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Vanderbilt's football beat #1 Alabama over the weekend. And the fans went wild!

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

If someone tries to sell you a piece of a goal post from the Vanderbilt University stadium today, don't assume it's a hoax.

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

Wait. Wait. Wait. Let's back up a little bit. The biggest news out of college sports this weekend is that the country's No. 1 football team, the University of Alabama, lost to Vanderbilt. Get that? They lost. For the first time since 1984, score was 40-35, and Vanderbilt was leading the entire game.

SHAPIRO: Vandy's win was thanks in large part to their new quarterback, Diego Pavia. The transfer from New Mexico State clearly does not think it's a fluke.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DIEGO PAVIA: I love Vandy. This is what I came here for. I came here to win big football games. You know, our ultimate goal is to go to the college football playoff. And so we want to chance at the National Championship just how everyone else does. We just got to keep getting better. There's still little mistakes out there that we got to clean up, but, you know, any given Saturday, anything's possible.

SUMMERS: Football is life on every given Saturday in the SEC. That is the Southeastern Conference. So Vandy fans stormed the field after the victory.

SHAPIRO: They tore down the goal post and then marched it three miles to the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville, where the fire department had to eventually fish it out.

SUMMERS: Now, the SEC does frown on such shenanigans, and they find Vanderbilt $100,000. And that is where commerce enters the picture. Until later this week, you've got the chance to bid on game balls or helmets.

SHAPIRO: But you may need to wait for the secondary market to get a piece of the goal posts. The four and eight-inch chunks appear to be all gone.

SUMMERS: Darn. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Justine Kenin
Justine Kenin is an editor on All Things Considered. She joined NPR in 1999 as an intern. Nothing makes her happier than getting a book in the right reader's hands – most especially her own.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.