fan, I have a particular interest in where they’re going, assuming they get an invite as expected.  I have an idea where they might go, and I have dropped in on the blogs and forums to see the opinions and speculation of the more knowledgeable fans.  I’ll try to summarize what I understand and what I’ve heard so far.

  What is clear is that Temple’s conference, the MAC (Middle American Conference) has tie-ins to three bowl games.  First is the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl, which is played at Ford Field in Detroit, then there is the GoDaddy.com bowl, which takes place in Mobile, Alabama, and the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, on Boise State’s blue turf.  The MAC provides a team for each of these three bowls, although I don’t think there is a particular order to which team goes, or if the top three teams get a choice as to which bowl to play in.  Two of those games take place in frigid weather cities, with the Idaho game played in an open air stadium.  The GoDaddy.com Bowl would appeal to me the most if I was a player, simply because it is played in a warm weather city.  Detroit lies somewhere near the heart of MAC country, and Ford Field is also host to the MAC Championship game.  It’s quite possible then that the MAC Champion team (or the loser of that game) can play two consecutive games in that stadium. 

  There is something that I didn’t quite understand about the bowl games in general.  If my memory is correct, I remember reading somewhere that there were about 15 bowl games being played back in the late 80’s.  In 1987 the Sunkist Fiesta Bowl was scooped all competition by arranging a showdown between No.1 Miami and No. 2 Penn State for the national championship, making most of the other bowl games less meaningful.  That of course set a precedent, and the 1-2 matchup quickly became the highlight of the year.  I haven’t studied the history of college football much, so I don’t know how it developed.  I think the national championship game floated for a while between the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, and the Orange Bowl.  I don’t know exactly when the BCS system became effective, although I could find out by looking it up right on this computer.  But if that number of 15 bowl games is fairly accurate, then that number has more than doubled in the quarter century since then.  I would think that having a national championship game between the two top teams would focus all attention on that one game and make most of the other bowls insignificant.  However there are now about 35 bowl games from what I have heard, leaving a place for most of the 120 FBS teams.  Having the current system apparently helped the bowl games, not hurt them.  A good thing about it is that it gives teams something to look forward to and to play for.  Bowl games have been added in cold-weather cities like Detroit and Boise, as well as the Military Bowl, which is played in Washington, DC.  I forget if it is in RFK or in Landover, MD, but both of those stadiums are open air.

  Getting back to Temple, there have been some other bowl scenarios mentioned.  One was the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, which as mentioned above has a contract with the MAC.  Other places that have come up are the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl in San Franciso, the New Mexico Bowl, and the Military Bowl.  Temple, of course, played in the Eagle Bank Bowl two years ago, which is now the Military Bowl, so there is the possibility they could return.  One or two even mentioned the Hawaii Bowl.  The blogs devoted to this subject are buzzing as to what everyone thinks it will be.  Just about everyone who posted believes there is no good reason why the Owls shouldn’t get a bowl invitation this year.  They were shut out of a bowl game last year, despite their 8-4 record, which they posted again this year.  But everyone seems to be positive that Temple will not be denied again this time.  We’ll just see what happens next Sunday.  

The Old Route

I actually wrote this essay in July, and just revised and posted it today.


I drove the old route yesterday, the one I used to take to work until I lost my job in December of 2008.  It’s the second time since January of 2009 that I can remember going that way.  My old place of employment is in Princeton, New Jersey, and I live in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  That meant taking I-95 over the Scudder Falls Bridge and past the Trenton Airport.  Then, about 5-10 miles through Mercer County, past Rider University, and on to Route 1 in Lawrenceville.  This time, I didn’t need to go as far, since I had an interview scheduled in the Quaker Bridge Mall, which is right off of I-95. 

  I was not very familiar with the mall, but I had stopped in it a few times while I worked in the Princeton, a few miles to the north.  There is a place called the Quaker Bridge, which I assume the mall is named after.  The bridge itself is not really close to the mall, but in the Pine Barrens, probably 20-30 miles away.  I mostly remember driving past the mall on the way to and from my job.  The memory I have is fairly good because, not only did I drive past the mall every day, but I usually drove slowly, because of the heavy volume of traffic on Route 1 during rush hour.  Some things have changed.  A few stores and visual reminders are gone or replaced, although it looks generally the same.  This time I was passing through during the early afternoon, so there was no real problem with traffic jams. 

