Monday, March 19, 1984/The Battalion/Page 13
Akeem Olajuwon celebrates with his
teammates after the Cougars’ victory over
Arkansas in the finale of the Southwest
Conference tournament.
SWC fans find...
The Pork
stops here
Where’s the Pork? ... Squeal like a pig
Eddie . . . We bad . . .
Grown men wandering through $ 1 OO-a-night
hotels with plastic pigs on their heads. And a
stadium filled with Red and White.
Phi Slama Jama fans, lest they be known as
Cougar fans, and Arkansas fans gather together
yearly for this ritual they call the Southwest
Conference basketball tournament.
It doesn’t matter if it’s held in Dallas, or San
Antonio, or Houston as it was this year, the fans
from Arkansas and the U of H fill the stands.
This year’s 10,000+ fans smashed into the
Summit to see five hard-fought basketball games
culminating in a match-up between the red and
white and the white and red.
All five games were close. In fact, The Rice
Owls playing in their first quarterfinal SWC
tourney game ever, had the largest margin of
victory in any game, defeating Texas Tech by
five.
But it was the final game, between the
Cougars and the Razorbacks that the fans had
spent their $45 for a tournament pass to seek.
With 27 seconds left and UH up 57-50, the
Cougars’ Alvin Franklin was at the line with a
1-1.
SOOOOOOIEEEEE
PIGS . . . SOOOOOOOIEEEEEE PIGS.
Franklin misses, Arkansas rebounds and calls
time-out.
Hie Razorbacks work the ball around until
only four seconds remain in the game. Ricky
Norton shoots and misses. The ball is tipped up
and in. No call from the referees. A mad rush of
coaches and players to the scorers table.
UH’s Renaldo Thomas climbs the backboard
on the Cougars offensive end. Thq referees
signal.
The sooiee pigs had quieted, and as the Coogs
cut the strands of cotton from the rim, the chants
of HOUSTON, HOUSTON, HOUSTON
echoed through the steel and glass of the
Summit.
By BONN FRIEDMAN
Sports Editor
An injured Jimmie Gilbert stretches out on the floor after hitting the winning bucket.
Coach Shelby Metcalf
listens to an official’s
explanation of a call.
Winston Crite makes a flying save during
the Aggies’ victory over SMU.
PHOTOS by DEAN SAITO,
PETER ROCHA
and JOHN MAKELY.