Bill Tribute Thread For Sentimental Qatz To Share Fun Memzys (No gE'ing Allowed)

[Steffy08]

growing up in mhk I have two stories and some thoughts...

when I was a really little kid-mid 80's, my friends dad was an mhk teacher and also down on the field during games for some reason. he would give us a stack of papers which i'm guess were misprints or overprints from the teachers lounge and we would go to the top of the crappy NE bleachers, make paper airplanes out of them and them let them rip. there was nobody within one hundred feet of us (seriously) and we would just make all sorts of different kinds/designs and let them go. had a couple actually make it onto the field during a game. that was pretty exciting. that was before bill.

bills first few years and all the years before that, they would let you in at halftime for free. during what I think was the 1991 ku/state game, a friend and I didn't have tickets but wanted to watch the first half. we climbed on top of what was vanier at the time and walked across the roof to the field side and then watched the entire first quarter there. then other people followed us up and soon there were twenty people sitting on top of vanier watching the game. security finally came and asked us to get down. we went to the closest gate and said can you just let us in? the guy was like, yeah sure just go. nobody cares. it was about two minutes into the second quarter.

-----------------

kstate football was so ridiculously non important and uncool before bill showed up. maybe somebody else could've done what he did but I doubt it. it went from being "lets see if we can get a plane onto the field" and "yeah go in nobody cares, go in" to being "the thing" two years later. I had more great kstate football stories during my time there and afterwards then I can even think to put into writing. most were in mhk but a lot were on the road and those are memories and experiences that can never be taken away.  my college time at kstate was approximately 300% better because of bill and i'm not even kidding. I can't explain how great it was to have your freshman season be that first bowl game against Wyoming and then get better every single year. it was an incredible ride up and kstate would have won a national championship sometime between 1998-2003 if the whole stoops to OU thing never happened. if bob would've just stayed at florida for an extra couple of years....

i've never shook hands or said a word to bill in person but hot dang it was a good ride, tons of fun and what more could anyone have really hoped for? I guess i'll let him know the next time I see him out at dillons or wherever.

We are the same age; I started KSU in 1993, too.
I also went to KSU football games with my parents and sister in the 80s, pre-Snyder.  Our parents would let my sister and I roam around the entire stadium by ourselves, because they could follow our every movement....the stands were that empty.

[kso_FAN]

Okay. Great stuff in this thread.

Like daris, I was a freshman in 93-94. Its hard to fathom how far we got to see the program come just in our time there. There were gigantic steps from 89 to 92, namely just winning a game, but also the league wins and beating KU stand out. My first KU game was in 91 when we won 16-12. I had a cross country meet in Riley, Kansas that morning and a couple of friends came over with his parents after the meet was over. That was probably the real beginning of my K-State football fandom. I had been a hoops fan for several years with my earliest memories going back to the Sarge, but this was when K-State football started to approach what I felt about basketball.

I was a HS senior in 92 and drove the 2 hours from Downs, Kansas with some friends to all 3 OOC home games. Watching those 3 wins probably solidified my desire to come to K-State the next year as much as any academic program K-State provided. That season wasn't great, but by the time I arrived to Manhattan the next year, hopes were high in fall of 1993.

Boy did that season ever bring it. So many good memories; listening to the Minnesota win on the radio, beating KU, tying CU and beating OU. The ISU loss was mighty disappointing, but man that road trip with some Smith Scholarship House buddies to the Copper Bowl was the culmination of the season.

It really didn't seem like it could get any better than that... but it did.

Then it just sort of all runs together. The domination started over any Big 8 team not named Nebraska or Colorado. Regular road trips to Columbia, Ames, Norman, Stillwater, Lawrence, and Lincoln. Every fall was centered around K-State football and it became even more so as K-State hoops started to flounder. Finally in 97 we surmounted the obstacle of CU and by the fall of 98 I had my first job teaching and coaching in the same school district I am today. But K-State football remained and for several more years I managed to find student tickets from some friend or a friend's friend still in school.