  Along the way to and from Lawrenceville, I noticed something new.  The new hospital building for Capital Health was now fully constructed, although I don’t think it has opened yet.  I think I remember seeing the area being cleared, and maybe the very beginning of the construction.  But in the two and a half years since I have been commuting to Princeton, I just forgot about all that.  Most everything else is the way I remembered it.  I think the interview went well, but I don’t know whether it will result in a job offer.  I feel fairly positive about how it went.  It involves doing something I like doing as a hobby, so I think I’ll like it.  If I do get the job, I have some mixed feelings about the commute.  I like the ride and most of the scenery along I-95, but I know there are changes coming.  The Scudder Falls Bridge will be replaced, I don’t know when, but I do remember reading that it is scheduled.  I didn’t see any signs of a new bridge under construction.  I’m pretty sure the new bridge will have a toll once it is opened, although I’m sure it will come with improvements, mainly more lanes.   The way it is now, the highway bottlenecks at the bridge and causes several miles of backlogs.  Also, I usually prefer to take back roads, and tend to avoid highways if I have to go a short distance, but I always took I-95 when I worked in Princeton.  There are back ways, but they just go too far out of the way and take too long.  So I may be getting used to seeing I-95 on a daily basis again.  If I like the job, and the commute goes smoothly in general, then it will be worth it to me.

The Fluke Play that Changed the World (of the NFL)

 Football is just a game, after all is said and done.   A very physical game with a high risk of injury (maybe certainty of injury is more accurate), but the object is the same as any game: to win.  In November of 1978, it was just a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants.  But the difference between an NFL football game and most other contests is a few billion dollars, national television coverage, and a lot more passion and emotional involvement from the fans.  The play that came to be known as either the Miracle at the Meadowlands, or simply as “The Fumble” occurred during that game in November of 1978, and it is guaranteed a place in NFL history because of its sheer improbability.  It didn't cause a revolution, but its impact is felt to this day, if nowhere else, in how a victory is preserved in the final seconds of the game.  It also had its impact on both teams and the coaches and players involved.

 Without that fluke play, the Eagles would have finished that season at 8-8 and missed the playoffs.  Instead, they went 9-7, with that one win being the catalyst that put them over the top and into the playoffs for the NFC’s first ever Wild Card game.  With that one win and the NFL’s newly expanded playoff system, the Eagles went to the post season for the first time in 18 years.  It may have meant a lot more had the Eagles advanced any deeper in the playoffs, but they lost that Wild Card Game to the Atlanta Falcons, largely due to their injury-plagued kicking game.   As it was, the Miracle at the Meadowlands lifted the Eagles into the playoffs, but for championship aspirations, it only extended their season by one week.

At least three players will forever be associated with that play.  Joe Pisarcik was the Giants starting quarterback until shortly after that game.  Giants running back Larry Czonka had two Super Bowl rings with the Miami Dolphins earlier in the decade, before he was lured away by the World Football League, a short-lived rival to the NFL.  Eagles cornerback Herman Edwards went on to become a head coach for the Jets and Chiefs.  However, Edwards will be best remembered most for scooping up the ball that Pisarcik fumbled on a muffed hand off to Czonka, and running it 26 yards for a touchdown, with no one between him and the goal line.  It took only a few seconds, but the outcome of the game and the outlook of the Eagles’ season had changed sharply, as that one win made the difference between playoff contention and a mediocre .500 record.  NFL Films put a Hollywood touch on it, adding drama by showing Edwards in slow motion as he was pursued in vain by the Giants for those 26 yards, and embellished the production with a close-up shot of a horrified female fan (footage that may have been edited in from another game).  But in actual time, at NFL speed, Edwards was in the end zone before the stunned Giants stadium crowd could put into words what they had just seen.

