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The Glasnost Bowl was an attempt to stage an American college football game in Moscow, USSR at the beginning of the 1989 season. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the College football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, Colleges and military academies Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its third National Championship during the 80s cementing The game was named after the policy of glasnost ("openness") introduced by Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985. (Гла́сность)is literally defined as publicity and sometimes figuratively interpreted as "tipping a vase to let someone see into the vase but not the bottom of the vase" Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev ( Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov;; born 2 March 1931 in Privolnoye Stavropol Krai) is a Russian politician Scheduled for the Dynamo Stadium, the game was similar to the Mirage Bowl, a college football game played annually in Tokyo, Japan, with plans to have it be an annual contest with different participants each year[1]. Dynamo Stadium is a multi-use Stadium in Moscow, Russia. It is currently used mostly for football matches The Mirage Bowl was an annual College football game hosted in Tokyo Japan from 1977 through 1993 officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics.

Organized by Raycom Sports, the game was scheduled between the University of Southern California Trojans and the University of Illinois Fighting Illini to open their regular seasons. Raycom Media is a Broadcasting company based in Montgomery Alabama. The University of Southern California (commonly referred to as USC, SC, Southern California, and incorrectly The USC Trojans football program established in 1888, is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA Division This article is about the flagship campus For other uses and locations of University of Illinois, see University of Illinois (disambiguation The University of The Illinois Fighting Illini are a major College football program Arrangements were made for a network telecast back to the United States, and airplanes were chartered for fans to fly to the Soviet Union. Overview Fixed-wing aircraft range from small training and recreational aircraft to Wide-body aircraft and military cargo aircraft. A charter airline, also sometimes referred to as an Air taxi, operates Aircraft on a charter basis that is flights that take place outside normal schedules by a Due to complications, however, the game was rescheduled for Los Angeles, California as a USC home game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports Stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles California at Exposition

Contents

History

The attempt to use Moscow as the venue for an American football game can be viewed as an element of intense dialogue among Russians and Americans in the late 1980s. Moscow (Москва́ romanised: Moskvá, IPA: see also other names) is the Capital and the largest city of The United States of America —commonly referred to as the This exchange dialogue cut across many elements of culture[2] and served as an important step in the political transitions leading to present day Russia. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending

Early planning

On October 18, 1988, Rick Ray, CEO of Raycom, announced an agreement with Sovintersport, a division of the Soviet Ministry of Sports and Physical Culture, to hold "The Glasnost Bowl", a regular-season opening game between two American college football teams[3]. Events 1009 - The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a Christian church in Jerusalem, is completely destroyed by the Fatimid Athletics For an extensive coverage see 1988 in athletics (track and field Marathon International Foreign affairs People's commissars (from 15 March 1946, ministers: 6 July 1923 - 21 July 1930 The announcement was the culmination of five years of negotiations with the Soviet authorities[4] and a positive step in U. S. -Soviet relations, especially in light of the decade's previous American-led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and Soviet-led boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. The 1980 Summer Olympics boycott of the Moscow Olympics was a part of a package of actions to protest the Soviet war in Afghanistan. The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, were an International Multi-sport event held in Los Angeles,

Scheduled for September 2, 1989, the chosen site was Moscow's Dynamo Stadium, a soccer facility in the northwest of the city with a then-stadium capacity of 50,000 persons (it currently has a 36,540 person capacity). Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. The 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its third National Championship during the 80s cementing Dynamo Stadium is a multi-use Stadium in Moscow, Russia. It is currently used mostly for football matches Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a Team sport played between two teams of eleven players and is widely considered The game planners hoped for 3,500 fans from each school, plus school marching bands and cheerleaders, as well as 43,000 Soviet spectators[5]. A marching band is in the broadest terms a group of performers that consist of instrumental Musicians and sometimes dance teams / color guard who generally perform Cheerleading is a Sport that uses organized routines made from elements of Tumbling, Dance, jumps and stunting to direct spectators of events In addition to the United States, Raycom planned to broadcast the game in the United Kingdom, Japan, New Zealand and Australia[5]; the Soviets planned to broadcast to republics of the Soviet Union and the Eastern bloc via the state-run Gostelradio[6]. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. During the Cold War, the term Communist Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were The agreement between Raycom and Sovintersport had the Soviets keeping profits from their telecast, Raycom taking profits from the U. S. telecast and travel packages, and a split of the stadium gate (although tickets at the gate were planned for the equivalent of $1)[4]. Additionally, the two sides agreed to broadcast a five-minute instructional video to be shown on Soviet television during the months before the game: explaining the basic rules, positions, "When do you cheer at a football game?", and other basics[4].