But oh man, 98. Its hard to describe the magnitude of how quickly Bill built this thing, and not to just being a respectable program. Probably what most expected was that maybe he would build a program that could win 6-8 games and go to bowls regularly, but oh no, we got so much more. In 98 we were legit and we proved it all season long. I still truly believe that season of any and all seasons as a K-State fan is still legitimately the only true national championship caliber team that I really saw. Of course, the Nebraska game will always be the one that stands out. Simply a day and night I will never forget. But also the disappointment of St. Louis and then San Antonio. Its still hard to fathom how such a great team could have a season that ended in such a miserable fashion.

Then we had plenty of great football for the late 90s and early 00s. Nebraska wins seemed to become common. Beating an SEC opponent, even if mediocre, was fun. And then finally, beating "the best team in history" to capture a league title for the first time since the 30s. But after that sadly, a couple of bad seasons and suddenly Bill was done.

Or was he?

He came back to clearly mixed emotions, but quickly provided good football again and then we all got a few more seasons of pretty darn good football and one more that rivaled some of those late 90s, early 00s seasons. 2012 was special because Bill proved he could really do it again, perhaps against all odds. One more taste of being a national program, one more conference title. A few bowl wins. Then recently, more disappointment, reminiscent of 04 or 05.

Through it all there has been so much more good than bad. For football fans of most programs that aren't blue bloods, a lifetime of really good memories. Experiences with my friends, my family, and my sons that I won't ever forget. Sure, Bill hasn't been alone and plenty of great coaches, great players, and great staff members have helped him along the way. However, the one constant since 1989 has been one man. One eccentric, obsessed, and often misunderstood football coach.

LHC Bill Snyder.

To him I can only say thank you, its been quite a ride. 

[HoustonCat]

Finally, each Tuesday before the weekly press conference, I got to load up a bag of Arby's (including a cherry turnover) and take it to Coach in his office. He was always watching film and never once saw me, but always thanked me for bringing it in.

Hmm, no MHK Taco Bell yet?

I think we had Taco Bell, but we were pretty devoted to Taco Grande (I think that's the name) back then.  Also, you have to remember K-State wasn't very picky back then.  If you were willing to provide free food for a press conference, it was gratefully accepted.


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[Blackcats]

I would give anything to have Coach call a presser when he returns from New York, walk out, tell the Golden Telephone joke one last time, and then walk off stage.

Elaborate.

Thank you for having me today. I get asked to speak all over the state, and country for that matter. When I arrive in each town, if I have some down time I seek out the biggest church in town. I’ve always been fascinated by large churches. Their grandure, the stained glass, and weight of their permanence.

Touring all these churches I’ve noticed a phone in Wichita with a sign next to it: $10,000 per minute. After many, many churches I finally asked the pastor what the phone was for. He replied, my son, that is a direct line to heaven. Just pick it up and you can speak with God.

Well, that’s quite a bit of money so I passed, but sure enough as I traveled from New York, to Lincoln, Texas and even Tokyo, there was a gold phone with the same sign: $10,000 per minute.

I had never really toured my church here in Manhattan, but when I did I found the same gold phone...but next to it the sign read: 45¢ per minute. I crossed Poyntz to another church: 45¢ per minute. I went next door to the Methodist Church and the pastor happened to be on the gold phone and sure enough the sign said: 45¢ per minute.

I waited respectfully for the pastor to finish and asked him, I have been all over the world and found those gold phones in many churches. All of them charge $10,000 per minute, but I have checked every church on Poyntz and they only charge 45¢...why is this, do the phones not call heaven?

The pastor placed his hand on my shoulder and said, Coach my son...these phones are in fact a direct line to heaven, but you’re in Manhattan, Kansas. It’s a local call.

[WonderMeal]

What a very Bill joke. Thanks, @Blackcats.


Like many Cat fans here, I remember going to games for free before we were good, which made the Copper Bowl season magical. I mean, we tied Colorado! Colorado! That tie sent a signal to young WonderMeal that the 'Cats were for real.

One very cold night after the regular season, WonderDad took me and at least one WonderMealBro out to Dick Edwards or Briggs (can't remember), because they were giving away an all expenses paid trip to the game. I remember wondering what we would do if we won, because they weren't giving away enough tickets for everyone in the family.

