The Band is on the Field | College GameDay

[@geraldorivera127]

That band dude getting dunk on at the end was the best part of the whole play!

[@dreadrington2449]

I laughed so hard when I watched it the first time. I was crying.

[@AlvaroRamos-y5e]

I love it!! hahahahahahaha

[@johnnyvain544]

yeah haha i always giggle when i see that, its like a wrestler jumping off the top rope to drop and elbow on him haha

[@markswanson1564]

Great work documenting & interviewing not only all the players, but also all the various band members involved in the #1 NCAA football play ever. “Never give up!”

[@DanielBurapavong]

One of the greatest moments in ACC history.

[@AlexW-wv4nt]

How dare you.

[@CaptainHarris-ip2kg]

Saw it live. Unforgettable.

[@lionheartrich3387]

Nice

[@ricardobjj24]

Still funny whenever I hear "the band is out on the field!"

[@prmaninla]

It's probably the greatest most incongruous calls in all of sports history. Just the sudden awareness of it... "ohhhh, the band is out on the field!!!"

[@semipenguin]

The 80s were a fun time to grow up. Now, it’s nice to be about to pull this up on your phone and watch it anytime.

[@sammcbride2149]

You never know when history is going to put you in a great big bear hug.

[@EvanLyman]

I guess I never realized that the guy who received the initial kick was also the same guy that returned it for the TD and ran over the trombone player. What a legend

[@johnnyvain544]

there are alot of highlight reels of amazing plays but NONE will ever beat this . everything was perfect about this moment.

[@trentl4395]

What a great moment in ACC history

[@steverohwer8323]

you win for that comment!

[@fakereality96]

GG

[@calculonthemosthumble2688]

Lol

[@beardgangman]

This will never get old, classic!

[@russs7574]

"Do you believe in miracles?" Al Michaels "Down goes Frazier!!" Howard Cosell "I don't believe what I just saw!!" Jack Buck "Secretariat is moving like a tremendous machine!" Chic Anderson "The band is on the field" Joe Starkey Gotta include it in the list of great sports calls.

[@DaleC1980]

And Vin Scully "its a high fly ball..."

[@henry6454-]

The band is on the field!!!! Epic ...

[@redandbluebulldog1508]

Growing up in deep SEC country in the early 80’s (way before the internet!) and with three, maybe four channels on the box, we didn’t know much about Cal-Stanford football then (or that they were even schools tbh!😂) but I definitely remember the replay of this at that time. It was incredible then. It’s Incredible now.

[@Kevin-q1m3p]

Always be remembered as a tromboner!😊

[@jonathanyoung9369]

I always wanted to hear from the trombone player!! Yay!

[@Jennifer-bp3pe]

Watched this game in the MU at UC Davis. I remember this well. Everyone was whooping and yelling, the band is on the field!

[@Emper0rH0rde]

There is nothing like this in pro-football. That is why college football is the best form of the game.

[@hbdragon88]

The River City Relay is pretty much the NFL version of this, but it isn’t as memorable or gets overlooked becaus the Saints’ touchdown only made it 20-19 and then John Carney missed the extra point attempt, so the Jaguars won.

[@mrhyperlife2565]

idk blowouts doesnt seem that good to me(the champ tcu and georgia)

[@sirtheodorefranciswindsor]

😂😂😂

[@MarkMeadows90]

"The band is onto the field! He's looking to win at the end zone!" "The Bears, the Bears, have won! The Bears have won! Oh my god! The most amazing, sensational, traumatic, exciting, thrilling finish in the history of college football! California has won!"

[@CJ87317]

"All right, here we go with the kickoff. Harmon will probably try to squib it and he does. Ball comes loose and the Bears have to get out of bounds. Rodgers, along the sideline, another one... they're still in deep trouble at midfield, they tried to do a couple of - the ball is still loose, as they get it to Rodgers! They get it back now to the 30, they're down to the 20... OH, THE BAND IS OUT ON THE FIELD! HE'S GONNA GO INTO THE END ZONE! HE GOT INTO THE END ZONE! Will it count? The Bears have scored, but the bands are out on the field! There were flags all over the place. Wait and see what happens; we don't know who won the game. There are flags on the field. We have to see whether or not the flags are against Stanford or Cal. The Bears may have made some illegal laterals. It could be that it won't count. The Bears, believe it or not, took it all the way into the end zone. If the penalty is against Stanford, California would win the game. If it is not, the game is over and Stanford has won. We've heard no decision yet. Everybody is milling around on the [officials finally signal touchdown] FIELD! AND THE BEARS! THE BEARS HAVE WON! THE BEARS HAVE WON! OH, MY GOD! THE MOST AMAZING, SENSATIONAL, DRAMATIC, HEART-RENDING... EXCITING, THRILLING FINISH IN THE HISTORY OF COLLEGE FOOTBALL! CALIFORNIA HAS WON "THE BIG GAME" OVER STANFORD! OH, EXCUSE ME FOR MY VOICE, BUT I HAVE NEVER, NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT IN THE HISTORY OF I HAVE EVER SEEN ANY GAME IN MY LIFE! THE BEARS HAVE WON IT! THERE WILL BE NO EXTRA POINT!"