The participating teams were not immediately selected, and a number of major Division I-A college football programs took interest in taking part in the historic game, including Florida, University of Miami, Florida State[7], Penn State[8], Alabama[9], Texas[10] and UCLA[11]. Division I (or D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the Southeastern Conference 's Eastern division The University of Miami Hurricanes football team is a collegiate football program that represents the University of Miami. Florida State Seminoles are the men's and women's sports teams of Florida State University in Tallahassee Florida. Penn State Nittany Lions football is a College football program that competes in NCAA Division I-A and the Big Ten Conference. Athletic teams at The University of Alabama are known as the Crimson Tide. Texas Longhorns athletics programs include the extramural and intramural sports teams of The University of Texas at Austin. The UCLA Bruins football program competes in NCAA Division I-A and is a member of the Pacific-10 Conference. With the relatively short notice, interested teams needed to rearrange their schedules as the NCAA did not grant the game an exception to its then-rule permitting only 11 regular season games[12]. The National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA, often pronounced "N-C-Double-A" is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions conferences organizations To help encourage teams, Raycom offered US$300,000 to participating schools[13]; however, the logistics remained difficult. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Some teams, like Miami, were concerned about playing a difficult game abroad[14]; others, like Florida, were unable to get out of previously scheduled games[15]. Teams like Wisconsin and Penn State were concerned about losing a home game and the extra income generated by such games (in some cases over $1 million)[14][16]. The Wisconsin Badgers are a College football program that represents University of Wisconsin-Madison in NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Also, with the game to be broadcast on ABC[17], teams in the Southeastern Conference, like Florida, had to further sort out complications with their exclusive television contract with TBS[18]. The American Broadcasting Company ( ABC) is an American Television network. The Southeastern Conference (SEC is a College Athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which operates in the southeastern TBS is an American Cable television network that shows sports and a variety of programming with a focus on comedy By early November, the field of candidates was reduced to USC and Illinois: Kansas was willing to release USC from its commitment during that week and Illinois was open to having Raycom buy out one of its already scheduled games[19]. The sports teams at the University of Kansas are The match-up was officially confirmed on November 15[20]. Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria.

Planning a game in the Soviet Union

Even with the teams set, the logistics of hosting the first American football game in the Soviet Union proved challenging. Soviet officials were not used to the requirements of major American football teams: i. e. , the locker rooms in the stadium were designed for 16-player soccer teams, not football teams with over 75 personnel, and Soviet stadiums did not have communications between booths and the field commonly used by coordinators[21]. The press box is a special section of a Sports Stadium or arena that is set up for the media to report about a given event Some Soviets were even interested if anyone was ever killed during the games. [22]. In addition, Dynamo Stadium's grass field was 10 yards too short to meet football specifications[23]. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Plans were made in case any unexpected flare-up in the fading Cold War prevented the game from being played in the Soviet Union; the contingency plan had the game to be moved to Los Angeles and USC's home stadium, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, with Illinois still splitting the gate[24]. The Cold War period of 1985 to 1991 began with the rise of Mikhail Gorbachev as Soviet leader and ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is a large outdoor sports Stadium in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles California at Exposition

However, despite these initial concerns, the general mood was optimistic. Both sides wanted the game to work. The kickoff was set for 8 p. m. , Moscow time, and televised live in the U. S. at 9 a. m. , Pacific time[25]. ABC assigned a veteran group of sportscasters with Keith Jackson, Bob Griese and Mike Adamle[26]. A sportscaster, (also sports announcer, sport commentator or sport presenter) is a type of Journalist on Radio and/or Television Keith Jackson (born October 18, 1928) is an American former Sportscaster, known for his long career with ABC Sports television Robert Allen Griese (Gree-see (born February 3, 1945 in Evansville Indiana) is a former American football Quarterback who earned Michael David Adamle (born October 4 1949) is a sports personality and former National Football League player Raycom agreed to bring in AstroTurf for the stadium[22]. AstroTurf is a brand of Artificial turf. Though the term is a Registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind The American media regularly touched on the novelty of the event, citing the shared colors of the Trojans uniforms and the Soviet flag and the name of Illinois' legendary Red Grange[27]. The flag of the Soviet Union consisted of a plain Red flag, with a hammer crossed with a sickle (the Hammer and sickle) and a Red star in Harold Edward "Red" Grange ( June 13, 1903 &ndash January 28, 1991) was a professional and college American football

Illinois rewarded 14 graduating seniors from its 1988 team to join them at the game the next year at the university's expense[28]. While the Trojans' Spirit of Troy marching band and cheerleaders were scheduled to make the trip, USC needed to adapt its mascot, Traveler, a white horse with Trojan-costumed rider, by sending the rider and substituting a local Russian white horse[29]. The Spirit of Troy, also known as the University of Southern California Trojan Marching Band (TMB self-described as "The Greatest Marching Band in the History of the Universe" Traveler is a Horse who is the mascot of the University of Southern California. The game also survived a February-March 1989 legal battle between American promoters involved with Raycom[30][31].

