With the Cats getting national recognition this season, and currently #19 in the Sagarin ratings, it's a great time to reminisce and remember that it was this week in 1969 when Ohio was ranked #4 in the AP poll after taking down a number of highly-regarded Big 10 teams.

I was at the games when we beat Rick Mount-led Purdue at the Convo and at Ohio State back-to-back.  Still remember the sweetness.

And I was born!

In Athens too. 

Obviously, I am a '71 guy too and that was a GREAT December.  I loved the Purdue Game!

"I successfully glided a paper airplane to the floor from the top row after the game."

I think Stevie Taylor coulda done that tonight...........

I was at that BG game.  Aside from winning the game and the celebration afterward, the thing I remember most about it was just before the game started some guys were walking by the side of the Convo where the BGSU people were seated with a big bed sheet on which they had painted "Beat the Sheet out of BGSU".  A couple of the Falcon fans took exception to this and jumped out of the stands to try to take the sign away.  My recollection is that they were quickly subdued by the local constabulary and ejected from the premises, much to the delight of the Bobcat faithful on hand.

I also remember the year they beat Purdue.  I always wondered whatever became of Rick Mount.  He was a lights out shooter.

I, like many of you, have vivid memories of the '69-'70 Ohio basketball season.  The highlights for me were, naturally, the visit to the Convo by Rick Mount and his teammates, the victory over OSU at St. John Arena and the season ending loss vs. Notre Dame (mostly Austin Carr) in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Dayton.

When I think back on these games, one of the things that stands out to me were the venues where they were played.  From the Perdue game, I recall the feeling of wonder of the near perfection - especially from a spectator's perspective - that defines (at least for me) the Convocation Center experience.

From the Ohio victory in St. John Arena, I distinctly remember the red I-beam support column that partially obstructed my view of one corner of the court.  As a young engineer, my father had a role in designing that structure.  And I can recall the mixed feelings of pride in my Dad and his work as well as the bit of irony when I wondered if he had a role in placing that particularly annoying column where it was in conjunction to those seats apparently reserved for fans of the opposition.  Exactly zero Convo seats feature such a view of the court.

The tournament game, of course, is mostly remembered for Austin Carr's record setting performance (and in my mind at least for John Canine's fine shooting effort).  Another aspect of that game for me was my seating in the Dayton arena.  I remember being so far away from the court in one of the "wings" of the arena that I could not hear the basketball strike the court.  Something you could not say about any seat in the convo.

Finally, a little digging on the game in Columbus and turned up a couple of interesting articles:

This one is Sports Illustrated's take on the Bobcat victory sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1083183/index.htm

Note that SI had the Bobcats ranked 2nd after Kentucky in the Mideast section of the country.  Especially enjoyed Fred Taylor's quote the gist of which I am confident has been uttered over the last few weeks by opposing coaches in regard to OUr current Ohio Bobcats.

Also ran across this Columbus Dispatch article from last December which focuses on past Bobcat victories in St. John Arena (1969 & 1994): www.dispatch.com/content/stories/sports/2010/12/12/hunter-boals-happy-to-see-st--john-again.html