KARE 11 Extra: Relive the Gophers home opener

Home field advantage.

For 27 years, those words mocked Gopher Nation.

On Saturday, the mocking stopped.

"The dome was awesome, but being under the lights is real, real football," said Sharon Burris, mother of Gophers player D.J. Burris.

A new sense of pride surrounded the brand new TCF Bank Stadium. Tailgating for the 6 p.m. game started around noon in many parking lots.

You could see the pride. You could even taste it. At one tailgate party, fans enjoyed a Minnesota-themed menu, including venison, Spam kabobs and "Minnesota-raised chicken gizzards."

"If you put the camera on them long enough, you'll actually see them move around a little bit," Roger Iverson joked. "You can eat these and the heart hospital is just five blocks away."

On the other of the stadium, the Minnesota-raised Manning brothers enjoyed the pre-game festivities.

"We were both born November 24th, 1989," the identical twins said in unison.

Nate is a sophomore at the University of Minnesota (where he's part of the Air Force ROTC program). Nick is a sophomore at the Air Force Academy. And for once, these identical twins couldn't be further apart.

"Go Gophers!" Nate exclaimed.

"Go Falcons!" Nick replied.

There's no question who Mike Haglund supports. Even though he lives 125 miles west of the Twin Cities in Kerkhoven, MN, Haglund hasn't missed a home game since 1977. And he doesn't plan to start missing them now.

"We finally got back to where football was meant to be played - right here on campus," Haglund said.

Two hours before game time, players jumped off the bus at McNamara Alumni Center and marched through a sea of cheering fans. It's called the Victory Walk and Gopher fans were hoping it would mark a fresh start. After all, the team's last national championship was in 1960 and its last Rose Bowl appearance was during the 1961 season. Those are milestones that current students are far too young to have seen.

"You need to be the twelfth man," U of M athletic director Joel Maturi told a large crowd of students gathered outside the stadium. "You need to create a new tradition of football in Minnesota! And that's winning football!"

With a snip of the ribbon, the student section officially opened and that new tradition began.

"Today is possibly going to be the best day of my life," said freshman Andy Stone.

The pre-game ceremony was filled with pomp and circumstance. Several former players were on the field, including some legendary Gophers serving as honorary captains. Former Vikings coach and Gopher great Bud Grant was brought to tears by the festivities.

With no roof to muffle their sound, the University of Minnesota Marching Band inaugurated the field, forming their trademark "M." Tradition says that if drum major Aaron Marks could toss his mace over the goal post and catch it, the Gophers would win. To the delight of Gopher fans, Marks made the catch.

From that point on, it was an evening of firsts - first plays, first runs, first catches and first points, courtesy of a field goal by the Gophers.

"Gotten off to a good start," said Nate of the Manning twins. "When the Gophers are ahead like this, then you just have the upper hand. And it's good to have the upper hand on my brother."

From the fans in the front to the ones in very back, everyone had a great view of the field.

"There's not a bad seat in the house," said Matt Holden, who watched the game from the last row of the upper deck with his six-year-old son Josh. "This is how the game should be played. This is for all the football purists."

As sunlight gave way to stadium light, the real magic of the new stadium became clear.

"It's fantastic," said 89-year-old Ed Lechner. "I think it's even nicer than the old one."

The "old one" is Memorial Stadium, which is where Lechner played for the Gophers from 1939 to '41. (The Gophers won two of their six national championships during that time.)

In another nostalgic moment, broadcasting legend Ray Christensen, the radio voice of the Gophers for 50 seasons, called the Gophers' first offensive drive of the second half. Unfortunately, for Christensen, the Gophers couldn't score during a penalty-riddled possession.

"I had close to three first downs," Christensen told WCCO Radio listeners. "Sorry about the penalties guys, but I enjoyed the experience. It's been great. Thank you so very much."

Air Force quickly struck, taking the lead with a touchdown and giving Nick Manning the edge over his twin brother.

"Of course, I'll be giving him a few jabs in the end," said a confident Nick from the Air Force fan section.

But thanks to a fourth-quarter fury of 17 points, the Gophers recorded one more TCF Stadium first - a first win.

When the Manning brothers met up after the game, Nate couldn't resist rubbing it in.

"I'll be gloating for a very long time," he said.

But Nick was just glad he could be here to watch history, on a night when the home field truly was an advantage.

"We'll probably end up arguing about it later, but it's all in good fun," Nick said with a smile.

Check out our KARE family of Web sites:
	takeKARE		Metromix
	Moms Like Me		Minnesota Bound
	Showcase Minnesota