Beale Street Blues
Posted on 05. Jan, 2010 by Will in Blog, Personal
January 1, 2010 brought a new year and a 7-hour drive southwest to Memphis, TN. Nicole, her brother Logan, and I loaded up the car eager to arrive in Memphis. We were heading to watch my Alma Mater East Carolina University play Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl. For those who aren’t familiar with ECU, we’re about the size of Ball State located 1.5 hours east of Raleigh, North Carolina.
7 hours later, we arrive in Memphis, TN. Our hotel is located 2 blocks north of the famous Beale Street. We relax for a while, got ready, and headed to the Pirate Party (oh yeah, for those who don’t know, our mascot is a Pirate). ECU had rented 4 bars that all connected, behind each door was a new group of Pirates, a new live band, and a new experience. Beale Street was amazing; Purple and Gold chants, old friends, and great music.
The following day was game day. America weighed in and 98% of them thought ECU didn’t stand a chance. I have to admit, I had the same feelings. Here we are little old ECU, a Conference USA team, about to duke it out with a large SEC school whose conference is known for producing football powerhouses.
Kickoff arrives. The temperature is a whopping 28 degrees with 10-15 mph winds howling from the Northeast. We’re packed in, all 62,750 fans, which is the second largest Liberty Bowl turnout in history. Our fans were incredibly outnumbered, 62,000 fans were decked out in red, and only a handful was head-to-toe in Purple and Gold.
To my surprise, the Pirates came out swinging. They played hard and didn’t want to leave that field without carrying Skip Holtz out as the championship coach. We go into halftime with a 10-0 lead. The third quarter began and quickly our lead disappeared. Arkansas answered a dead first half with a quick 10-point run, evening the score at 10-10. The Pirates answer with a touchdown to go up 17-10, but in the time it took me to run to the restroom, Arkansas answered with a deep ball resulting in a touchdown. And then the fun began.
With 1:01 left in the game, scored still tied at 17, Ben Hartman lines up to kick about a 38 yard field goal to put ECU up by three. The snap, the hold, the kick….no good. Arkansas now has the ball, but the Pirate defense steps up big and forces a punt by Arkansas. The Pirates drive down the field once again. With :03 seconds left on the game clock, Ben Hartman trots out on the field to kick another game winning field goal. The snap, the hold, the kick….hits the left upright, no good. Overtime we go.
Arkansas wins the toss, gives the ball to ECU. Again, the Pirates move within field goal range. Once again, Ben Hartman, with yet another chance to put ECU up by 3 and perhaps win he game for the Pirates. The snap, the hold, the kick….no good. Hartman misses a 3rd field goal. Arkansas’ offense returns to the field and drives their team into field goal range. Arkansas’ kicker calmly trots on the field to kick just about the same field goal he watched Hartman miss three times. The snap, the hold, the kick….its good. Arkansas has defeated my Pirates in overtime to win a game that would have been a monumental victory for ECU. I couldn’t even begin to describe my feelings. We had fought so hard, our seniors worked all season for this chance, most Pirate fans drove over 14 hours and weathered the horrible weather only to witness a game that should have been ours slip their our fingers.
I must say, I am very proud to be a Pirate. Sure, a win would have been nice, but I saw a lot promise and potential for our future seasons. I’ll see you next year in Memphis, or better yet, a BCS bowl.
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