Blue White Illustrated

that evocative incident 30 years ago, but it never gets old in the retelling for a new generation. Missanelli's 2007 book goes into details, not only describing the circumstances throughout the 1986 season that set up the title game on Jan. 2, 1987, but also what happened in Phoenix once the teams and the media horde arrived. Weinreb, a State College native and now a well-respected national sports journal- ist, has written extensively about the game and its controversial atmosphere ever since his days at The Daily Collegian, including chapters in two of his popular books – "Bigger Than the Game" (2010) and "Season of Saturdays" (2014). As they and other media recounted, this was the scenario: It was a clash between two very differ- ent football programs, one flashy and rowdy and the other old-school and dis- ciplined, reflected by the personalities of their head coaches, Miami's flamboyant Jimmy Johnson and Penn State's conven- tional Paterno. Johnson was in his third year as coach of the Hurricanes, and the team believed it should have played for the national championship the previous year instead of Penn State, which had lost to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. In 1986 Miami romped over 11 teams and had been No. 1 in the polls since beating then-No. 1 Oklahoma in the fourth game of the season. The players and coaches had little respect for Penn State, which had utilized its "bend but don't break" defense to go undefeated but had nar- rowly won games against Cincinnati in midseason and Maryland and Notre Dame in November. The arrival of both teams in Arizona two days after Christmas set the tone for the showdown, with the reserved, low-key Nittany Lions dressed mostly in their tra- ditional coat and ties and many of the brash and boisterous Hurricanes in mili- tary combat fatigues, including combat boots and caps. Miami's star running back Alonzo Highsmith and All-America defensive tackle Jerome Browne had been the instigators of the provocative fa- tigues, with their coach claiming later that he didn't know, but adding, "I wish I had thought of it." Testaverde told re- porters, "It's going to be a war out there, and we're dressed for war." The talk of war was meant partly to in- timidate an opponent that the Hurricanes considered woefully inferior. It continued throughout the week and reached a crescendo at a barbecue steak fry for both teams at a ranch near Scottsdale on Dec. 30. Penn State players were dressed casu- ally for the party, while the Miami players showed up wearing their black sweat suits. Highsmith said later that both teams were supposed to wear the sweat suits that Fiesta Bowl officials had given them, but that was never confirmed. Penn State people say they were told to dress informally and nothing was men- tioned about sweat suits. There were about 2,000 in the crowd, including fans and reporters. Although neither of the head coaches were there, Fiesta Bowl officials expected the players to mingle and get to know each other, but the socializing was minimal. Each team had been asked to prepare a short, light- hearted skit as the dinner was winding down, and Penn State went first. Bruno, the prime author of Penn State's sketch along with quarterback John Shaffer, walked onto the stage. What happened next varies slightly in the versions written by Missannelli and Weinreb as well as other media who were there. "John Bruno fell into a monologue, dragging out a garbage can labeled with masking tape Jimmy Johnson's Hair Spray," wrote Weinreb. "Bruno… first jabbed Johnson," wrote Missanelli. "'Clairol would like to thank him for doubling their hairspray profits.' … Then came the comment that touched off the fireworks." It was a racial comment that Bruno meant as a joke but reportedly angered many of Miami's African-American play- ers. He started out innocently with a cou- ple of remarks aimed at the subtle criticism over the years that Penn State did not have enough black players. "We've come a long way in 20 years," he said. "We're close at Penn State. We're one big family." Then came the line that caused the controversy: "We even let our black guys eat with us at the training table once a week." The three dozen or so black players on Penn State's team cracked up, as sopho- more running back Blair Thomas told columnist Dick Weiss in a comment that appeared the next day in the Philadelphia Daily News, and as fullback Tim Manoa LO U P R ATO A mere coincidence, or... Something eerie occurred while writing the adjacent story about punter John Bruno Jr. that confirms my belief in the spiritual world. Or for nonbe- lievers, was it just a coincidence? As part of my research, I needed to talk to John's sister, Cheryl, whom I've never met. She was on a brief vacation at Rehoboth Beach, Del., but re- sponded quickly when I reached her on the telephone through the Foreman Foundation. We talked for several minutes. But within seconds after I hung up, my phone rang and it was Cheryl. She sounded a little breathless. "I had to call you right back because I can't believe what I'm seeing," she said. "My cellphone shows we talked for 11 minutes and 11 seconds. Exactly 11 minutes and 11 seconds. Those were the [jersey] numbers of John and my fa- ther. Number 11." I checked my telephone and she was right: 11 minutes and 11 seconds. Spiritual world or coincidence?

• Cover