The first hint during the current century that the University of Louisville could some day field a nationally competitive football program came on a rainy Thursday evening in September 2002, with UofL defeating Florida State 26-20 in overtime.
As Pat Forde wrote in the Courier-Journal the following day, “The Cards played the nation’s fourth-ranked team on even terms. Played the Florida State Seminoles into overtime and off their feet … And with a national television football audience watching, a football town was born on a soggy September night … Time the actual birth at 11:35 EDT, when the south goal post sagged under the weight of hundreds of water-logged fans and kissed the dirt.”
Senior running back Henry Miller made the ultimate delivery, breaking through the line on a handoff from quarterback Dave Ragone, dashing 25 yards on the first play to seal the win and to forever raise the expectation of Louisville football fans.
“Say hello to the most dramatic victory in school history,” wrote Forde, although it could be argued that UofL’s win over Alabama in the 1990 Fiesta Bowl was the apex. “The Cardinals certainly never had beaten a team ranked this high and never had beaten an opponent of this stature in a thriller like this.”
In his game story, Eric Crawford reported: “The rumors were true. UofL had ordered extra goal posts last week. After what will go down as one of the more amazing performances in the school’s football history, it appeared to be a smart move.”
The skies drenched the fans with a steady rain all night long, not moving 38,109 hopefuls from their seats until after the dramatic finish. The field was a sea of red and yellow clad fans, throwing caution to the wind. After removing the first goal post, the delirious UofL fans would run a lap around the field with the steel posts, posing the threat of multiple decapitations of fellow fans.
The goal posts would later be hacksawed into hundreds of pieces for prominent display in UofL man caves around the area, solid steel reminders of one incredible night and a glimpse into what could be coming for Louisville football.
I have one of those reminders. It’s one of my favorite pieces of UofL memorabilia. What a night that was. I was terrified when they started running around the field with the goal post. A crazy memory.