We didn't win the giveaway, but the newspapers from December 30th, 1993 are still on the wall (laminated, duh) in my parents' basement. Earlier this season, WonderMeal Jr. saw some random game on the ESPN ticker that ended 52-17 and lost his mind because that was the same score as the Copper Bowl.

Cats, man.

[nicname]

"If you lose it... you are 9-1. And if you win it, you're still undefeated. That's... that's about where it lies."

-before '98 Nubb. Always thought that was an awesome quote.

I love after the game how he's telling the players how proud he is and what not and then he says "but I don't, I don't think that's just what you want."

[nicname]

Did they have the pick 5 back then?

of course it was.  and it was actually $5 for 5.

Yeah, 5 full rough ridin' beef n cheddars!

[catastrophe]

That meal deal will probably never be beaten.

[SkinnyBenny]

Okay. Great stuff in this thread.

Like daris, I was a freshman in 93-94. Its hard to fathom how far we got to see the program come just in our time there. There were gigantic steps from 89 to 92, namely just winning a game, but also the league wins and beating KU stand out. My first KU game was in 91 when we won 16-12. I had a cross country meet in Riley, Kansas that morning and a couple of friends came over with his parents after the meet was over. That was probably the real beginning of my K-State football fandom. I had been a hoops fan for several years with my earliest memories going back to the Sarge, but this was when K-State football started to approach what I felt about basketball.

I was a HS senior in 92 and drove the 2 hours from Downs, Kansas with some friends to all 3 OOC home games. Watching those 3 wins probably solidified my desire to come to K-State the next year as much as any academic program K-State provided. That season wasn't great, but by the time I arrived to Manhattan the next year, hopes were high in fall of 1993.

Boy did that season ever bring it. So many good memories; listening to the Minnesota win on the radio, beating KU, tying CU and beating OU. The ISU loss was mighty disappointing, but man that road trip with some Smith Scholarship House buddies to the Copper Bowl was the culmination of the season.

It really didn't seem like it could get any better than that... but it did.

Then it just sort of all runs together. The domination started over any Big 8 team not named Nebraska or Colorado. Regular road trips to Columbia, Ames, Norman, Stillwater, Lawrence, and Lincoln. Every fall was centered around K-State football and it became even more so as K-State hoops started to flounder. Finally in 97 we surmounted the obstacle of CU and by the fall of 98 I had my first job teaching and coaching in the same school district I am today. But K-State football remained and for several more years I managed to find student tickets from some friend or a friend's friend still in school.

But oh man, 98. Its hard to describe the magnitude of how quickly Bill built this thing, and not to just being a respectable program. Probably what most expected was that maybe he would build a program that could win 6-8 games and go to bowls regularly, but oh no, we got so much more. In 98 we were legit and we proved it all season long. I still truly believe that season of any and all seasons as a K-State fan is still legitimately the only true national championship caliber team that I really saw. Of course, the Nebraska game will always be the one that stands out. Simply a day and night I will never forget. But also the disappointment of St. Louis and then San Antonio. Its still hard to fathom how such a great team could have a season that ended in such a miserable fashion.

Then we had plenty of great football for the late 90s and early 00s. Nebraska wins seemed to become common. Beating an SEC opponent, even if mediocre, was fun. And then finally, beating "the best team in history" to capture a league title for the first time since the 30s. But after that sadly, a couple of bad seasons and suddenly Bill was done.

Or was he?

He came back to clearly mixed emotions, but quickly provided good football again and then we all got a few more seasons of pretty darn good football and one more that rivaled some of those late 90s, early 00s seasons. 2012 was special because Bill proved he could really do it again, perhaps against all odds. One more taste of being a national program, one more conference title. A few bowl wins. Then recently, more disappointment, reminiscent of 04 or 05.

Through it all there has been so much more good than bad. For football fans of most programs that aren't blue bloods, a lifetime of really good memories. Experiences with my friends, my family, and my sons that I won't ever forget. Sure, Bill hasn't been alone and plenty of great coaches, great players, and great staff members have helped him along the way. However, the one constant since 1989 has been one man. One eccentric, obsessed, and often misunderstood football coach.

