114th Annual Monon Bell Game

[BashBacker#16]

Nice piece (as usual) from Wabash's Jim Amidon on the game Saturday - http://www.wabash.edu/news/displaystory.cfm?news_ID=5202

Fripp52 - #7 Alto has a wedding in Ft. Wayne this weekend so he will miss it.  If you want to see him, come to our HOME playoff game next weekend.    Not sure if Killer will be there, depends on how McCauley's 3rd grade undefeated team did last week.  The RV lot blows at Blackstock and its way too far from the stadium.  We bailed on the RV 4 years ago when we realized the real BASH party was in the lower lot South of the stadium.

2007 Tailgate Menu highlight...2-3 whole (10 lbs each) Beef Teriyaki Tenderloins from Ft. Wayne's Cork & Cleaver.  Provided by the best long snapper in Wabash history...#42 David Relue.  Beef, Beer, & Tots!

Wonder which Wabash Captain gets the Bell on Friday night in their room?  Yet another Wabash Bell tradition.

[WAF78]

BB16
Tell Tony that if he can find the time to see any of the Bell game at the Covington Grill, I'll save a place for him.

[Fripp52]

Bashbacker
Say hi to Tony.  Tell him I do want my pellet gun back.  He will know who I am.  I will not be at your away game.  HaHa.  I live in Easton, PA, so making it to DPU is a trip for me.  My son actually plays at DPU - #42, plays all special teams.  That is why I am there.  Otherwise, I had lost connection with these games to some extent.  It's great to be back.  So, Kilbane has a kid that young ?  I figured no one would marry that guy after he broke his nose in the old Lincoln Park games.  I hear you on the RV.  I may have made a mistake.  Have to live with it now though.  We will make the best of it.  Will bring it again to Wabash and then not the following year.

WAF78
I played in the 81 game which was my freshman year.  I was on all special teams.  I remember the coaches selecting me and 2 of my teammates (who will be at the game this weekend, btw) to be on kickoff coverage on the Wabash sideline on kickoff because Wabash always returned to their bench.  We were all jacked up.  The first return was almost broke for a TD.  I think your TB, can't remember his name, was finally brought down near mid-field.  So much for great execution.  The other memory is our President gave us that Monday off from school.
The 82 game was memorable in that it was 3-0 at half and actually 10-3 well into the third quarter when the dam broke.  Our offense, as it was my entire 4 years at DPU, was pathetic.  There was a sequence where I recovered a fumble.  The our O fumbled.  We recovered another fumble.  Then our O threw an INT.  I think we had 7 plus turnovers in that game.  31-3 final.
83 was the last play of the game situation where we batted the ball down on the last play.  Great game.  I had to watch that play from the sideline because one of the Wababies kicked me in the stomach after the whistle.  And I took a couple of swings at him, then your O-line coach.  Did not go over well with the refs.  I was ejected.  Never knew if the Wabash player was.
Great memories.  I have more.  I will save them for next year.

[bashbrother]

The 2002 game  - had to be one of the best QB/Receiver performances in the history of the game.   

Knott to Short - Don't know if there will ever be a pairing like them again. 

http://www.depauw.edu/av/mononmems/2002.mov

Short was very much like Dallas Clark (Colts) a receiver in a TE's body.  Linebackers didn't have a chance and cornerbacks had to deal with his size.

[DPU3619]

Also, one of the worst defensive performances in recent history. 

Short's a great player, but it doesn't do ANY good if you don't cover him.  Obinna made an effort on that fade route to the back pylon, but not many could cover him on that route.

Look how open he was on the other three!  That game was just about the longest three hours of my life.

[bashbrother]

yeah.... must of been a tough one.

I do have to give Depauw major props on their website.   Their Bell Coverage is tremendous.  I wish Wabash would dedicate a little more of their website to Bell History.

[DPU3619]

Well, we've covered a lot of the important ones for the LG's.  Let's look at the other side of the coin.

2004 will probably always be the most special one for me. 

2000 was the first game I ever attended.  That was a good one.  Great football game, too.

How about 1981?  Coach Nick's first game.  DPU beat #4 Wabash 21-14 after they held on 4th & Goal.

I'll even throw it back. 1960. Coach Tom Mont went for two on a fake XP to win 14-13 with under a minute.  Imagine that happening today.

Or 1964, when Wabash tried the same thing and DePauw legend Tod Eberle (who I believe is the same Tod Eberle who works in DPU Admissions) stopped Alan Anderson for a 22-21 win.  DPU had the Bell for 10 straight years after that win. That gave DPU the Bell for its tenth straight year.

That Sports Informaton internship sure paid off.  I learned so much about this rivalry back through 1960's and 1970's.  Really great stuff.

[WAF78]

Wes,
Yes...the 81 defeat was particularly horrible as Wabash was undefeated going into the game. They had to wait until the next year to then go undefeated. History has a way of repeating itself...just not this year.
The '80 game was bad too...though a tie is not as bad as a loss...but it felt like a loss...Wabash, again undefeated..and ends up with a tie when DPU tied it with little time remaining on the clock. I was doing the radio broadcasts for Wabash that year...and wow...what a bummer.
Also, I agree with bashbro...DPU's bell coverage is great...and how much time you give to Wabash victories as well. I'm impressed...or as impressed as I can be with something from DePauw 

[WAF78]

Wes,
Not to be picky...but...after the '64 game...we won the '67, '71 and '72 games...the '72 game was covered by Sports Illustrated.

[bashbrother]

Ok..... My productivity at work has officially ended.  Glad I own the company.     It would be interesting to see how the distraction of the Bell Game affects the GDP.  (Joke)

Time for the game.   

[DPU3619]

My sentence was horribly worded.  I'm stupid.  Fixed.

One other note regarding the parking situation.  Yes, you cannot access Blackstock until 9.  Yes, you cannot park your RV there.  But I do gather that you can park your RV across Jackson St. in the big lot just to the south of the Peeler Art Bulding.  I think you have to come in Jackson St. from the south to have access to it.

I also gather that there is no restriction on when you can arrive and park in that lot.  It was not mentioned on the website.  They did say to arrive at that lot early, as they expect to fill quickly.

[bashbrother]

Bell Tickets on E-Bay

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=monon+bell+tickets&category0=

of course they are the Dannie's side..... 

[DPU92]

Bell Tickets on E-Bay

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=monon+bell+tickets&category0=

of course they are the Dannie's side..... 

That is just a shame...some DePauw fans just dont get it...

[joepieters]

Where I do have a problem is with the 8,000 ticket limit that DPU is still adhering to and this business with the parking lot not being opened up until 9:00 a.m.  This is completely ridiculous.  Last year Wabash welcomed nearly 12,000 fans to campus and hell didn't break loose.  A lot of those fans started tailgating before dawn...and hell still didn't break loose.  There's a much different feel around the game and around the rivalry now than there was 10 years ago.  It's time that DePauw follow Wabash's lead and let the greatness of the day (it's not just a game, it's an event) happen. 

Wally,
Two years ago, guys were in those lots at 7 a.m. They got there before security arrived, and to my knowledge were not booted.

[joepieters]

By the way, how cool is it that Gameday is going to air from Williams this weekend?  Hopefully this starts a Gameday tradition where they'll do a show from a small college on rivalry day once per year. 

As I understand it, there is a push to have them in C-ville next year.