[@steverohwer8323]

@@CJ87317 for them to not include Joe Starkey in this clip is almost criminal. His epic call was truly sensational. He's as much a part of The Play lore than any of the players (or band members, or axe committee members, lol).

[@michaelcincotta3844]

Indeed ! To hear this chilling ending on the radio was just amazing … and Joe Starkey was just brilliant and moving on that crazy sequence to end this game.

[@FistNation]

Legendary moment

[@theshawshankinception1220]

I mean that sentence is just so stupidly insane. Like, this actually happened 🤣🤣🤣

[@jimbobogie8204]

Six words that will live forever!😄😄😄

[@damm41]

Legendary

[@thenorthstars2210]

Never give up. No matter how hopeless the situation may appear to be.

[@AaronAirstrike]

He actually says, "The band is OUT on the field".

[@scottcharney1091]

That's one of those "Beam me up Scotty," "Play it again Sam" things.

[@tigerwareagle1485]

Now that Auburn (known for kick six) is playing Cal (known for “the play”) in 2023, who has the most miraculous play?

[@CJ87317]

Still Cal. The band puts it on another level.

[@MrNice-cn4gj]

Don’t let anything distract you from the fact that 55 years ago today, Al Bundy scored 4 touchdowns in a single game while playing for the Polk High Panthers in the city championship game.

[@steelehere1]

Would love to hear the Stanford radio or television call of this play.

[@hbdragon88]

There is a video that syncs the Stanford radio call with the TV footage. The play-by-play was Jim Grundberg and color commentator was Joey Mitchner.

[@richardwarren1051]

I was there. The trombone player getting involved in the play was exciting.

[@jeffw8218]

So awesome 😄😂

[@jamesfields2916]

Should have talked to Stanford WR Mike Tolliver. He was thr last Stanford defender with a chance to tackle Moen and he also caught Elway's last collegiate pass.A couple of plays earlier.

[@klizzard1691]

I miss dominating cal every year and I miss how we were feared

[@joeludwig8375]

Thank you Joe Starkey!

[@markeastwood74]

I can imagine the conversation when they were drawing up the play. "So what if we send out the the band to cover the 5 lateral sweep?"

[@hbdragon88]

I know you're joking around but for Cal, at least, the coaches initially thought about recovering the ball, spiking it, and sending QB Gale Gilbert throw a Hail Mary. However this was not conveyed to the "hands team" that was called out to go onto the field, and their plan was to lateral the ball. "Don't fall with the ball." Two members of the hands team had already were off the field and didn't hear the call, so the coaches sent in halfback Scott Smith. At the last second they pushed Steve Dunn onto the field, which was just the right position to block Darrell Grissum and protect Richard Rodgers for a second.

[@Homedepotorange]

Unprofessionalism is one of the best parts of college sports

[@jamesfields2916]

That play cost Elway and Stanford a trip to the Independence Bowl to play Vanderbilt. Elway never played in a bowl game

[@victorhernandez8723]

Not one of John Elway’s fondest memories.

[@hbdragon88]

Lol, moments after this game ended, the Hall of Fame Classic bowl committee apologized because Stanford would not be getting a bowl invite. They were 5-5 going into this game and needed a win to have a winning record. Edit: not to mention the ridiculous heroics Elway pulled off to drive his team down and be in position for Mark Harmon to kick the field goal.

[@nickosano1885]

The Play > Miami Miracle

[@Watermelon_Man92]

"THE BEARS HAVE WON!! OH MY GOD!! THE BEARS HAVE WON!!"

[@wifi-YT]

The last lateral is CLEARLY an illegal forward lateral! Slow down video to 0.25x speed. See the ball released at the 27 1/2 yard line, and caught at the 25 yard line. It’s NOT a close call. See 2:30 - 2:36 for clear proof!

[@mjaynes288]

The officials couldn't see through the crowd of Sanford bench players in the middle of the play. It is their own fault.

[@wifi-YT]

@@mjaynes288 That’s nonsense! There’s zero evidence of officials’ view being blocked; nor was there a “crowd” of illegal players on the field. Even you don’t dispute the illegal forward lateral; 2 1/2 yards forward!

