This weekend, Northwestern baseball won all three games against Purdue – its first sweep of a team since 2007. The world was very different nine years ago: George Bush was president, Beyonce’s "Irreplaceable" was topping the charts and the first iPhone was released. But what was happening at Northwestern in 2007?
Morty was just some guy in Massachusetts and the S.S. Bienen hadn’t set sail – Will Fischer
Well, maybe not just any guy. Morton Schapiro, our fearless leader, did not become Northwestern’s president until 2009. Nine years ago, Morty was the president of Williams College, a small liberal arts school in Williamstown, Massachusetts. And we are all thankful for the career change, because without it, we wouldn't have gems like this.
Before Schapiro traded purple schools, Henry Bienen was the president of Northwestern – where he served from 1995 to 2009. In fact, the Bienen School of Music wasn’t even known by that name yet. It was not until 2008 that they named it to honor Bienen’s retirement. Since 1895, the school had just been known as the Northwestern University School of Music – pretty boring if you ask me. Welcome to 2007, a world without Morty, named music schools and buildings that look like ships.
Dillo Day was LIT and in Patten Gym (crazy, right?) – Max Goodman
After sweeping Purdue at home to end the 2007 season, finishing the campaign with an 18-36 record, the Northwestern baseball team was in desperate need of a way to blow off some steam and celebrate their late season success. Luckily for them, it was mid-May – just in time for Dillo Day – and Mayfest did not disappoint.
2007’s star-studded lineup was headlined by Lupe Fiasco, The Roots and Cake - and due to rain, the show was moved into the confines of Patten Gym. Apparently, this is a feasible thing to do, and is way better than no Dillo Day at all. It’s safe to say that both Northwestern baseball players and Northwestern students alike were able to celebrate a four-game winning streak and party the night away.
Northwestern sports made history – Tim Hackett
Northwestern sports didn’t always lose. In 2007, Northwestern’s men’s swimming 400 medley relay team was the best in the world. In fact, they were the best college team in history.
In March 2007, the foursome of Matt Grevers, Mike Alexandrov, Kyle Bubolz and Bruno Barbic won the 400 medley relay in the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, the first time a Northwestern relay finished in the top spot since 1932. The team finished with a final time of 3:04.40, seven-hundredths of a second faster than the previous record time held by Texas. The Longhorns may have exacted a bit of revenge, though, as Texas established a new record just this year with a time nearly four seconds faster than Northwestern’s.
Regardless, the 2007 achievement has been more than enough to cement the team’s place in Northwestern lore. Grevers would go on to win six Olympic medals and be inducted into the Northwestern Athletics Hall of Fame in 2012. The honor was extended to Barbic, Bubolz and Alexandrov in 2014, reuniting the foursome once again.
J. Michael Bailey “The Fucksaw Professor” was still teaching Human Sexuality 337 – Jason Mast
For the Ancient Greeks, athletics always contained a dimension of sexuality, and so the 2007 Wildcats, at least those who took Bailey’s Human Sexuality 337, may have had a leg up on today’s sluggers. Bailey was legendary, packing Tech lecture halls like only a man promising to explain – and occasionally demonstrate – alternative sex acts to undergraduates can. One of the most popular classes at Northwestern, doubtless it attracted more than a couple of Northwestern’s finest base stealers. Sadly, the class came to a close in winter of 2011 when, in an after-hours session attended by over 100 students, Bailey had a naked women demonstrate how to use a fucksaw. The University got angry, cancelled the class and Northwestern baseball didn’t win a series for the next five years.
Editor's note: NBN decided against including a video demonstration of "The Fucksaw."
Northwestern baseball was ... still Northwestern baseball – Andy Brown
Even though it's been nine years since Northwestern swept a series, not much has changed for the 'Cats record-wise since then. Prior to a season-ending four-game sweep of, wow, again, Purdue (who finished 22-32), the 'Cats were limping to the finish line with a 14-36 overall record, not too far off from this year's 13-34 mark. But despite the dismal season, NU ended its season on an offensive surge at the stadium formerly known as Rocky Miller Park, scoring an average of 11 runs per game en route to a feel-good sweep. Some freshman named Jake Goebbert carried the 'Cats that weekend, going an absurd 12-for-16 over the course of the series with eight RBI. Perhaps not so coincidentally, Goebbert is currently a fringe Major League outfielder playing in the Tampa Bay Rays system. Bo Schultz, now a fringe Major League reliever in the Toronto Blue Jays system, also contributed. It remains to be seen how many future pros are currently donning the purple and white, but if the Spencer Allen era goes as planned, the odds are good that nine years from now, our concept of Northwestern baseball will be very different from what it was in 2007, or what it is now.