Most Memorable Rubber Bowl Experience

[g-mann17]

In light of the new stadium, I was curious to see what everyone's most memorable Rubber Bowl experience is.As a fan, I would I have to say mine is the "The Night The Lights Went Out", The incredible come from behind win over Marshal that was actually televised. That got a lot of people talking about our program.On a more personal level, it would be walking out the gates knowing I played my last game of interscholastic football after losing handedly to Firestone my senior year.

[Kangaroo Craig]

I vote for the Marshall game as well. That was quite a performance by Frye. A close #2 would have to be the snow bowl victory over Can't in 2005 that clinched the MAC East for us. However, I have a feeling that both of those are going to be outdone by the last home game of 2008 when we clinch another MAC East title and many of us remove our seats and take them with us as a momento (ala 1995 Browns vs. Bengals at the old municipal stadium).

[Hilltopper]

I have many memorable experiences in regards to the Rubber Bowl. The first was the 1969 Acme-Zip game against Tampa, my first ever Zips game. Over the next 37 years alot of good times such as the 1976 season which included playoff victorys against Nevada/Las Vegas and Northern Michigan, Karl Walenda walking the tightrope, epic battles against rivals YSU and Can't State, lots of great highschool games plus many more. The bad times included Chris Angeloffs death on the sidelines, the 1988 loss to patsy Arkansas St on the fumblerooski play, Gordon Larsons last game , a thumping by the Quantico Marines in a blizzard. The most memorable moment of all has to be the November 15th 2005 game against Ohio. That was the night my Dads dream and wishes came true. Dad lived and died for the Zips for 40 years. The Zips won an important game to keep alive their hopes of winning the MAC east. Dad wasn't there to see it, he had passed away exactly 1 year to the day prior. After the game I went onto the field and spread some of his ashes on the 50 yard line. For years he had joked that he wanted his remains scatterd over the bowl by one of the low flying planes so often seen at games. When the Rubber Bowl is finally gone I will still remember the great times more than anything else and it will always be a special place.

[Bleacher Bum]

Before I even read any posts in this thread, the two that popped right into my head were the Marshall comeback and the Can't game. Amazingly, I didn't stay for the entire game either time. My brother was really sick with the flu for the Marshall game and he made us leave early. I remember pounding on the bathrrom door as he was throwing up screaming at him to get his ass in the family room and watch what he made me miss.Leaving the Can't game early was the result of beginning tailgating at 7 AM in the frigid temperatures. And go figure, we couldn't even find a bar to watch the game at on Thanksgiving.Maybe I should just plan on leaving early every game.Also, an honorable mention for a memory at the Rubber Bowl...wasn't there a dollar beer night last year? Maybe that's not a memory. And if it is, it's still a little hazy.

[zip37]

Northern Mich Grantland Rice Bowl game. Bitter cold & so windy that I went to east side of the Bowl to get out of wind chill-- the other extreme, hot/humid & no breeze for A-Zgame w/34K in the bowl, I think the opposition was W. Ky. don't remember the years though.

[skip-zip]

Darren Alcorn kicking the 56 yard field goal to beat Toledo as time expired in the Acme/Zip game in 1992. And if you've ever heard Steve French's call of the play, you know just how exciting of a moment it was.It's the only time I've ever ran out on the field after an Akron game.

[jcv1]

Here's one.... the come from behind win against Temple (W 24-23) in 1975 when receiver Glenn Evans (?) made a TD catch as time expired. The crowd started getting louder as the 4th Q started and then the team caught on and completed a comeback I'll always remember.

[GoZips88]

Simon and Garfunkel concert 1983 Any Akron game I attended with my mother. She ALWAYS made sure we were there early so we could see Ohio's Pride come marching onto the field from the open end of the stadium. She doesn't attend many games any more but I've carried on the tradition with my kids, always making sure we're there to see and hear the marching band play our fight song! GO ZIPS!

[BZip_08]

many of us remove our seats and take them with us as a momento (ala 1995 Browns vs. Bengals at the old municipal stadium).

Some of us might have done that accidentally already.... they broke!The Snow Bowl in 2005 was definitely memorable, mostly because I remember how numb my appendages were.

