I was in the "Gold Rush" area of California last weekend for my job. I stopped in a sports bar early Saturday evening to have a beer and check up on the football scores. When BG's score ran across the ESPN trailer, I pumped my fist and said, "Yes." The bartender, an older guy noticed, looked up at the screen and said "Who was that for?" I told him Bowling Green. He immediately said, "The next one's on me for Phil Villapiano." Turns out he was a huge Oakland Raiders van. He said he considered Villapiano one of the vital links in the Raiders teams of the '70s. He said he always roots for Bowling Green, even though he's never been there, or even been in Ohio (and he did know B.G. was in Ohio, not Kentucky), which I considered a definite plus).
Just thought it was kind of cool. This guy desribed play after play Villapiano made, including a strip of a pass to the Patriots' Russ Francis (which he said probably should have been pass interference) on a key play in the playoffs that helped the Raiders advance to their first Super Bowl win in '77. Said he had a 41 Villapiano Raiders jersey at home -- although it sounded like this guy might have had every Raider jersey from A to Z.
I wondered about him being much of a BG fan, but he also mentioned Brian McClure, the California Bowl and Josh Harris, so I guess he must have been the real deal. (Besides, he actually bought me 2 beers)
