Oberlin 18, Thiel 17: A proud moment in Oberlin history

Oberlin 18, Thiel 17:
A proud moment in Oberlin history

There was a rush of excitement and disbelief across campus when news came out that the Oberlin College football team was victorious in their game last weekend. We asked students, faculty, the President, alums and even the family members of football players to share where and how they found out about the victory and their reactions to the game:

Graf Douglas is a junior.

I was in my room in North, and I had my window open, and of course we could hear everything.

Reaction: Yippee!

Albert Matlin is an Associate Professor of Chemistry.

I think I walked into work and found out about it. I was pleasantly surprised.

Vera Salter is football player Brian Salter's mother.

We had to be there and we were watching the game. We cheered the whole way through. This was a real big deal for us to win that game. We were ecstatic. We were jumping up and down and running out onto the field.

Bonney Salter is football player Brian Salter's father.

We've been to all the home games. We've suffered through all these near misses. Twenty-six players beat over 100 players, and it was incredible. I felt the same way when I saw the Immaculate Reception. I thought that someone was going to throw a Hail Mary, and it didn't happen.

Michael Gaines is an athletic department assistant.

Are you crazy? I was there at the game. But you know what? It would be so sweet to win the big one ... Wittenberg. But we need the same crowd to beat the big boys. I wonder if that crowd is going to be there for the basketball games. If we get that turn out for basketball, look out.

John Stern is an Oberlin College Trustee.

I looked in the Chicago-Tribune. I always look on Sunday. I was delighted to see that Oberlin was in the win column for the first time. It's marvelous.

Pam Johnson is football player Sean Wosolowski's mother.

I was sitting in the stands going crazy! Oberlin was for once ahead. I know how hard my son works to play football, and I know how much interest he has in football.

Nancy Dye is the President of Oberlin College.

I was delighted. I am a big Oberlin football fan. I greatly admire the Oberlin football team, and have since I've been here. They have a great deal of heart and courage. I predict they will win some more games.

Michael Brown is OC'97 and an ex-football player.

I was actually hanging out with an ex-football player and an ex-basketball player, and a friend of the ex-basketball player called to tell us that the football team had won. I don't doubt it that they will keep on winning. They have a good, consistent coaching staff, which has lacked in the past at the College. They have an energetic and intelligent coach and staff, and they have great players. Things just clicked.

Alexander Weiss-Richmond is a first-year.

I was at home in Tank. At dinner, someone mentioned that they had won and that they left the scoreboard on because they were so excited.

Reaction: Mild amusement.

Dave Shummers is a junior.

I was in the parking lot of Phillips...and it was incredible ... in the four years before I came to Oberlin, the football team scored only 18 points ... and now they are winning. That is incredible. I want to congratulate whoever made the two point conversion call in the fourth quarter. That was a great call.

Jon Wilkman is OC'64.

What always attracted me about Oberlin was that athletics was always there and available. I am pleased that the team won, but at the same time, the thought of going to the games wasn't a question of winning or losing, it was about having fun.

James A. Walsh is an Assistant Professor of Mathematics.

I can't remember exactly where I was. I was in Oberlin for sure, but I had been away for vacation. I must have read it in The Plain Dealer.

Reaction: Euphoria! It was great news. It was nice to see that the players practiced hard and to finally see a victory was just wonderful.

Mary Coleman is a parent of an Oberlin student.

I saw it on television. The announcers were making fun of the fact that Oberlin hadn't won in 40 years or something. I didn't even know they had a football team. It made me feel proud for my daughter's school. I hope it's not 40 years before they win another game.

Brendan Ravenhill is a first-year.

I was sitting on North Quad when I heard. I hadn't gone to the game being not a big sports fan. In a way, I was happy that Oberlin finally won. But I was also sad because I had been proud that our football team hadn't won a game in four years. I thought of it as a thing of pride that our school's football team was just a bunch of regular guys just playing football for fun and not to win, unlike some of the other big universities.

Phyllis Gorfain is a Professor of English.

I was in a faculty meeting, and the dean talked about how the football team hadn't won in four years. People laughed in a kind of an affectionate way. It was my first experience in a faculty meeting where the dean or the president opened the meeting with the accomplishments of a team ... Bill Hood said he wanted to know if all the faculty were going to be issued pom-poms ... People were a combination of amused, pleased and delighted.

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