LHC Bill Snyder.

To him I can only say thank you, its been quite a ride.

Great post, _Fan. Thanks for taking the time to write that all out. I enjoyed the crap out of it.

[KatKing54]

Early 90's I remember getting tickets for free in elementary school.  When my dad and I didn't get free tickets we would just wait until after the first quarter to get in for free.  Back then two hot dogs and a soda didn't cost $20 and it was a large soda not a 12oz.  Parking on the east side pavement was free and later $5 not $1,000 donation.  By the mid 90's we got season tickets on the east side metal bleachers above the student section.  I didn't realize how spoiled I was to be a little kid and be above the drunk (didn't know that at the time),key rattling, tortilla flinging, toilet paper throwing, rowdy, wabash'n machines that made up the student section. 

The best game by far is the Nebraska 98 game.  I remember getting up to go to the game early for something called College GameDay.  I remember the electricity and excitement in the air like it was yesterday.  Still get goosebumps thinking about it.  The student section was going crazy, everyone was jumping on the metal bleachers and yelling.  The lady in her mid 40's that sat beside me was crying because it reminded her when she was in a trailer as a tornado passed by.  That night while laying in bed my ears were still ringing from the noise and still couldn't believe what I had just been apart of.

In 2012 I remember telling my gf that I thought we would be pretty good that year and we should go to every game...home and away.  What a season to convince her to do it.  She ended up marrying me for some reason years later and joining my dad and I on football Saturdays.  I know people laugh about the Family marketing at KSU, but for me it is being with my Dad every football Saturday for the last 20 some years and I wouldn't change a thing.  Coach gave us a reason to spend all day together and looking back now I can't thank him enough.  I hope that next coach can keep KSU football going to give my daughter the same opportunity I got to spend every Saturday watching KSU football with my Dad.

[chum1]

It seems that people remember the empty stadium experience more fondly than anything else from the pre-Snyder era. I know I do.

It's impossible to describe the Snyder transition from the perspective of the community/townies. The wins and losses were the foundation for everything. It was so much bigger than that, though. It was like the runaway number one source of pride for the entire community.

When we started getting nationally ranked and getting nationally televised games (which was uncommon at the time), it felt like a really big deal. It was like Snyder was literally putting Manhattan on the map. Giving it something to be known for.

And everyone around town started wearing purple all the time. And started making it a point to wear it out of town. And local businesses started incorporating purple features in various ways. And you would see a powercat logo literally everywhere you looked.

[LickNeckey]

going to Amigos before games

Aggieville not Mall

[MakeItRain]

growing up in mhk I have two stories and some thoughts...

when I was a really little kid-mid 80's, my friends dad was an mhk teacher and also down on the field during games for some reason. he would give us a stack of papers which i'm guess were misprints or overprints from the teachers lounge and we would go to the top of the crappy NE bleachers, make paper airplanes out of them and them let them rip. there was nobody within one hundred feet of us (seriously) and we would just make all sorts of different kinds/designs and let them go. had a couple actually make it onto the field during a game. that was pretty exciting. that was before bill.

bills first few years and all the years before that, they would let you in at halftime for free. during what I think was the 1991 ku/state game, a friend and I didn't have tickets but wanted to watch the first half. we climbed on top of what was vanier at the time and walked across the roof to the field side and then watched the entire first quarter there. then other people followed us up and soon there were twenty people sitting on top of vanier watching the game. security finally came and asked us to get down. we went to the closest gate and said can you just let us in? the guy was like, yeah sure just go. nobody cares. it was about two minutes into the second quarter.

