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How many times under Tiller were the goal posts torn down?

Tommaker

Tommaker

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Dec 11, 2002
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I'm sick, up at 3:00 a.m. and this is what comes to mind. :p The Crisco on the Philly light poles is what made me think of it.

I'm thinking it was at least 3 times; one of the MSU-Saban "upsets", the OSU game and maybe the Bucket game of the Rose bowl? I know they tried different tactics after each tear down. My favorite was when the crowd had the posts down and started making for the exit (presumably heading for the Wabash) and the PA announcer came over the speakers and said "You people don't really think you're going to leave here with that, do you?" The crowd ROARED back.

And they did! :)
 
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Tommaker said:
That might be the third over the Rose Bowl Bucket game. I think the field staff had it figured out by then (how to keep them up).
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I think they made them indestructible in 2000. Stratton lost his helmet trying to take one down with spider man after the bucket game that year.
 
ImRonBurgandy? said:
ND in 97. ND Bress' jr year i believe. Michigan, ohio state, iu brees' senior year. I was there
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Do you remember when Dorsch flipped the crowd off after hitting the game winner? Down, I believe 28-10 at the half to come back and beat that very good Michigan team.
 
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TD was correct and the crowd deserved the finger(s).

I think the indestructible goal posts were put in Tiller’s first year. If we tore down more than one under Coach Joe, I don’t remember it. We absolutely didn’t tear them down once Brees was playing.
 
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Tommaker said:
I'm sick, up at 3:00 a.m. and this is what comes to mind. :p The Crisco on the Philly light poles is what made me think of it.

I'm thinking it was at least 3 times; one of the MSU-Saban "upsets", the OSU game and maybe the Bucket game of the Rose bowl? I know they tried different tactics after each tear down. My favorite was when the crowd had the posts down and started making for the exit (presumably heading for the Wabash) and the PA announcer came over the speakers and said "You people don't really think you're going to leave here with that, do you?" The crowd ROARED back.

And they did! :)
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Never under Tiller. Kids stormed the field, but the last time a goal post fell to the ground was 1996 when Purdue beat Michigan.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-11-10/sports/9611100378_1_purdue-jim-colletto-lloyd-carr

Indestructible went in in 1997.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-10-26/sports/9710260013_1_posts-murray-goodman-standards
 
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RegionWarrior101 said:
Never under Tiller. Kids stormed the field, but the last time a goal post fell to the ground was 1996 when Purdue beat Michigan.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-11-10/sports/9611100378_1_purdue-jim-colletto-lloyd-carr

Indestructible went in in 1997.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-10-26/sports/9710260013_1_posts-murray-goodman-standards
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Thanks for the research, but man, I know I've seen them torn down more than a few times? I thought I remembered they put some sort of bolt-receiver for the "U" portion of the goal posts, so they could swing them down after the game (avoiding fans climbing on top of it) and at one point just the "U" was torn off? And did Purdue fans ever tear down the goal posts at IU after a win? I'd love to contact one of the grounds guys who's been there a while, they'd probably have the whole story.
 
O$U fans tore down iu’s in Bloomington after clinching the B1G down there. The next week in WL, a couple of iu honor students thought they would tear down ours to celebrate a bucket win only to have a few scholarship athletes take out their frustrations on them.

Probably the only highlight ever after losing the bucket.

Some Purdue fans may have helped pull artificial turf off the field in Bloomington during Tillers first season.
 
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Poprudy said:
Do you remember when Dorsch flipped the crowd off after hitting the game winner? Down, I believe 28-10 at the half to come back and beat that very good Michigan team.
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They were down 17-0 at the half and looked lifeless. Dorsch missed a FG in the first half from memory. Recent Saints/Vikes game reminded me of that game. That was such a great year for home games.
 
Grover said:
O$U fans tore down iu’s in Bloomington after clinching the B1G down there. The next week in WL, a couple of iu honor students thought they would tear down ours to celebrate a bucket win only to have a few scholarship athletes take out their frustrations on them.

Probably the only highlight ever after losing the bucket.

Some Purdue fans may have helped pull artificial turf off the field in Bloomington during Tillers first season.
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Thought that was hilarious that OSU did that to IU.
 
RegionWarrior101 said:
Never under Tiller. Kids stormed the field, but the last time a goal post fell to the ground was 1996 when Purdue beat Michigan.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-11-10/sports/9611100378_1_purdue-jim-colletto-lloyd-carr

Indestructible went in in 1997.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-10-26/sports/9710260013_1_posts-murray-goodman-standards
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Exactly, they didn't come down, but we sure as hell tried. Engineered to withstand a lot of weight for sure.
 
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Correct. When they took down the goalposts after upsetting Meat Chicken in 96 (ruining their rose bowl shot), the decision was made to put in the indestructible goalposts. Part of that decision was because the students actually took the goalposts out of the stadium and threw it in the Wabash river.
 
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I was on the field after the 1996 win over Michigan. That was awesome, but I cannot recall the 1997 game. I was probably physically there, but after a few hours of partying at TA Toms!!!

I found interesting and conflicting info on the web about the ND game in 1997. One Rivals article says the fans brought down the posts, but I also found 2 articles to the contrary.