There are different theories from the articles and blogs I have read as to why the Giants decided to run the ball instead of just falling on it, which was the way to run out the clock at that time.  Here, I’ll summarize my understanding of the general concensus.  Under 1978 rules, the quarterback had to be down in the prone position and touched by a defender to stop the play. Because of the slight risk of injury to the quarterback, or of having the ball jarred loose by a quick defensive lineman, Giants offensive coordinator Bob Gibson thought the best way to end the game was with a short run.  Pisarcik didn’t like the call, but felt he had no choice because he feared being benched if he disobeyed orders too many times.  So he reluctantly followed Gibson’s instructions over the objections of his teammates in the huddle.  Everyone familiar with that game knows what happened on the next play.  As a result, Gibson’s career as an NFL coach was over the next day.  Head coach John McVay and the rest of his staff were given their pink slips at the end of the season, and Pisarcik’s career as a starter ended soon after that. 

Coaches took the infamous play into account when it came to preserving victories.  The Miracle at the Meadowlands was Murphy’s Law in action.  From that point on, no chances would be taken, just fall on the ball.  In case of disaster, there was now a player lined up several yards behind the line of scrimmage.  Sometime later, new NFL rules came into play where a quarterback could simply take a knee and the play would be whistled dead.  But at that time, and under those circumstances, Gibson felt it was safer to let Czonka carry the ball 2 yards, which probably would have ended the game without incident 99 out of 100 times.  Unfortunately for Gibson and the Giants, this was the one time it didn’t.

The Forgotten World of Disney

  YouTube has a way of bringing back old memories.  Recently, I happened across some old clips that brought back a brief and long forgotten part of my childhood.  Particularly, it was some old clips from the New Mickey Mouse Club, the second incarnation of the popular television show from the 50’s, updated for the late 70’s.  Unlike its predecessor, it was short-lived, and I don’t think it ran for more than one season.  My interest in the show was shorter than that, but I do remember that brief few months when I would watch it every day after school, and for most of the summer after that.  I soon forgot about it after I was back at school in the fall, but I do remember one special featuring the Mousketeers.   It aired on NBC’s Wonderful World of Disney, which ran every Sunday night.  The special is uploaded on YouTube, as well as some of the old episodes in their entirety.  I viewed some of the old episodes, although they didn't spark too many specific memories.  I did want to view the special, though, and after that I went back to the old episodes, and will try to put into words what was going through my head then and now.

Coming soon…

  I remember watching the reruns from the old show, so I had an idea of the format.  A few years later, I began seeing ads for a new syndicated MMC that would soon be airing locally.  Obviously a lot of things change in that period of time, and the new MMC reflected those changes.   The intro was different.  It was the same song, but now it was funkier and danceable, rather than the old show’s pep rally march.  Television was now colorized, and the white t-shirts bearing the cast member’s names were replaced by brightly colored suits with matching colored mousketeer hats, replacing the old black ones.  The all-white cast of the original series was replaced with a racially diverse cast where two African-Americans, two Latinos, and one Asian were added alongside seven Caucasian children.    I don’t remember much about the skits in either show, but I do remember that one Disney cartoon was always featured sometime in the program.  And I do remember there was a theme for each day of the week, with a taped song-and-dance routine to introduce each day’s theme.

Revisiting The Mousketeers at Walt Disney World

     I wanted to watch the special again because I remember just watching it once, and it's the last memory I have of the show in general.  It was probably the last production of the NMMC, and the last time the whole cast appeared on screen together.  It was also out of the context of their TV show.  From what I remembered, the show was mostly skits and song and dance numbers, with a different theme each day.  This special was different, where the kids all took a trip across the country, performing at Disney World instead of Disneyland.  Unlike the TV show, there was a story line to the special.  The kids all used their real names, but they were somewhat playing characters that may or may not have been based on their real personalities.  


