Red Towel Roundtable: Favorite Moments of the Decade Part II
The 2010s are drawing to a close. Yesterday we shared part one of our favorite moments of the past ten years. Here’s part two of our…
The 2010s are drawing to a close. Yesterday we shared part one of our favorite moments of the past ten years. Here’s part two of our favorite moments:
Jake Keith- 2012 Overtime Win over Kentucky
I scored tickets in a decent but deeply blue section of Commonwealth (before it was “Kroger’s Field” as Cayut fans like to say” from a good friend’s sister who was an alum. We parked ourselves and various smuggled in contraband (read: snacks that didn’t cost 17 dollars and a kidney in the stadium) fully decked out in red and lucky towels, in amongst the skoal dippin’ beer thirty drinking hoard and prepared. The Tops were coming off the most successful season in what seemed like forever after the tumultuous FBS transition so hopes were high.
You all know where I’m going but Willie T having the balls to call that trick play in OT to win it was masterful. The memory for me wasn’t just the thrill of besting a team cockier than it had any right to be. Instead, my joy, as many of you can probably guess came from the dejection and misery of the blue-clad mourners. My entire time at WKU until then had been filled with trash talk about how much the Tops sucked and should have stayed in FCS. But that night they were so sad, so quiet. It was glorious and one of the best memories of the decade.
Matt McCay- 2019 Volleyball Season
First of all, I love taking the devil’s advocate position and trying to win an argument. Second of all, I am one of the very few people remotely equal in passion for men’s and women’s sports on The Hill. Frankly, I would argue women’s basketball has been more interesting to watch than men’s basketball this decade. They’ve certainly achieved more almost every year.
But for me, my greatest moment happened recently, when the WKU Volleyball team hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament on December 4–5, 2019. I am going to argue this is the greatest athletic achievement for Western Kentucky this decade. Why? First of all, it’s a pretty sparse decade when you compare it to the previous. You had a national championship, a Sweet 16, tens of NCAA Tournament appearances in multiple sports, the transition to Division I, etc. between 2001–10.
This decade, you have football winning back-to-back championships, basketball finding two miracles in 2012–13, women’s basketball championships, and women’s volleyball. That’s about it. Women’s volleyball takes the cake. They’re higher ranked than football (or any other program) was, they advanced as far as any other program (softball made it as far), Women’s basketball never had “that moment”, and all of basketball’s success has come in the regular season or came by miracle and did not result in any appearance beyond the Round of 64.
This volleyball team lost two matches all year. T-W-O. That’s the best record in the nation, and they were rewarded with a chance to host. What takes this over the top? Bowling Green and the Topper faithful responded by showing up. In fact, of the 16 sites, only three others had more attendance. In addition, Travis Hudson had a (what should have been fatal) heart attack last year and immediately comes back with a new outlook on life, leading his really young team to new heights. If for no other reason than Travis Hudson’s emotional press conferences, this is the greatest moment. Watch one video of Hudson and I dare you not to get goosebumps. That atmosphere, as the kids say, was “fire”. Diddle was rocking, and the crowd won the fourth set against Louisville in an absolute five-set thriller. To “add to”, as Rick Stansbury says, this volleyball team loses two players for next season. My god. Western has never made it past the second round in the NCAA Tournament. Buckle up, Topper fans, because Western Volleyball might get over that second-round hump with style next year.
Ross Shircliffe- WKU Football’s Little Ceasars Pizza Bowl Bid 2012
When the decade started enthusiasm for WKU football was almost zero. The FBS transition didn’t go as planned and the Hilltoppers were riding a 20 game losing streak to start the 2010 season. Willie Taggart injected some buzz and swagger into the program with a few wins, including the 2010 victory over Louisiana Lafayette, people started to care about the program again. After starting 0–4 in 2011 the Hilltoppers finished red hot winning seven of their last eight games to finish 7–5. I remember tracking potential bowl possibilities despite the Sun Belt’s measly two bowl tie-ins at the time. While a bowl wasn’t in the cards that season the buzz for football was at an all-time high to start the 2012 season.
During that year I followed WKU football like I never had before. After an easy win over Austin Peay, I traveled down to Tuscaloosa to witness David take on Goliath. The Hilltoppers didn’t embarrass themselves against the Crimson Tide losing 35–0 with the highlight being Quanterus Smith’s three sacks that pissed off the Alabama fan sitting next to me. The following week I followed the Tops to Lexington and witnessed the aforementioned win over the Cats. Seeing a corner of Commonwealth stadium filled with red and that amazing win proved to me that WKU’s move to FBS was worth it.
Over the next few weeks, WKU would start 5–1 including a victory over Gus Malzahn coached Arkansas State with backup James Mauro starting at quarterback. Willie Taggart had it rolling before a showdown with Louisiana Monroe and their dual-threat quarterback Kolton Browning on homecoming. During that game, I saw excitement as I had never seen for WKU football especially against a conference opponent. 22,323 fans packed the Houch instead of staying at the tailgates and they were treated to a thrilling heartbreaker as Browning would mystify the WKU defense and beat the Tops on a two-point conversion in a 43–42 shootout.
WKU would fade down the stretch after that one as they would win just two of their last six games to limp to a 7–5 finish. Fans were once again worried about being left out of a bowl game but Todd Stewart masterfully guided WKU into the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl Bid in Detroit, the day after Christmas.
I remember frantically updating twitter that day and was ecstatic despite the location. The next thing I did was try to figure out who was in to travel to Detroit the day after the holiday. I found 6 friends that eventually agreed to join me. A bowl game in Detroit didn’t sound luxurious but it was amazing to WKU fans that had never experienced that in the short six years of FBS football.
Willie Taggart’s departure to South Florida didn’t sting for too long as Todd Stewart quickly tabbed Petrino as the replacement and the program was in capable hands despite being coached by interim coach Lance Guidry in the bowl game. My friend and I drove up to Detroit on Christmas day and we stayed at the Greektown Casino. Detroit was still the shell of the once-great city that it was at the time. It was weird staying in a casino on Christmas but we still had a blast. The next day all of our friends (except one) finally arrived despite the snowstorm that hit the midwest the day of the game. As we walked into Ford Field we were very impressed by the 4000+ Hilltopper fans that made the treck up despite the various circumstances. I still have my red towel they handed out to commemorate WKU’s first FBS bowl game.
WKU played well but ultimately came up short, choosing to go for a 4th & 2 from the Chippewa 19 instead of going for a game-tying field goal. The 24–21 loss was disappointing but the experience was still amazing. The 2012 season proved that WKU can have a sustainable program at the FBS level and that fans can follow the Hilltoppers like any division one program. The 2012 Little Ceasars Pizza Bowl got me hooked and I’ve been following around WKU football ever since.