1997 Purdue vs. ND
https://purdue.rivals.com/news/a-look-back-our-top-five
"2. 1997: If the 1950 game put Purdue football on the map, the '97 win returned the program to relevance for the first time in 13 years. It launched one of the best turnaround seasons in school annals. Modern-day Purdue fans can almost recite the story chapter and verse: The Boilermakers lose by 14 at Toledo, new head coach Joe Tiller doesn't overreact to the loss, quarterback Billy Dicken plays the game of his career, the Purdue defense makes big plays including Adrian Beasley's 43-yard scoop-and-score in the fourth quarter, Vinny Sutherland runs wild on the bubble screen and the Boilermaker fans tear down the goal posts. Purdue wins 28-17."


http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-10-26/sports/9710260013_1_posts-murray-goodman-standards
On Sept. 13, Purdue beat Notre Dame 28-17 at Ross-Ade Stadium, but students couldn't rip the goal posts out of the ground. "Our maintenance guy was sitting there smiling the whole time," a Purdue official said. "They were rockin' all over it, and it wasn't coming down."
After last year's 9-3 upset of Michigan, fans tore down one goal post and tossed it into the Wabash River.


http://www.purduesports.com/genrel/bits/pur-bits-1997916.html
The crowd stormed the field afterwards and tried to tear down the goalposts. They settled for a collective party which lasted well into the night.

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1996 Purdue vs. Michigan
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-11-10/sports/9611100378_1_purdue-jim-colletto-lloyd-carr
As happy students poured onto the field and ripped down the north goal post, the Boilermakers (3-6 overall, 2-4 Big Ten) mobbed their soon-to-be-ex-head coach.

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http://www.purdue.edu/uns/html4ever/011221.Szaroletta.goalpost.html
Here is just an interesting article about the indestructable goal posts.
 
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ossim said:
Correct. When they took down the goalposts after upsetting Meat Chicken in 96 (ruining their rose bowl shot), the decision was made to put in the indestructible goalposts. Part of that decision was because the students actually took the goalposts out of the stadium and threw it in the Wabash river.
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This tradition goes back to the '60's by the way.
 
Tommaker said:
Thanks for the research, but man, I know I've seen them torn down more than a few times? I thought I remembered they put some sort of bolt-receiver for the "U" portion of the goal posts, so they could swing them down after the game (avoiding fans climbing on top of it) and at one point just the "U" was torn off? And did Purdue fans ever tear down the goal posts at IU after a win? I'd love to contact one of the grounds guys who's been there a while, they'd probably have the whole story.
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Students climbed them, they could stand on them, Tim Stratton could crowd surf off of them, but they would not go down. They are indestructible as a safety feature. Lately, to stop that, as soon as the OSU upset in 2009 or the IU win in 2017, uniformed police with a K9 surround the base of the goalposts.
 
ImRonBurgandy? said:
They were down 17-0 at the half and looked lifeless. Dorsch missed a FG in the first half from memory. Recent Saints/Vikes game reminded me of that game. That was such a great year for home games.
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It was 28-10 at halftime. Michigan had a heck of a team with Drew Henson, Anthony Thomas, David Terrell, Larry Foote, Cato June. Boilers held them to a FG in the 2nd half. Dorsch missed a field goal to go ahead in the 4th quarter. Defense got the ball back, Dorsch made the same basic field goal he missed with 4 seconds left.
 
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RegionWarrior101 said:
It was 28-10 at halftime. Michigan had a heck of a team with Drew Henson, Anthony Thomas, David Terrell, Larry Foote, Cato June. Boilers held them to a FG in the 2nd half. Dorsch missed a field goal to go ahead in the 4th quarter. Defense got the ball back, Dorsch made the same basic field goal he missed with 4 seconds left.
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And almost missed that one, too. Only hours after the game after I returned home to catch the highlights did I see how close it was.
 
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Grover said:
Some Purdue fans may have helped pull artificial turf off the field in Bloomington during Tillers first season.
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I believe iu was replacing the turf after the season. I remember the PA announcer asking people to please do not remove the turf from the field.
 
Goalposts didn't come down under Tiller - his first year was my freshman year. We tried at the ND, MSU, and other games in 97/98 but the athletic dept had recently installed reinforced goalposts to prevent it. Wish I could have been there during the years when goalposts were marched to and dumped in the river!
 
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are there any photos out there of the goal posts being carried to Wabash and thrown in? It'd have been killer to do it from the bridge on 52.
 
FiveWeight said:
Goalposts didn't come down under Tiller - his first year was my freshman year. We tried at the ND, MSU, and other games in 97/98 but the athletic dept had recently installed reinforced goalposts to prevent it. Wish I could have been there during the years when goalposts were marched to and dumped in the river!
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I disagree with all who say the goal posts did not come down after the 97 Notre Dame game. I lived in Circle Pines, which at the time was on Grant Street. We came back from the game and followed in the crowd of a hundred or so and the couple dozen people carrying the goal post all the way to the river. They threw it off the pedestrian bridge and we walked back to CP. I only lived in CP one year, 97-98 school year.
 
t45corey said:
I disagree with all who say the goal posts did not come down after the 97 Notre Dame game. I lived in Circle Pines, which at the time was on Grant Street. We came back from the game and followed in the crowd of a hundred or so and the couple dozen people carrying the goal post all the way to the river. They threw it off the pedestrian bridge and we walked back to CP. I only lived in CP one year, 97-98 school year.
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I stand corrected. Though I don't remember it, you are right. It must have been after that game or season when they installed the reinforced goalposts.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Purdue_Boilermakers_football_team
 
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