Alright so today I was trying to dig deep into that Alabama A&M vs Norfolk State rivalry history. Figured it’d be straightforward, right? Famous last words. Started simple – just typed “Alabama A&M Norfolk State football history” into my usual search spot.
Getting Frustrated Fast
First few pages were all trash – just game previews from last season and ticket sale ads. Zero useful history. Got annoyed real quick scrolling past the same junk links over and over. Needed better sources, stat.
Switched tactics:
- Went hunting for old SWAC (that’s Southwestern Athletic Conference) message boards
- Searched “[Alabama A&M] site:.edu” to find university archives
- Dug through Norfolk State’s athletics site historical section
Took forever! Their sites are clunky. Found PDFs of game programs that looked promising but half the links were dead. Typical.
Stumbling Upon Gold
Finally struck gold in this dusty corner of Alabama A&M’s library digital collection. Old sports reporter interviews uploaded years ago. Jackpot! Started jotting down wild moments players actually lived through:
- That insane 2005 monsoon game where both teams kept fumbling in knee-deep mud – final score looked like a baseball game!
- The bench-clearing brawl in ‘99 that got both coaches suspended. Fans still argue about who threw the first punch.
- Norfolk’s 17-point comeback in 2012 with three minutes left. Absolute heartbreaker for A&M fans.
Cross-checked everything against newspaper microfiche – yeah, microfiche still exists! Local papers had way more color than national outlets.
Putting It All Together
Sketched out a timeline in my notebook, filling gaps by calling up my buddy who played D-II ball back in the 90s. Guy remembers EVERY score. Spent hours organizing:
- Major upsets
- Record-breaking plays
- Coaching drama seasons
Almost quit when my laptop froze with 15 browser tabs open. Lesson learned: save constantly when researching chaotic college football history. Ended up writing on my phone notes app like some caveman just to rescue the good bits.
Honestly? Way more tangled than I expected. These smaller HBCU rivalries have insane stories buried under the big ESPN matchups. Gotta respect the grind finding ‘em though. Might dig into FAMU vs Bethune-Cookman next… after I recover from this archive headache!