-----------------

kstate football was so ridiculously non important and uncool before bill showed up. maybe somebody else could've done what he did but I doubt it. it went from being "lets see if we can get a plane onto the field" and "yeah go in nobody cares, go in" to being "the thing" two years later. I had more great kstate football stories during my time there and afterwards then I can even think to put into writing. most were in mhk but a lot were on the road and those are memories and experiences that can never be taken away.  my college time at kstate was approximately 300% better because of bill and i'm not even kidding. I can't explain how great it was to have your freshman season be that first bowl game against Wyoming and then get better every single year. it was an incredible ride up and kstate would have won a national championship sometime between 1998-2003 if the whole stoops to OU thing never happened. if bob would've just stayed at florida for an extra couple of years....

i've never shook hands or said a word to bill in person but hot dang it was a good ride, tons of fun and what more could anyone have really hoped for? I guess i'll let him know the next time I see him out at dillons or wherever.

We are the same age; I started KSU in 1993, too.
I also went to KSU football games with my parents and sister in the 80s, pre-Snyder.  Our parents would let my sister and I roam around the entire stadium by ourselves, because they could follow our every movement....the stands were that empty.

 

[meow meow]

'00 NU in the snow, '03 road NU win, and '03 big 12 championship, '12 championship against Texas.  4 of the biggest program wins, and i got to see them all with my brother.  those were some of the best days of my life at that time, still are in a way.  kind of an indescribable feeling that i hope we get to feel again someday soon.

[POWL]

2 things, both Band related:

The marching band had more than doubled in size by 97' or so. Tracz had 2 GA's that were on scholarship and a minuscule stipend to work with and help manage the marching band. Tracz met with Bill and asked for some help. After Bill listened to the whole pitch, he asked Frank what he needed. DT said he needed funding for 2 more full-time GA's to help manage this thing. Bill said he wanted to think about it......next morning Frank got a call from whoever in the hell was our AD at the time saying they are sending over paperwork for funding of 2 additional staff for the MB .......a couple years down the road, I was one of those GA spots funded by the Athletic Dept.

Copper Bowl - 93 .....after getting the invite the AD told Tracz they could not afford to take them......they were tapped out by the new press box and all the other improvements that were sorely needed around Vanier........Frank called Bill and pleaded with him about how hard these marching band kids work to support the football team......Bill told the AD that either we all go (team, band, cheerleaders, Vanier staff) or none of us are going (totally bluffing) .....point is they needed to "find the money" and do this right......Band and cheerleader got charter buses, hotels, meals...the whole 9 yards.....I never had so much fun at a bowl trip in my life

[Cire]

The footage of bill being an Ass to reporters in the doc was the best part


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Big Sam]

My dad attended KSU before he quit and got married.  But I grew up in a 'Cat household, no and ifs or buts.  I was a die-hard purple fan from birth and saw the ugliness from a distance (nothin' like being optimistic when Stan Parrish is hired before reality sets in).  My dad and I were never close, and the few games he went back to attend in the 70s he generally brought one or two of my brothers.

After I graduated from college and became a teacher, I opted to start making the long drives back to Manhattan a few times a year for games.  Eventually, I got him to start attending games around 1997 (not easy, he was a true work-a-holic who believed Sundays were the day you relaxed and only worked 8 hours on your business).  After a few years getting together for a few games a year, not only did our relationship improve, but he really enjoyed taking that day off (his employees noted his mood was much better at work), enough so he opted to become a season ticket holder.  After I moved back to eastern Kansas 14 years ago, he and I attended almost every game together until he feel ill about 3 years ago and eventually passed.

I can say without a doubt, without Bill turning around the program, he would have never attended those games and we would have never reconciled before he died.  The great games we attended were nice, but the time together is what truly mattered.  For that, I will always have a soft spot for LHC Bill Snyder.

[SkinnyBenny]

Big Sam I love you, get over here and get a purple hug

[HugeCat]

Brian Kavanagh was the first grayshirt in college football history. Amazing walk down memory lane. Great interview.


https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-of-fitz-a-cancer-warriors-conversations-about-life/id1504177372?i=1000567794279

[PhoCat]

Brian Kavanagh was the first grayshirt in college football history. Amazing walk down memory lane. Great interview.


https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-of-fitz-a-cancer-warriors-conversations-about-life/id1504177372?i=1000567794279

I am actually going to listen to it later today (just saw it pop up in my podcast feed).