[johnnyzip84]

These are all good nominees in my mind. I might have to pick Alcorn's kick as the single most memorable event, although the comeback win against Marshall obviously is right there with it. Here are 3 more to consider. 1) The Good- Leftwich being hit by Ryan Myers , setting in motion the whole "warrior Byron being carried by his OL" saga that, as many nationwide observers forget, was in vain since the Zips held on to win anyway 2) The Bad - Normally sure handed Jake Schifino dropping a probable 1st down reception from Butchie Washington, very late in the 4th quarter, forcing the Zips to punt to Marshall and allowing Leftwich to move the Blundering Turd right down the field to snatch the victory from the Zips, ending a possible MAC East championship run in 2000 3) The Ugly - Few were there in 1994 when Ohio U and the Zips met in the final game of the seaosn with a combined ZERO (wins) and TWENTY (losses) record!! It was both Tom Lichtenberg and Gerry Faust's final game at their respective schools, with UA winning 24-10 and Faust being carried off the field by his players

[norka27]

The Temple game form 1992 season when Victor Green picked off a pass and raced down the sideline for 50 yard score.The block field goal again Virginia Tech when Nate Johnson Lateral the ball to Jason Taylor for what we all thought was a score only to have the play called back for a foward pass.Chris Owens punt return for a TD against Youngstown State in 1991 going to the open end of the bowl that helped win the game. Lee Owens’s first game where Lew Lawhorn took the opening kickoff all the way back to start the 1995 season.

[Z.I.P.]

Okay! Here come my memories from the late sixties to early 80s.When the starting post referred to the night the lights went out, I assumed he was referring to the Eastern Kentucky game about 1980. What a fan-TAZ-tic performance that night.I'll never forget Canton McKinley's state championship victory over heavily-favored Gerry Faust's Cincinnati Moeller team. That was sweet! 1976 or 77 I think.And I'll remember walking thru the end zone to get to the far sideline when I was about 14 before the Browns' - Giants' game. I was the same height as Giant's DB Spider Lockhart. (5-5).Thankfully, memories are all that will be left of the Bowl. I do wonder what the plans are for redevelopment. Any clues?

[zip81]

Rubber Bowl Memories....Youngstown Mooney vs. Warren Western Reserve for the AAA state championship 1972.I was broadcasting a City Series double header Friday night at the Bowl when the fog was so thick you couldn't even see the field from the pressbox. That was an interesting game. One team was Akron North...can't remember the other.Being in the student card section.Playing intramural flag football at the Bowl while a student. They would split the field up into three fields going sideline to sideline...rug burns...ouch!All the St. V - Cuyahoga Falls football games in the early to mid 70's.And last, but not least...Monsters of Rock...around 1986. We'd rob our Mom's purse to see Matallica!!!

[johnnyzip84]

Playing intramural flag football at the Bowl while a student. They would split the field up into three fields going sideline to sideline...rug burns...ouch!

That was WAY too much fun!!! Thanks for the reminder. The thing that stood out to me was how the crown in the field affected the games.

[BirdZip]

I do wonder what the plans are for redevelopment. Any clues?

The biggest skateboarding halfpipe ever built?

[akronad]

Several good ones & 1 horrible memory.GoodCan't State 2005, The most brutal conditions I have ever sat in for a college fb game.Northern Michigan, 1973, The 2nd most brutal weather conditions for a college fb game, I can't remember the exact year, but it was when Stevie Wonder was booed off the stage as he was opening for the Stones.And the most horrbile memory I will have, is the night Chris Angeloff collapsed on the field and passed. My best freind at that time was an Physicians Surgical Asst. and when Chris went down, my friend sprinted down the steps of the RB and was 1 0f the first on the scene to administer CPR. The mood of the bowl and that game were never the same for that night. If I remember correctly, that was the Acme-Zip game.

[Buckzip]

For me it was the Marshall game where leftwich was carried down the field.Great game.The other was the Acme-Zip game in the 70's where Chris Angeloff died. I still remember the ambulance going across the field after they picked him up. The announcer said he was ok. I was a kid, but that memory still is there. Very sad time.

