Vandals Seize The Moment
UI upsets Southern Miss 42-35 in its first bowl game
By David Johnson, Lewiston Tribune

December 31, 1998

BOISE -- There is a natural ebb and flow to the game of football that is best measured in the stands, where the collective psyche of the fans twists and turns in quest of victory.

Such was the scene here Wednesday as the upstart University of Idaho Vandals, playing on the blue turf of arch rival Boise State University, upset favorite Southern Mississippi 42-35 in the second annual Humanitarian Bowl.

For Vandal fans, it was an exercise in measured pregame confidence, buoyed early by their team's surprising ability to stick with a mightier foe and finally rewarded by a stunning win.

"Not bad!" an excitedly exhausted University of Idaho President Robert Hoover declared as he joined the victory celebration on the field in an apparent attempt to hug every Vandal in sight.

"We were criticized about whether we could play in Division 1-A," Hoover said. "I think we brought a lot of credibility to ourselves today. We'll celebrate tonight and get ready for next year."

The game, played before a national television audience, took place in brilliant December sunshine and 50-degree temperatures. Hoover and the rest of the Vandal fans seemed to bask in the glory of it all.

"We've got the flippin' ball, we're seven points up and the clock's winding down. Can you believe it?" Vandal fan Terry Turner said as he talked on his cell phone from the stands during the last minute of the game.

On the other end of the conversation were Jim and Jerry Medved, twin brothers and former UI linebackers who played in the late 1980s and who were now celebrating with Turner from their stock brokerage office in Seattle.

Out in the parking lot after the final gun, people were not only reveling in the victory, but marveling at UI Coach Chris Tormey's ability to win big games by making gutsy calls.

"To cover the spread and do what they did, it's incredible," Troy Sullivan of Caldwell said of the Vandals' ability to beat their 16-point underdog status and actually win the game.

And Tormey?

"I think Tormey has balls the size of watermelons," Sullivan said.

Even little kids shared in the exhilaration of it all. "I thought it was really fun," said 11-year-old Andrew Dennis of Boise. "It was kind of scary in the first half, but it was fun cheering with all the Vandal fans."

And cheer they did, starting early in the day as thousands of Vandals seized the parking lot on the east side of Bronco Stadium for tailgate parties.

"Give me an I. Give me a D. Give me an A," shouted Dorothy Wiegele as she led the crowd in a familiar UI cheer. Wiegele said she's been a Vandal fan for 50 years and hasn't missed a home game in 12 years.

When the fans weren't cheering, music blared out lyrics like "I want to rock 'n' roll all night and party every day." The voice of Aretha Franklin also embodied what every Vandal seemed to want -- "a little respect, just a little bit."

James Hanna, one of the fewer than 1,000 Southern Miss fans, seemed ready to give Idaho some respect, but nothing more. "We've got a pretty good team, you know, and well, we should win this game."

Even UI Athletic Director Mike Bohn gave Southern Miss its due as he walked with family members into the stadium before the kickoff.

"We're huge underdogs," conceded Bohn. "But who knows? That's why you play the game."

Some people quipped that the game should be dubbed the "Confusion Bowl" because the teams shared the same colors -- black and gold. In fact, it was hard to tell the fans apart, except for the glum faces on the losers.

Early on, however, it appeared Southern Miss was going to live up to expectations as it mounted a 21-7 lead. The margin was enough for the likes of avid BSU Bronco fan Rudy Cedillo to rub it into his "Vandal buddies."

"Hey, it's only a game!" he shouted over the sullen UI crowd.

"Hey Rudy," somebody yelled up from a seat below, "why don't you fall down the stairs."

"Hey Rudy," chimed in another Vandal, "don't even think about starting your car after the game."

Jim Meredith of Boise said too many Bronco fans forget they're from Idaho. That's why they failed to sell out the stadium. "It's a shame," said Meredith.

By half-time, with Idaho leading 28-21, the proverbial thrill of victory and agony of defeat seemed to have shifted sides.

"It's a killer. The score speaks for itself," said UI fan Christian Jelmberg, who had painted his entire upper body and face in Vandal colors. "They thought they were going to whip us, but it ain't happening."

Across the field, Southern Miss fan Skeet Waites of Jackson, Miss., sensed a pending upset and didn't like it one bit. "So far, we've lost our momentum. I don't know what happened to 'em."

Back in the UI crowd as the second half started, Secretary of State Pete Cenarrusa declared himself a Vandal and voiced disappointment that just over 19,600 fans showed up when more than 30,000 seats were available.

"This is really a game," said Cenarrusa. "The stadium should be full. They're missing a good one."

The game was so good, in fact, that some UI fans ended up biting their tongues after murmurs of the "Vandal factor" spread through the crowd when Southern Miss tied the score in the fourth quarter.

"We're old-time Vandal fans and you can't help but have it enter your head at times like this," Kathleen Taylor of Careywood in northern Idaho said of the football team's long-ago reputation for giving away games.

About that time, Vandal quarterback John Welsh tossed a go-ahead-for-good touchdown pass to Ryan Prestimonico with less than five minutes on the clock. When Idaho gathered up a final Southern Miss fumble and Coach Tormey received the ritualistic dousing of Gatoraid on the sidelines, Vandal fans in the stands seemed almost overwhelmed with what had just happened.

"Go Idaho. I-D-A-H-O," they bellowed in unison as Southern Miss players stood like spanked Smurfs of the blue turf while Vandals danced all around them.

"God, I can't believe it," said 41-year-old John Beck, a 1979 UI accounting graduate. Beck wore a converted Green Bay Packer cheese head with a Mr. Potato stuck on top as he exited the stadium and echoed the feelings of Vandal fans.

"Way to go Idaho! Now we're going to party."

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