Illinois head coach John Mackovic, USC head coach Larry Smith and their staffs visited Moscow in Spring 1989 to plan around the facilities and accommodations[22]; the Soviet officials remained worried about the violence of the game, asking if ten ambulances were enough[32]. For the coaching strategy game see NFL Head Coach. A head coach is a professional who is responsible for the overall actions of John Mackovic (born October 1 1943 in Barberton Ohio) is the head coach of the United States first national team for American football which was formed to compete Larry Smith ( September 12 1939 &mdash January 28 2008) was an American College football coach who served as the head The teams realized that they needed to bring all the necessary equipment for a major college football match-up: including footballs, goal posts, play clocks, cooks, a large amount of food (2,000 pounds per team[23], and the large quantity of ice used for football related strains and injuries[22]. The plan had the teams flying by chartered jets from Los Angeles and Chicago to Moscow on August 28, having two days of practice before the game, sightseeing after the game and then returning on September 4[23]. Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Events 475 - The Roman General Orestes forces western Roman Emperor Julius Nepos to flee his Capital Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself Travel packages for fans, including airfare and hotel, were sold starting at $2,595 [33].

Like the Olympics, the game itself became a political football for thawing relations between the superpowers: American Congressional personnel and agencies at both the state and federal level showed interest in participation, along with Soviet counterparts in their foreign ministries[23]. A political football is a political topic or issue that is continually debated but left unresolved The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses Tentative plans were already being developed for the second Glasnost Bowl, between Miami and Penn State[34]. Illinois baseball coach Augie Garrido suggested creating a two-sport doubleheader with both universities' baseball teams preceding the game. College baseball is Baseball as played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of Higher education, predominantly in the United States. August Edmun Garrido Jr (born February 6 1939) is a coach in NCAA Division I College baseball. [35].

Plans collapse

On June 8, just three months before the game, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner broke the surprise bad news: the Glasnost Bowl in Moscow was canceled by Raycom. Events 68 - The Roman Senate accepts emperor Galba. 536 - St Silverius becomes Pope (probable The Los Angeles Herald-Examiner was a major Los Angeles daily newspaper published Monday through Friday in the afternoon and in the morning on Saturdays and [36] All sides expressed deep disappointment in the result. Raycom CEO Rick Ray cited "contractual concerns" over the previous weeks for the cancellation that were not resolved to their satisfaction, specifically citing arrangements for hotel rooms and transportation. While all involved expected and accepted facilities and accommodations that were not up to normal requirements, serious questions arose as to whether such needs could be delivered in the required numbers. Raycom agreed to returning all sold travel packages, with interest, to those who had made arrangements to go to Moscow[36]. By far the largest stumbling block was the Soviet authorities' inability to guarantee the required number of hotel rooms and lack of communication from the Soviet side[37]. The Soviet authorities told Raycom that they could not assure the number of hotel rooms in the contract, or the locations previously agreed upon, and asked for a delay in negotiations[38]. Additionally, Raycom was not selling its tour packages as well as it had hoped: as of mid-May, fewer than 1,000 of over 3,000 packages had been sold. A contributing factor was the price for the six-day, five-night trip, which was considerably higher than most Soviet tours which offered even more[39]. Raycom, faced with the potential of large financial losses, decided it could no longer move forward and cancelled the game.

Indeed, a lack of inter-cultural experience on both sides combined with the traditional byzantine Soviet bureaucracy and way of business proved to be the dooming factors for the game. Just to form the "final" game contract, Raycom officials met with six different sets of Soviet negotiating teams, signing at last on April 27 in Moscow - nine months after the game was first announced[40]. Events 1124 - David I becomes King of Scotland. 1296 - Battle of Dunbar: The Scots are defeated Executives at Raycom felt in the end that the game was a few years premature given the changes occurring in the Soviet Union at the time[41].

As per the original contract plans, the game was immediately shifted to the Coliseum, with USC agreeing to eventually play Illinois at home in Champaign, Illinois[39]; ABC still decided to carry the game, moving it to the Labor Day holiday. Champaign is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, in the United States. Labor Day is a United States Federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September The game was played in Los Angeles on September 4, with the #22-ranked Fighting Illini upseting the #5 Trojans by a score of 14 to 13 in a tight contest before an attendance of 54,622[42]. Events 476 - Romulus Augustus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself The teams finally played the second half of the home-and-home arrangement seven years later: On September 7, 1996, the #19 Trojans routed the Illini 55-3 in front of 56,504 at Memorial Stadium[42]. Events 1251 BC - A Solar eclipse on this date might mark the birth of legendary Heracles at Thebes Greece. The 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Florida Gators crowned National Champions but not as unanimously as the Memorial Stadium is a football Stadium located in Champaign Illinois, on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