  When I started watching that special, it felt for the most part that I was watching it for the first time, as it originally aired over 30 years ago, and I only saw it once.  The basic story is that the Mousketeers took a cross-country trip to do some shows at Disney World in Florida.  Before their scheduled performance, they had a few days to enjoy the park, but during that time two dilemmas arose that threatened their ability to perform the scheduled shows.  First, an impromptu photo shoot went wrong and left all the Mousketeers mad at each other.  It took some maneuvering by manager Mr. Brown, with help from Mousketeer Mindy, to fix the situation.  The next big problem stemmed from the one scene I remembered after all those years.   During a camping trip, a mishap by Mousketeer Nita left all the others angry at her.  While being tongue-lashed by her friends about how stupid she was, the poor girl broke down.   Next scene, the others were back at the hotel with Mr. Brown, reporting her missing to a police officer.  It wasn’t made clear if she ran off from the campsite, which appeared to be several miles from the hotel, or if she disappeared later.  There may have been something edited out from the version posted on YouTube.  But now the other Mousketeers regretted their harsh treatment, and were determined to find her. The show was scheduled for that night, and they weren’t going to do it without Nita, so they scoured the park searching for her.  She was spotted, but managed to evade her fellow mice for a while, anyway.

  Watching this all in retrospect, some things now seem silly, but this is Disney.  There were a few situations that seemed questionable to me, including a chase scene with a few of the junior high school aged Mousketeers operating motorboats.  Early in the show, there was also a straightforward advertisement for the River Country water ride (which I undertstand has long since closed).  I question whether it was necessary, since Disney World pretty much sells itself.  But that particular attraction may have detached from the rest of the park,  with a separate admission.  I guess it could also be used as one more magnet to lure people to Orlando, who may have been sitting on the fence as to whether to take the trip or not.  Since the Sunday night slot belonged to Disney, I guess they could, if they wanted to, produce a commercial and insert it into the context of the show. 

  There are also things I can appreciate, although these thoughts are based on speculation.  I don’t know what the producer’s intentions were, or what the exact situation was at the time.  But since I think this was the last time the NMMC appeared together, it looks like a nice gesture to the Mousketeers.  Using Disney’s Sunday night slot gave the kids a national television audience during prime time on a major network.  It seems that everyone was given at least a little face time, with Mindy and Nita, who appeared to be the youngest Mousketeers, being featured players in different scenarios.  I wonder if it may have been a last-ditch attempt to generate some kind of interest in the show and create a popular demand, although the series may have already been cancelled by the time this special aired.

What if…

  I remember being enamored by the mousketeers at one time, and can now admit having a crush on at least two of the girl mice.  After reading the viewer comments, I know I wasn't  the only one.  Like a lot of the music and television stars I liked, I sometimes would fantasize about meeting the mousketeers.  Looking back,  I wonder if, by some kind of freak luck, I had a chance to go to Hollywood (or meet them on tour) and got to know them.  Would it have been a dream come true, or would I have been disappointed and shocked?  There are plenty of weekly tabloid and gossip stories about stars, but aside from that, I was brought back to another childhood memory.  I watched the Flintstones daily for years in elementary and middle school.  In particular, I remember an episode titled “Dino Goes Hollyrock”, where Fred’s pet dogasaurus managed to win an audition to appear on his favorite TV show “Sassy”, which was an obvious parody of Lassie. Dino was completely in love with the heroine.  When Fred and Dino arrived on the set, they found the show’s stars to be snobbish and conceited, in sharp contrast to their on screen selves.  Although comic exaggeration was an effective formula for the Flintstones, it was probably based in some part on real people and situations.  Who knows what went on behind the scenes.  Maybe I would have found a pack of spoiled Hollywood kids with pushy show biz parents.  Or maybe they were just as friendly as their on-screen selves appeared to be, at least publicly.  It wouldn't surprise me either way.  From what I have read on the internet, most of those former mice thought of their group as family, and have had periodic reunions.  As far as I know, none of them or anyone close to the show has published any kind of tell-all book.  And none of them, as far as I know, went on to major stardom, with one notable exception.