[@kirkhoo7456]

As a bear I would say you are right - for the people in motion, the ball was thrown "backward", but that is not the rule for football - whether it is lateral or not is judged in relation to the field. But I can imagine that the referees could not figure the situation out when it was so chaotic. It seems that the Play cost Cal four decades of fortune.

[@wifi-YT]

@@kirkhoo7456Thanks for your honest assessment “Bear!” You’re right that the officials can’t be blamed for not seeing it; but just wanted everyone to know there’s no question the last lateral was an illegal forward pass. It’s ridiculous people still debate that.

[@hbdragon88]

Do you think it would have been overturned if video replay existed back then? I know the standard is clear evidence that the call on the field was wrong. Does having to slow it down to 0.25x speed make that more or less likely to be overturned? Anyway, Charles Moffitt has said that he could have awarded a touchdown to Cal for Stanford's interference so it was kind of relief when one of the other refs said that Cal had scored. He didn't really want to personally make such a game changing decision like that.

[@hattershouse710]

There was a forward lateral in there. Just noticed it for the first time. Should not have counted. However, since the band was on the field, he kickoff should have been re-done.

[@CJ87317]

Yeah, it was thrown backward(which is why the refs didn't notice), but the momentum of the guy tossing it back meant the ball actually went forward by a yard or two.

[@jonborton1295]

@@hattershouse710 don’t bring the whole band on the field if you want the refs to be able to see what’s happening. Didn’t deserve to win

[@hattershouse710]

@@jonborton1295 Both things can be true. But your response literally doesn't negate anything I said.

[@jonborton1295]

@@hattershouse710 it really does. The entire Stanford band interfered with the end of the game, so it absolutely should have counted. There is no ‘should not have’ when a university pulls something that stupid. Flooding the field negated any expectation you have for the ref to get the call right.

[@hattershouse710]

@@jonborton1295 you sound dumb af.

[@notkiwibird]

this must be why they don't let the band storm the field with the fans lol

[@hoodedman07]

I don’t know why this play style isn’t implemented more in football

[@Emper0rH0rde]

Lateral passes?

[@stephaniegormley9982]

2:33 Forward lateral...BY 5 FEET.

[@jeffmorrison6086]

No it wasn’t, you’re delusional! Try watching what actually happened!!

[@stephaniegormley9982]

@@jeffmorrison6086 I am delusional. The first runner let go at the 28 1/2 yard line and Moen caught it at the 25. That's 3 1/2 yards or just over 10 feet.

[@jonborton1295]

@@stephaniegormley9982 band should’ve stayed off the field. Deserved to lose

[@bernardjazz6344]

As a Brit it's nice to see that Americans also don't understand this game.

[@retroguy3344]

i’d like to see a count of every penalty commited on that play

[@madbrowniac7871]

Until that moment the greatest moment involving Stanford Football was when Rod Garcia kicked a lastsecond game winning Field Goal to defeat The Michigan Wolverines in The 1972 Rose Bowl on New Year's Day 1972. Did I mention that Stanford won that game?😉🏈B.W.

[@scottcharney1091]

They keep mentioning "Mariet," but I wonder if the documentary explains what he did later. It's bad news.

[@Homedepotorange]

Why in Gods name did they try a squib?

[@bluesdealer]

That was standard practice at the time to keep the ball out of the best returner’s hands.

[@mantistoboggan2599]

Coming from the band/drum corps world, this is so on brand for the Stanford band. They’re an embarrassment to the activity

[@scottcharney1091]

I think that they're awesome. All those wacky stunts over the years are exactly what the world needs.

[@archangelmusic13]

can you imagne if he fell down and didnt score because of those stupid people on the field. what would they have done then?

[@hbdragon88]

The head ref, Charles Mofit, has said in interviews that he could have awarded a touchdown to Cal due to band interference. He would probably be far more likely to do so if Moen fell down before the end zone because of the band or illegal Stanford players (a couple of them have said that they had fleeting thoughts of tackling Moen.) The example often cited as precedent for this is when Tommy Lewis of Alabama jumped up from he bench to tackle the Rice ball-carrier in 1953.

[@kdutta9]

GO BEARS!

[@calbeardude]

Go BEARS!!!

[@dennissaunders5247]

OMG THE BAND THE BAND IS ON FIELD

[@0to100_real_quick]

No need for a band in sports. Really no need for sports. Really I could do without music.

[@alanmckenna1137]

And there was I thinking i was special and all alone lol 😮

[@jonborton1295]

@@0to100_real_quick bye never come back