References

  1. ^ Section: SPORTS, Philadelphia Inquirer, November 16, 1988.
  2. ^ Cyberspace, San Francisco Chronicle, Page A-14, [Article on the Dakin Building], November 20, 1995
  3. ^ Tom Foreman Jr. The Dakin Building is an architectural award winning class A office building on the San Francisco Bay in Brisbane California. , Sports News, AP Online, October 19, 1988.
  4. ^ a b c MaryAnn Hudson, USC, Illinois to Open '89 Season in Glasnost Bowl, The Los Angeles Times, November 16, 1988.
  5. ^ a b Johnson, Miami Showing Interest in Moscow Game, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, October 25, 1988.
  6. ^ Bill Arthur, Illinois, Southern Cal to Play in Glasnost Bowl, Charlotte Observer, November 16, 1988.
  7. ^ Dave Hyde, NCAA Considers 12th Football Game, Miami Herald, October 21, 1988.
  8. ^ Randall Mell, UM a Finalist for Glasnost Bowl, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, October 28, 1988.
  9. ^ Greg Cote, Punt Block by McDowell the Key Play, Miami Herald, October 30, 1988.
  10. ^ Neal Farmer, Section: SPORTS, Houston Chronicle, November 5, 1988.
  11. ^ Dick Weis, Penn State Cool to Idea of Game in Moscow, Philadelphia Daily News, November 11, 1988.
  12. ^ Greg Cote, UM likes game in USSR, Dislikes 12-game season, Miami Herald, October 22, 1988.
  13. ^ Dick Weis, Penn State Cool to Idea of Game in Moscow, Philadelphia Daily News, November 11, 1988.
  14. ^ a b Greg Cote, UM, Gators unlikely for Moscow Trip, Miami Herald, October 29, 1988.
  15. ^ Jeff Browne, Memphis State's 'Nyet' may end UF's Moscow Hopes, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, October 26, 1988.
  16. ^ Dick Weis, Penn State Cool to Idea of Game in Moscow, Philadelphia Daily News, November 11, 1988.
  17. ^ USC, Illinois in Glasnost Bowl?, San Francisco Chronicle, November 9, 1988.
  18. ^ Gators-Miss. State in Tampa in 1989, Miami Herald, October 26, 1988.
  19. ^ Illinois, USC appear to be Moscow bound, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, November 12, 1988.
  20. ^ David Ginsburg, Section: Sports News, AP Online, November 15, 1988
  21. ^ Mike Smith, Eye Openers, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 26, 1988.
  22. ^ a b c d Soviets get fill of Xs and Os, Dallas Morning News, May 4, 1989.
  23. ^ a b c d Dave Dorr, Glasnost Game: Football Plans Test Soviet Ingenuity, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 21, 1989.
  24. ^ Linda Young, Bowl Committee gets scare from Illinois, Chicago Tribune, November 21, 1988.
  25. ^ Mike Downey,Nyet Worth of Football in Moscow Will Be Seen, The Los Angeles Times, May 10, 1989.
  26. ^ Lifestyle,Wichita Eagle, December 1, 1988.
  27. ^ Edward B. Fiske, EDUCATION; Lessons, The New York Times, March 15, 1989.
  28. ^ Illinois Honors Keith Jones as its MVP for 2nd Time, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, November 24, 1988.
  29. ^ Bill Arthur, Illinois, Southern Cal to Play in Glasnost Bowl, Charlotte Observer, November 16, 1988.
  30. ^ Promotors' battle puts Glasnost Bowl in doubt, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, February 19, 1989.
  31. ^ Ed Sherman, Illinois relieved to learn Glasnost Bowl has cleared red tape,Chicago Tribune, March 26, 1989.
  32. ^ Steve Hummer, 'Canes' Future Help calls for Group Therapy, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, May 19, 1989.
  33. ^ Tom Sorensen, American Football takes roadtrip, Charlotte Observer, May 31, 1989.
  34. ^ Randall Mel, Miami-Penn State in Glasnost II?, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, November 20, 1988.
  35. ^ Linda Kay & Mike Conklin, Sports,Chicago Tribune, April 21, 1989.
  36. ^ a b John Nadel, Section: Sports, AP Online, June 8, 1989.
  37. ^ Dave Dorr, Illini-USC game moved from Moscow to LA, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 9, 1989.
  38. ^ Mal Florence, Glasnost Bowl Is Canceled, The Los Angeles Times, June 9, 1989.
  39. ^ a b Ed Sherman, Glasnost cancellation a real blow to Illini, Chicago Tribune, June 9, 1989.
  40. ^ Dave Dorr, Glasnost Game: Football Plans Test Soviet Ingenuity, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 21, 1989.
  41. ^ John Nadel, Section: Sports News, AP Online, June 9, 1989.
  42. ^ a b 2006 USC Trojans Football Media Guide, pg. 93

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