Awsi Dooger
Junior
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2012
- Messages
- 2,662
'83 and '87. I go back and forth on which one I prefer.
'87 was more glamorous and stunning. I remember being in the Riviera hotel sportsbook in Las Vegas during the first half, with all the Florida State fans and bettors crowing. Tiger Paul Auslander was working at the Riviera sportsbook at that time. He was a famous unofficial cheerleader for Pitt basketball and football in the '70s and early '80s, but by the mid '80s he had moved to Las Vegas and created another niche as a famous eccentric bettor and sportsbook ticket writer. Tiger Paul loved money lines. He had a money line bet on the Canes, who were a short favorite. Tiger was biting his nails, like always, and jumped out of his seat in the sportsbook when he saw me. He knew I was from Miami and a Canes fan. "Please tell me we're going to pull this out. How can we pull this out? We look terrible! I've never seen Miami get pushed around like this. It's a disaster." It was so overboard I had to laugh. I told Tiger Paul I was going to switch to another sportsbook for good luck. "Do it. Get out of here. Go somewhere and find some touchdowns."
When I saw him the next day he was shaking and grinning and going nuts. A few local sharps had chided him before the game for taking the money line instead of giving 2 points but Tiger had the last laugh when Miami won by 1 point. I lost a bet on Miami minus the points but I didn't care at all, given the open path to a national title.
'83 I watched all by myself. That added to the tension. I'm not sure I've ever been more nervous during a Canes game, given the massive shift of our bowl fortunes, and possibly the future of the program, given a win instead of a loss. I really wish I had that game on tape. I uploaded the full '87 game to YouTube but I never found '83 in my boxes of tapes. It might have been lost during a move west. The lighting seemed poor during that game, which led to the weird uneasy feel throughout. We always looked like the better team but couldn't make the vital plays. Finally the key punt return by Eddie Brown, and field position. I hesitated to even watch the field goal, even though it was maybe 18 yards, less than an extra point.
'87 was more glamorous and stunning. I remember being in the Riviera hotel sportsbook in Las Vegas during the first half, with all the Florida State fans and bettors crowing. Tiger Paul Auslander was working at the Riviera sportsbook at that time. He was a famous unofficial cheerleader for Pitt basketball and football in the '70s and early '80s, but by the mid '80s he had moved to Las Vegas and created another niche as a famous eccentric bettor and sportsbook ticket writer. Tiger Paul loved money lines. He had a money line bet on the Canes, who were a short favorite. Tiger was biting his nails, like always, and jumped out of his seat in the sportsbook when he saw me. He knew I was from Miami and a Canes fan. "Please tell me we're going to pull this out. How can we pull this out? We look terrible! I've never seen Miami get pushed around like this. It's a disaster." It was so overboard I had to laugh. I told Tiger Paul I was going to switch to another sportsbook for good luck. "Do it. Get out of here. Go somewhere and find some touchdowns."
When I saw him the next day he was shaking and grinning and going nuts. A few local sharps had chided him before the game for taking the money line instead of giving 2 points but Tiger had the last laugh when Miami won by 1 point. I lost a bet on Miami minus the points but I didn't care at all, given the open path to a national title.
'83 I watched all by myself. That added to the tension. I'm not sure I've ever been more nervous during a Canes game, given the massive shift of our bowl fortunes, and possibly the future of the program, given a win instead of a loss. I really wish I had that game on tape. I uploaded the full '87 game to YouTube but I never found '83 in my boxes of tapes. It might have been lost during a move west. The lighting seemed poor during that game, which led to the weird uneasy feel throughout. We always looked like the better team but couldn't make the vital plays. Finally the key punt return by Eddie Brown, and field position. I hesitated to even watch the field goal, even though it was maybe 18 yards, less than an extra point.
