The Game Of The Century: Michigan State vs. Notre Dame, 1966
The hype was unprecedented. 33 million people watched the game, also referred to as the “Poll Bowl,” on television. The game was going to be aired on regional television only, but eventually succumbed to popular demand and aired the game across the nation on tape delay, the first nationally televised college football game. The game was broadcast to American soldiers fighting in Vietnam and out-performed Super Bowl I in the ratings. Over 80,000 people made up the record-setting Spartan Stadium crowd.
Roger Valdiserri, Notre Dame’s sports information director at the time, recalled, “We had press conferences every day. There was so much interest in that game.” More than 600 media credential requests were made of Michigan State. Dan Jenkins of Sports Illustrated called it “the biggest collegiate spectacle in 20 years.”
On campus, the fervor was palpable. Notre Dame students painted a block “ND” at the foot of Michigan State’s “Sparty” statue. South Bend was literally bombarded with leaflets dropped from airplanes that read: “YOUR LEADERS HAVE LIED TO YOU. WHY DO YOU STRUGGLE AGAINST US? THEY HAVE LED YOU TO BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN WIN. THEY HAVE GIVEN YOU FALSE HOPE. WE WARN YOU–STAY IN YOUR OWN VILLAGES. TRY TO PERSUADE YOUR LEADERS NOT TO SEND THE FLOWER OF YOUR YOUTH TO BE CUT DOWN IN A HOPELESS BATTLE. THE INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC BUBBA IS REAL. IT CAN DESTROY YOU.” Notre Dame students replied with an air raid of their own, known as the “Ara Force Counterattack,” but the pilot’s pamphlet drop missed its target and ended up west of Michigan State’s campus.
“It was the most unbelievable week I’ve spent in my life,” Bubba Smith said in 2006, “I lived on the first floor of Wonders Hall and one night there must have been 5,000 students outside my window yelling, ‘Kill, Bubba! Kill!’”
Michigan State’s student government was so worried about potential trouble from visiting Irish fans, that they held what was referred to as a “peace conference” in the week leading up to the game. They decided to host a dance for students from Michigan State and Notre Dame. The student union swelled beyond capacity and the event became known as the “Spartan-Sham-Rock.”
The night before the game, 10,000 people watched the two schools’ freshman teams duke it out. In that game, there was a winner, as Notre Dame kicked a game-winning field goal in the final minute to win 30-27.