Legacy

 Regardless, the NMMC soon became a distant memory as I quickly moved on to other interests and activities, and found other TV shows to watch.  It wasn’t until much later that I learned that Facts of Life star Lisa Whelchel was actually Lisa from the Mousketeers.  I had mostly forgotten about the new MMC by then, and didn’t recognize her as one of the Mousketeers I had a crush on during the brief time I watched Facts of Life.  She had grown a little, and her hair had gotten longer and somewhat blonder. Other than Lisa, I don’t remember any of the other mice landing any steady roles after the New MMC, although some landed one-time and recurring roles.  Mousketeer Julie Piekarski starred in Facts of Life for one season alongside Lisa, but after that her character was reduced to a recurring one.  Sadly, at least two of the cast members are no longer with us.  Mousketeers Scott Craig and Angel Florez both passed away while still in their thirties.  Now I think that particular cast of the Mickey Mouse Club deserved better, and it would have been nice to have seen more of them establish a career in Hollywood.  But unfortunately the business is what it is.

  I have to express thanks to the YouTube uploader using the name Mouskabeat. Since the old NMMC episodes and special are not available on DVD, this channel is probably the only way they can be seen by a wide audience.  Someone posting by the name unnerv also uploaded some segments of the show. It was also pleasant to read the comments from viewers who remembered the show, and I’m glad I’m not the only one with fond memories, although my memories aren’t as specific.  However, like the NMMC itself, this nostalgic trip I’ve been taking will be short lived.  I’ll soon forget about this and move back to other things.  But as long as these episodes are still up on YouTube, I'll able to go back and view them again.

 

     

 

 

     

The Changing Culture of Temple Football

  I remember when I was a student at Temple in the 90’s.  Temple was known for a lot of things, but one thing that unfortunately stood out was their abysmal football team.  Their reputation stood in sharp contrast to that of the powerhouse basketball team. Although I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to either team at the time, I remember how the football team was the running joke of NCAA fans and their fellow students, who often criticized the university officials for continuing to support the program and not putting it out of its misery.

  I remember an example of the sentiment on campus. In those pre-internet days, various corkboards around campus served the function that online forums now do.  A question would be posted at the top, and students could post their responses on the little slips of paper and tacks provided.  One time on the board in Anderson Hall, the subject was the football team, and it prompted a good amount of responses.  The consensus of the fellow students painted the players as a bunch of dumb jocks similar to Moose from the Archies comic strip.  They knew only how to crash into each other on Saturday afternoons, and were good only at losing games.  I can recall two posts in particular.  One said that the Temple team couldn’t even win the Bud Bowl.  Another one contained this message, written in what looked like a woman’s handwriting: “Personully, I wood give all my tooition money to Temple football because there so grate”.  It was signed by “Temple football player #15”.

  In all truth, they were just good athletes who couldn’t compete with the NCAA’s finest.  Although they may have been stars on their high school teams, they were passed over by the big time college recruiters. So they settled for Temple. I certainly don’t blame anyone for accepting an athletic scholarship with the goal of attaining a degree.  Contrary to the corkboard postings, most of them didn’t come to school just to play football, and wouldn’t even if they were courted by the Notre Dames and Penn States of the world.  But a football scholarship no doubt did influence their decision on which school to attend.

    A decade later, Temple’s football program did manage to turn around.  It came after they were bounced from the Big East Conference due to low game attendance and lack of competitiveness. But instead of putting the program to rest, the Owls took up an invitation to play in the non-BCS (Bowl Championship Series) Middle American Conference.  Next, they hired a thirty something named Al Golden as their head coach.  Whatever Golden did, it worked, and the Owls got better each season. In 2008, they finally compiled a winning record and in 2009 made a bowl appearance. 

  Of course, schools with more prestigious football programs took notice, and Golden’s name appeared on the short list whenever a head coaching job opened up.  Since he removed himself from consideration for most of them, I believed he was committed to Temple until the Penn State job opened up.  However, after last season, when Miami called, Golden felt it was time to go.

  It’s safe to say that Golden’s departure was inevitable. When someone turns a team like Temple into a winner, it can’t go unnoticed. Even before he began posting winning records, I was hearing of how impressed other schools were with the job he was doing at Temple.  More than anything, I think it was worth hiring Golden because of the change he brought to the culture of Temple football, even though it seems there’s more to be done. Hopefully Steve Addazio can pick up where he left off and finish the job.

