The night the lights went out (2002)
In America’s City of Lights, a college football game was called because of darkness as No. 25 Wisconsin left town with a bizarre 27-7 win over UNLV. Played under cloudy skies that left the temperatures below normal triple digits, the game actually ended with 7:41 remaining in the fourth quarter because the stadium lights went out – and stayed out. UW had built a big first-half lead and after a scoreless third quarter, hit a field goal to make it a 20-point advantage.
Following the ensuing kickoff UNLV ran one play before darkness suddenly enveloped Sam Boyd Stadium and threw the ESPN2 telecast off the air. After emergency lighting kicked in and staffers worked furiously to get things up and running, the Wisconsin Marching Band put on a concert for the state-record crowd of more than 42,000 with an earlier-than-anticipated rendition of their famous Fifth Quarter performance. UNLV head coach John Robinson and UW head coach Barry Alvarez conferred with officials and eventually agreed to call it a night and make the score final. Robinson said it was time to clear the field.
“It was in the best interests of our student-athletes to call the game. I didn’t want to put anyone on the field or in the stands at risk. Wisconsin had a decided edge. I liken it to finishing by a technical knockout.”
Because the game fell just short of becoming official per gaming rules, more than a few conspiracy theorists among the more than 15,000 Wisconsin fans on hand claimed the Las Vegas sports books ordered the blackout so avoid paying off the Cheeseheads who threw down some coin on their beloved Badgers. Clear-headed folks and media reports settled on the rumor that a car ran into a transformer near the stadium but it turns out that the blackout was caused simply by some old NV Energy wiring serving the facility going out at an inopportune time.