That said, I had no idea why this thread moved up today (or what it was originally about).  So, I clicked it and started reading it again.  As I read the post I thought about sharing my own.  Then, I realized at had at the very end (back in the day I posted under "Big Sam" until the board went wonky and froze me out and won't let me recover my password/account).  It is strange, I never shared that story with anyone other than this board (it was too personal and it only seemed appropriate to share it here where people understand just how important that 'Cats football and what Snyder are).

Well, back to work (and I think I am going to try to listen to the Matt Miller podcast as well - I loved his grit).

[WillieWatanabe]

Brian Kavanagh was the first grayshirt in college football history. Amazing walk down memory lane. Great interview.


https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-of-fitz-a-cancer-warriors-conversations-about-life/id1504177372?i=1000567794279

I am actually going to listen to it later today (just saw it pop up in my podcast feed).

That said, I had no idea why this thread moved up today (or what it was originally about).  So, I clicked it and started reading it again.  As I read the post I thought about sharing my own.  Then, I realized at had at the very end (back in the day I posted under "Big Sam" until the board went wonky and froze me out and won't let me recover my password/account).  It is strange, I never shared that story with anyone other than this board (it was too personal and it only seemed appropriate to share it here where people understand just how important that 'Cats football and what Snyder are).

Well, back to work (and I think I am going to try to listen to the Matt Miller podcast as well - I loved his grit).

it was a great story and thanks for sharing

[HugeCat]

Brian Kavanagh was the first grayshirt in college football history. Amazing walk down memory lane. Great interview.


https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/life-of-fitz-a-cancer-warriors-conversations-about-life/id1504177372?i=1000567794279

I am actually going to listen to it later today (just saw it pop up in my podcast feed).

That said, I had no idea why this thread moved up today (or what it was originally about).  So, I clicked it and started reading it again.  As I read the post I thought about sharing my own.  Then, I realized at had at the very end (back in the day I posted under "Big Sam" until the board went wonky and froze me out and won't let me recover my password/account).  It is strange, I never shared that story with anyone other than this board (it was too personal and it only seemed appropriate to share it here where people understand just how important that 'Cats football and what Snyder are).

Well, back to work (and I think I am going to try to listen to the Matt Miller podcast as well - I loved his grit).

Thanks for sharing your story, Sam. Good to know that you now go by pho cat. I remember you under your previous name at the Austin 360 message boards.


I just finished rereading this thread. A lot of great stories. I will never get tired of the video from his introductory press conference.

[john "teach me how to" dougie]

Just listened to the Matt Miller interview. great attitude for a guy that went through so much adversity.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/matt-miller-in-tulsa-oklahoma/id1504177372?i=1000522872902

[MakeItRain]

Just listened to the Kavanagh episode and what stood out to me was Fitz's very unnecessary shot at Bishop.

[ben ji]

What a great thread and thanks to everyone for sharing their stories.

I was just a youngster during Snyder 1.0 but remember watching ESPN all day just to see the ticker at the bottom to get an update on how the K-State game going on.

When Snyder 2.0 rolled around I was in full fandom and I don't think anything will ever top the 2012 season. Trouncing Miami then beating OU/WV. It was a roller coaster that just kept going up up up...The loss to Baylor sucked but beating Texas in Manhattan was a magical night. It was a close game until the end of the 3rd Q when Lockett caught that bomb and in that moment I knew we were going to win the game.

Then when Willie climbed on top of the old press box in the fog to do the K-S-U chant it immediately made me think of the youtube videos I watched of Willie on the pressbox doing the same thing against Nebraska in 98 or 00 ...it was magical. Thousands of people on the field with nothing but pure joy running through their veins hugging everyone they saw.

My grandpa grew up just north of manhattan and went to K-State after WWII. He was never a super fan but would listen to all the games on the radio and subscribed to powercat illustrated in the 90's which I thought was awesome. He died about a year before 2012 and when I was on the field after the Texas game I ended up next to Zach Diles and told him how proud I was of the team and about people like my grandpa and everyone else who followed 40 years of crap football but still loved Kansas State U and how much this means to them.