  Should the university officials have axed the program a long time ago?  Since there has been a turnaround, I don’t think so.  Had they continued in the Big East or as an independent, and if they were still getting pounded in lop-sided losses, I would lean toward terminating the program.  Now, the team is in a position where it can help the university by making it look good on national television, and therefore attract students.  Hopefully, they can also showcase student athletes who excel both in the classroom and on the field.  But keep in mind that I write this from the viewpoint of a fan and alumnus.  I don’t know whether the football team is generating any sizable profit.  Maybe if I was a university accountant, I would think differently.

   Regardless of the unfinished business, Temple football has definitely come a long way since those dismal days of the 90s and early 2000s.  I would have liked to see them win a conference title or bowl game under Golden, but now they are competing for the conference title and have made it to at least one bowl game. Although Temple will probably always be a basketball first school, it’s good to see their football program gain some respectability.

 

The City in the Pines that Never Was

  Every year I pass through New Jersey’s infamous Pine Barrens on my way to and from Long Beach Island.  From the Four Mile Circle near Pemberton until it approaches Manahawkin, Route 72 is about 20-25 miles of unbroken forest.  Much of what I drive through has been preserved as state forest land, but there once was a time when the future of the Pine Barrens was in question.  In 1968, when Princeton Professor John McPhee published The Pine Barrens, all indicators were leading him to believe that the future of the region would be quite different than the present that exists today.  Had the predictions made in the book came to pass, the ride to the shore would look entirely different, as I would be driving through a huge city.  Apparently, it was published at just the right time, when something could still be done to change the outcome.

 McPhee covered several aspects of the Pine Barrens and its people in his book, but what stood out most to me was the outlook for the future, made from a 1967 standpoint.  It had somewhat amazed him that, in the wake of the post-World War II suburban sprawl, the Pine Barrens had so far remained undeveloped.  But he didn’t see it lasting long, as the Pine Barrens stood in the bustling Northeast Corridor.  Sprawl was threatening from both Philadelphia and the New York/New Jersey metro area.  And there was also the matter of the proposed jetport to be built near Toms River, with a new city of a quarter million people built around it, the details of which sound futuristic to me even as I read the book now, over 40 years after its first publication.

  The Pine Barrens apparently came out at the right time, looking forward and backward.  McPhee researched the book at a time when he had links to both a past that was long gone, and a future that never quite materialized.  There were still some people old enough to remember the old way of life in the Pine Barrens, and even some of the long vanished towns, recollections which McPhee saved forever in print.  One of his links to the future was a private planner named Herbert Smith, whose firm was eager to take on the task of designing the proposed jetport and new city.  He was excited to give McPhee a tour of this metropolis which had yet to be built.

  I haven’t been able to find out exactly what happened, but the ground for this jetport and new city was never broken.  The jetport was projected to open around 1973, five years after The Pine Barrens was published.  I don’t know if lobbying for this project was stopped by political action, or if it was dropped for other reasons.  One thing that is certain, at least according to the Pinelands Commission website, is that McPhee’s book had a huge influence on conservation efforts.  During the 1970’s those efforts worked to establish state forests that saved thousands of acres of land.  Through it all, including the retooling of Atlantic City into a gambling mecca, the Pinelands have stood intact, although I don’t know how much land was actually developed since 1968.  But that development has at least been controlled.

  Some aspects of the development may have been advantageous, particularly the jetport.  Having a mega-airport and transportation center in Ocean County would have been more convenient than going to Philadelphia International or Newark, at least for some people.  And since construction of a railroad was part of the plan, it would have made the northern Jersey Shore more easily accessible by rail.  However, I personally would not see these things as worth sacrificing the Pine Barrens for, even though the city plan did call for some preservation.  And today it seems that some details of this plan, such as passenger planes that could connect the jetport with Europe in 90 minutes, never really became widespread.  I’m glad that McPhee’s book came out when it did, which at least in part helped to preserve the rare ecosystem and keep development in check.