[Zipsrifle]

I've been a fan since......: "The Toilet Bowl", 1994 OU vs. Akron, my first year in college. I realized that College Football was big Buisness: VT - 1996?. I still think that some money exchanged hands somewhere! I was there when: Byron got beat up by the big bad Akron defense?!?! Great win, too bad nobody was there to celebrate.Biggest Kick in the Gut: Can't State 2003. I was REALLY hyped up that year. It was after that game that my HATE for Can't State spiked!Worst Weather: No question, Turkey Bowl 2005. Greatest Win: Marshall 2004. Most Electricity before the game: Miami 2004.Most annoying visiting Band at the RB: Western Michigan - 1996. Every damn first down: da.da.da...dadadadada..dada.daaaa.daaaaaa.daaaaaaaaa!

[Zipmeister]

I was about 20 rows up when Chris dropped directly in front of me. He was dead when he hit the ground. I can assure you that although somebody may have told you he was OK, it wasn't the stadium announcer because it was very obvious that he was not. I still feel bad about what happened because after several wierd predictions that I made earlier that season came true, I predicted a major chest injury for someone on the field that night.

[ZippyRulz]

3) The Ugly - Few were there in 1994 when Ohio U and the Zips met in the final game of the seaosn with a combined ZERO (wins) and TWENTY (losses) record!! It was both Tom Lichtenberg and Gerry Faust's final game at their respective schools, with UA winning 24-10 and Faust being carried off the field by his players 

I was one of the few that were there. The saddest thing about it to me was that night there was a HS playoff game which I think was a Mass./McK. rematch with probably 40K (really) in attendance, that is, after they got through the stand-still traffic jam on I-77.I didn't make it to the Leftwich/Marshall games but I was there for Alcorn's kick to beat Toledo so that was probably my best recollection. One of the early Faust games featured the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders at halftime so that wasn't bad either I don't know what they'll do with the RB but I think it's for real that they'll have to leave the east side stands and closed-end intact as a retaining wall, maybe dress it up with decorative stone or something. It would be cool to leave the big RUBBER BOWL lettering up there as a monument. The west side and press box should come down but possibly the field itself could be preserved and used for soccer, basketball courts, etc. A skate park isn't a bad idea either or is there already one over there next to the BMX trails?Oh well, there's still a couple years to figure it out and the Zips need to make a few more good memories there in the meantime. I think before the final game they should have an open house and let everyone go into the press box, locker rooms, etc.

[timmyboy]

Greatest game: Marshall on national TV when we beat them to send the m out of the MAC. and also the game in when leftwich had to be carried down the field.Worst game: Turkey day against Can't State with negative temperatures.... and i stayed the WHOLE game and also for the celebration afterwards........ the writing on the bleachers in the snow ( MAC east champs) was great. and also the Can't State game that they came down and kicked the field goal with seconds left and won 41-38 (2004 maybe)Highest Attendance: Massillion VS Mckinley (41,000, standing room only) in the state playoff game. Mckinley rolled Massillion by 24 points the last game of the regular season, and they turned around an drew them in the playoffs ( 1st round) and Massillion came back and rolled Mckinley easily to put them out of the playoffs. I was sitting first row behind the field goal post in a crowd of Massillion fans, cheering for mckinley...... man did i feel out of place!Favorite memory: Anytime i go to the bowl to watch the Zips is a great memory! But one of the tops was after we beat marshall on national TV on the long pass from C. Frye to J Mont in the right corner of the endzone and we all rushed the field at the end of the game. That play also made sportscenter top 10.......its not very often that the Zips get any love on sportscenter, so seeing it was great.

[zipboy]

Many great memories.1. Beating Marshall on ESPN 2 years ago.2. My FR year, and seeing Darren Alcorn kick a 56 yarder.3. Coming back to beat Can't on a crushing block by Matt Zuercher and Butchie running it in. Afterwards, Dennis Helsel called it the greatest win in Syracuse history.4. All of the great players that I saw, J. Taylor, Dwight Smith, Charlie, Vic Green, Rothelsberger, Pennington, Charlie Batch, etc. Looking forward to many more in the new digs.

[74ZIP]

here's my top 3 in order...the 1976 Bowl game aginst Northern Mich-my friend and i drained a bottle of canadian club in the 1st half..damn that was cold..the Blizz Bowl against Can't...because it meant so much and so many FANS showed up...and the OT win against northern illinois... aharbinger of even better things!