Leaderboard

Last time I checked, we are 8-3 in our last 11 games. We gave Michigan a scare when nobody thought we had a chance. We played right with Penn State and beat Pittsburgh. We have the most talented team that we have ever had and next year looks to be even better. We have Terry Bowden and Chuck Amato as coaches. We have the most beautiful stadium and facilities in the conference and they can stand up to almost anyone's in the country. My family and I have a blast every game tailgating in lot 9 with a small group of the best and most loyal fans that I wouldn't trade for any other group in the country. I tout these things to everyone I meet when the topic of college football pops up. For me, things are bright! I will continue to bring friends to meet the great people in lot 9. I have never brought anyone that didn't have a great time tailgating with them. Lord willing they get to follow that up by watching a fun product on the field. That is all that I can control as an alumni and fan and that is what I will continue to do. I will continue to put my faith in coach Bowden and staff because I believe that the sky is the limit for this program. This thread is completely depressing. All I hear is doom, gloom and defeatism. I want to put a different spin on this so people can see why we can truly be thankful! Many alumni and Akronites will eventually hop on board with continued success. It is their loss for the one's that don't. In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy the ride with coach Bowden and enjoy every gameday.

A friend, who has only seen them play twice.....once on Sept. 12 and last night...was really impressed with how much they had improved in the span of a month

I would guess that is far off. Real lot niners™ don't drink swill.

Listening to a guy scream into a microphone gets me excited as watching an NFL player do a TD dance...it doesn't. It's stupid and is entertaining for only the smallest of minds. A university is supposed to be about big things and ideas. We've lost sight of what the games and sports exist for...to help develop young adults into productive citizens. If a video was presented about a player from any sport winning an award for public service, I would have a sense of pride about the school. This sort of thing brings out the better nature in people. They could also have videos about alumni members who have spent years supporting various programs. Use the entire day to market. Start with areas where players from various sports sit and meet the public. Specifically, have some items for the players to sign for kids and take pictures with them. During media time outs, have the players from one sport at a time stand on the field and do a little presentation about them and then let people know where they can buy tickets. During another media time out, do it with another sport, etc. Announce their names so people can put a name to a face early in the year. This really isn't that hard. Going back to the public service award. Let's say a member of the WBB team wins a public service award or is just given public recognition. Give her a plaque at the end of when they do the presentation on the WBB team. Set it up so she will have her photo taken with her coach, the AD and even her parents if they can make they game. I think it would be nice for a young girl who is interested in basketball to meet one of the Lady Zips, have her picture taken with her and then see her stand on the field with her teammates getting an award for something. Might even inspire that girl to ask her parents to take her to some games. It can be about selling tickets, or it can be about much more. What I outline in the three paragraphs above are the basics for what goes on at most other schools. Almost every weekend in the fall, I go to a college football game somewhere. This Saturday I am going to go to the Syracuse vs. Wake Forest football game. They will do exactly what I outline above. I've been to games at Duke, they do the same things. I've been to games at NC State, they do the same things. I've been to games at Clemson, they do the same things. I've been to games at South Carolina, the do the same things. One can sense the pride the alumni in the stadium feel when they watch a video of a basketball player going to a local hospital to sign autographs for kids who have serious illnesses. So, is it really about attendance, or is it about reminding people in the stands exactly what the event is really for and then paint an even bigger picture for that person about what the Athletic Department is doing to stand out? A guy yelling at me to stand up and cheer makes me want to sit down an boo (always doing the opposite)...in fact, it makes me feel like I am sitting at a minor league baseball game and I hate minor league anything. A person getting an award for volunteering makes me want to stand up and cheer. Again, tradition is built on pride of the accomplishments of the school and people in and around the school. Let's shout that out to people instead of shouting out orders to stand up and cheer.

I don't understand why there's a Hirschman-Woodson debate in the middle of the season. The two QBs battled each other all pre-season to see who would backup Pohl, and Woodson has been listed on the two-deep charts ever since the opening game against Howard. So far Woodson has rushed 11 times for 67 yards and passed 28-53 for 305 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions or fumbles. These are all fine numbers for an inexperienced freshman backup QB. Coach Bowden selected Woodson over Hirschman for good reasons and Woodson has so far delivered.

Normally I don't care about attendance and on almost every level, I didn't care about the crowd Saturday. However, it was kind of shocking how few people were at the game. Maybe at the end of the day, not that many people really care. Maybe they need to give them something(s) of substance to care about. Not sure what they are doing to market the games or the other sports for that matter. But, there are things you can do on game day to promote athletics to an interested audience. The one thing I would stop doing is the nonsense in the crowd with the guy with the microphone yelling in a very slow cadence. He's Mickey Mouse and would get his walking papers. Use that time to promote the other sports and not trying to generate fake excitement with a guy who doesn't seem all that excited to be there. At Wake games, TV timeouts have some nonsense associated with them (certainly not a guy yelling into a microphone), but they use a lot of the time to put the other sport's teams on the field and remind them season tickets are available. They run spots on the largest television in NC (their score board) about how their athletics foundation supports athlete-students and what the players of every sport are doing in public service. The time isn't wasted on silliness. Let the alumni and fans of the school know what the school is doing with athletics and build a sense of pride that way. Tradition is built on pride, not fake enthusiasm.

UA 3-0 UM Zips really took it to them tonight.

Looks like Fenlason (Rancho Bernardo) played in the same league as McAtee (Torrey Pines) in their high school days. http://www.maxpreps.com/league/R7YJlqht40GshcxX6qtrSw/standings-palomar.htm

I've said this before, but the only place that I believe has any unique appeal for him would be his Alma Mater. It looks like Holgorsen might have things straightened out a bit, so hopefully that potential opportunity is subsiding. Besides, WVU would probably consider another alum (Marshall HC Doc Holliday) first.

Here is a timely PD article from Terry Pluto.