Longtime Extreme Craft readers probably know that I'm a dyed-in-the-wool football fan...it's one of the hazards of growing up in Nebraska. One element of College football that I've always loved is the goofy "team rivalry" trophy, which usually dates back to the 1920's, when football fans wore raccoon fur coats and straw boaters, and waved triangular pennants that said "rah". The football trophies are never just a trophy with some dude on top....they're bizarre objects like an old boot, a whiskey jug, an old oak barrel, or the Gipper's bronzed jockstrap.
Sports Illustrated recently did us the favor of highlighting the 35 most bizarre college football rivalry trophies. The trophies pictured above are:
First Row:
The Bones (Battle for the Bones):
UAB Blazers vs. Memphis Tigers (2006)
Platypus Trophy (Civil War):
Oregon Ducks vs. Oregon St. Beavers (1959)
The Cannon: Purdue Boilermakers vs.
Illinois Fighting Illini (1943)
Sweet Sioux Tomahawk: Illinois Fighting Illini vs. Northwestern Wildcats (1945)
Second Row:
Keg of Nails: Cincinnati Bearcats vs. Louisville Cardinals (1929)
River City Rivalry Trophy: Pittsburgh Panthers vs. Cincinnati Bearcats (2005)
Silver Shako (Military Classic of the South): Citadel Bulldogs vs. VMI Keydets (1977)
Shillelagh Trophy: Purdue Boilermakers vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1957)
These are pieces of functional Extreme Craft, hammered out by the brother-in-law of the coach, in a night of fevered creation in the garage before the big game. I wonder if two teams ever brought different trophies to a grudge match, then had to have a separate grudge match to determine whether the gold spittoon or the taxidermied platypus was going to symbolize their rivalry. Enjoy the last week of the regular football season, folks. GO HUSKERS!!!!!
