My personal favorite rivalry trophy is by far Paul Bunyan's Axe. It is awarded to the winner of the annual Minnesota Golden Gophers/ Wisconsin Badgers match-up. The trophy represents the axe of the legendary lumberjack of the Midwest, Paul Bunyan. As the story goes, Bunyan lived and logged in the uppermost states of the country. This makes Paul Bunyan's Axe perfect for the Minnesota/Wisconsin border war. And truth be told, the trophy might just be big enough to fit the giant tree-feller. It is a LARGE axe to say the least. How big you ask? Well, it has a 6 foot handle. That's taller than the average man. The axe's head is colored differently on each side. One side is red with white letters, which represents Wisconsin. The opposing side is yellow with burgundy letters, representing Minnesota. Both sides feature an inscription in the center which reads,"Paul Bunyan's Football Trophy Presented by the National W Club 1948." The names of each school/state surround the inscription, as they are written on opposing blades on each side of the axe. The winner of the game get's the year and score printed on the handle on their side of the axe. Since Wisconsin vs. Minnesota is the longest standing series in College Football with 119 meetings, the axe's handle is full on both sides. (This trophy is so awesome that I created a 3-foot replica of it when I was in high school. You gotta love art class. Here's some pics of my replica, for reference. Not too shabby eh?)
My most memorable battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe reaches back to the 2003 game. This game took place in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, and featured possibly the best Golden Gopher team I've ever seen burrow on the turf. The Gophers came into the game ranked 20th in the country. They were led by the two-headed monster runningback tandem of Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney, both are Pro backs today. Barber finished the game with 139 yards and a score, while Maroney added 135 yards and a touchdown. They were scary good. The Gophers quarterback was their veteran Asad Abdul-Khaliq. Say that three times fast. He was quite a good QB for the Gophers, and added a rushing TD of his own in this one before getting injured close to halftime. The Gophers were up as much as 17-3 at one point, but the Badgers being Badgers came clawing back. Wisconsin tied the game up for the second time of the afternoon with 7:15 left in the ballgame. The two teams had back-to-back unsuccessful drives, but Goldy Gopher would have one last chance to win the axe. They had 2:49 to "bring home the bacon." Back-up quarterback Benji Kamrath and star runningback Marion Barber III led a gutsy drive down the field. Minnesota made it all the way down to the Badgers' 19 yardline, and called a time out with just one second left on the clock. The Gophers bring on senior placekicker Rhys Lloyd, a British chap from Dover, England. Would Lloyd make the kick and be the "Bee's Knees", or would he fail and be just another "duffer." Well...the lad came through! He nailed the 35 yarder, Minnesota wins 37-34! Fish and Chips for the Gophers! As soon as Lloyd kicked the ball he took off running towards the Wisconsin sideline with a host of Gophers in tail. They were going to claim the axe...and claim it they did. The image of Lloyd and the rest of the Gophers celebrating with the legendary axe is one that I'll never forget, nor will the North Star State.
Unfortunately for the Gophers, 2003 was the last time that they've won the precious trophy. The Badgers have won the last six meetings since that faithful game, but 4 of the 6 Wisconsin wins have been by a touchdown or less. That includes the Badgers' back-to-back 3 point wins in the past two years. The two teams will battle it out again this Saturday, and it's guaranteed to be axe-citing. I'm not really pulling for one side or the other. That's because no matter who wins, I still get to see that awesome axe plastered all over SportsCenter as the winning team hoists it proudly in the air. It's the most axe-cellent trophy of them all, and I can't wait to see it in axe-ion this weekend. I love this season.
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