The Coyote mascot then stumbled onto the field and started screaming in the referee's face!

Before they were the Minnesota State University Mavericks, the Key City's favorite sports teams were the Mankato State College Indians, the loveable losers of the North Central Conference.

I had the good fortune of landing a spot in the marching band in the fall of '74, back when if you had a pulse and your own instrument (mine was trombone) you were pretty much in. Our performing skills were suspect, but we enthusiastically supported our teams no matter how terribly they played. The following took place at a football game between the politically incorrect Indians and the University of South Dakota Coyotes.

USD was in the running for the conference championship, while Mankato was suffering a typically dismal season. Our band and the crowd expected a Coyote blowout, but we didn't care...we played and cheered our hearts out.

No one expected that the defenses would stay home that day. USD would complete a touchdown pass, then a Mankato runner would bust loose for a TD. USD would run a kickoff back for a touchdown, then Mankato would score a TD pass.

Throughout the game, the increasingly alcohol-soaked USD mascot (wearing a suit ripped off from Warner Bros. Wile E. Coyote) kept wandering into our band's section to trade good-natured barbs and "refuel." As he grew drunker, he played a pivotal part in the game.

With a little over two minutes left, and Mankato leading 59-52, USD was driving but got called for a holding penalty. The Coyote mascot then stumbled onto the field and started screaming in the referee's face!

The ref promptly penalized USD another 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct, prompting two of their coaches to grab the Coyote by each arm and carry him up to our section. One coach told him to "stay up here with your friends you sonovabitch!" and threw him onto the concrete steps. He sat there motionless and speechless the rest of the game.

The penalties killed the drive, Mankato pulled out the upset, and our band marched and played jubilantly back to the fieldhouse.

We later learned that the Coyote was turned away from the team bus (for his own safety) and had to hitch hike back to Vermillion!