Zipsrifle

Was reading the CPD today and saw Elton Alexander's rankings of MAC stadiums. I don't agree wholeheartedly with his assessment and figured we could do our own. I feel he is forgetting that the don't build these stadiums only for reporters.....there are thousands of other people at these places too! First the link:http://www.cleveland.com/sports/college/in...ium_how_do.htmlThe categories are:1. Amenities 2. Accessibility 3. Ambiance 4. ComfortHere's my assessment of the stadiums that I've been to:Akron:1) A, 2) B, 3) C, 4) ABall State: Haven't been thereBowling Green:1) C, 2)B, 3)D, 4)C Note: I was there before they built their fieldhouse,but yea, it is kinda crappy.Buffalo: I'll let you know later this yearCMU1) B, 2) C, 3) B, 4)C Note: Mt. Pleasant is in the middle of nowhere. Why would I drive that far for a game? (Oh, yea, the Zips were playing!) Concrete, Concrete, Concrete!!!EMU:1)B, 2) B, 3) F, 4)D Note: Just not a good college stadiumCan't:1)C, 2)D, 3) D, 4)C Note: Worst time I have ever had getting to a MAC game was at Can't! Took us 30 minutes to go 1 mile!!Miami:1)B, 2)C, 3)A, 4)C Note: What a view in the fall!NIU: Haven't been thereOU:1) C, 2)C, 3) B, 4) C Note: I don't know what all the hype is about this place, I think it pretty much blows!Temple: Haven't been there but will tell you next year.Toledo: Amazingly, Haven't been there.WMU: 1)B 2)C 3)B 4)B Note: Probably my favorite MAC Stadium (Outside of ICS).

Yea, something has got to be done about our ground game....it isn't working. We need to move the ball through the middle and we are going to have quite a few times when it's 3rd and 1 this season. This is probably the most concerning thing for me right now. As far as CJ vs. Rogers, I have to say I'm split. Personally, I saw the same thing last week as I saw today. CJ will stay in the pocket forever and PLEASE don't ask him to run....it's just painful to watch. I would say that CJ does look around more, but on long balls, he pretty much scopes out his first receiver right away and never looks back. As for Rogers, it's nice to have a mobile QB, and that showed today! His passing is up to CJ's...I think he isn't as accurate and sometimes his decisions are questionable and would get us into trouble against Indiana. With that said, I wish he would have seen more of the field today...the kid needs experience and today was the perfect game! Defense, well, it was a shutout and they weren't that good. We don't seem to have much of a pass rush unless we blitz. We should have been crushing those guys today but they seemed to hold us off more than I would have expected. Oh, did Bain see the field today? D seems to be OK, next week will be a big test.Special teams. All I have to say is that the kicking is terrible and I fear it will cost us at least one game this year. Punts, Fieldgoals, all below par. Maybe Zach just spoiled me. Bruce is probably my favorite player because he really, really didn't want to take a fair catch today. I know he did at least one time, but that kid will go in there and get that ball!I'm going to savor the evening and then next week we have the real litmus test as to where this team stands.

I liked the new stuff better than what was done at the RB FWIW. Good job today Band! Very impressed!

I have to say that I thought it was a HUGE success. Yes, I may have some suggestions, but today met my HIGHEST expectation!Rolled in a little later to lot 34 than expected, but still early enough to not have to pay. Took a while to get my stuff set up, two years off will do that. Decided to be low key the first time to avoid any hassles, but UAPD did a great job. Packed up early so I could follow the band to the stadium. It really was great having the band march through campus and we eventually got a good crowd of people behind them. It was really cool when the went under the bridge in front of Auburn with the people up top and all. Watched them play outside the fieldhouse and went to the stadium. I tried to avoid the crowds and came in the SW entrance and only had to wait about 5 minutes. Granted I was at the stadium way earlier than I expected, but it was all good!I was a little worried at the number of empty seats at the beginning of the pregame ceremony, but it was full by the 1st Quarter! I really liked how the linked the RB and ICS...nice job! Everyone did a good job with their opening comments....this is a big moment and they all tried to make their speeches equal to the moment. It wasn't overly drawn out but everyone who really deserved a mention got it. I really, really like the paratroopers, nice touch. As everyone, I was a little concerned early on in the game, but eventually it turned into a blowout. I have to admit, I was too engrossed in the pagentry and the moment to really focus on what was going on until late in the third...team critique will come later. High points for me today were (in no order):1) Hitting EVERYTHING I wanted to before the game. Tailgate, meet up with some old friends, walk through campus with band, pregame ceremony.2) Kickoff!3) First score (though delayed) going to the Zips.4) Being below the West stands when the team scored. It was TOTALLY AWESOME to hear the cheer of the crowd erupt when you don't expect it. VERY BIGTIME FEELING!!5) Seeing the East Stands Full!6) Seeing the West Stand full!7) Seeing the grass mostly full! I got a decent picture from the North end of the stadium and the place is PACKED!8) STUDENTS WERE AWESOME!. I hope this type of turnout becomes a given.9) Grabbed a HOT brat and Fries at the concession stand and had to wait all of 2 minutes. 10) We won easily!11) Scoreboard! I'm so used to the RB, that my Sister had to remind me that they show replays on the scoreboard!!12) The people I sit around are great! 13) The aluminum bleachers....way LOUD!!!14) AWESOME SEATS~ My seats got the shade WAY earlier than the lower bowl, which is good for a 3 year old, I had great views of the field and it was an easy exit!Some suggestions...1) I would like to see the band Pregame/March done a little differently. I think it would be cool to send small packs of the band out to the tailgating lots and play in the lots about 1/2 hour before they leave from Guzetta. That would give people time to follow them into the game. It would also be nice if they changed the route from the "Urban Grit, down the street" path down Carroll to the senic "Look at this awesome campus we have" path down Buchtel Commons. Here are two options: a) March down Buchtel commons and up the steps towards Buchtel Hall. They then split and go AROUND Buchtel hall and meet in the back. This would look AWESOME from Carroll commons with the band wrapping around Buchtel hall and also would bring the people following through the heart of campus. I know it may be diffiicult with the steps, however. b ) March down Buchtel commons and turn at the JAR. Easier, more senic than the current path, not as technical. 2) They play the music before kickoff WAY TOO LONG!!! Can't get the crowd involved with the kickoff when it's playing so much!That's IT. Great, Great job by everyone! WOW, WOW, WOW. Can't wait until next week!!!

Lot 34 was OK, but not as hopping as the fence at the RB. Still, I was pleased to see quite a few flags and people having fun. Oh, and let me say that UAPD did an excellent job today! I had my concerns, but as long as everyone was well behaved, no problems! Oh, and another bonus, apparently getting there before the lots open means you get free parking! I heard the lot behind the scoreboard was just a killer location. I'll be back at lot 34 next week.

The biggest hurdle is the number of firing points you want to include and what caliber you would want to allow. Can't remember how many are in Schrank...maybe 10? Obviously it would be concrete block or some other inpenetrable substance surrounding the range A walk in gun safe, probably climate controlled to minimze the chance of the chance of corrosion to the equipment.. The HVAC system needs to be really good to remove the smoke in the air from shooting. There are several variants of backstop you could use, and I imagine the caliber of gun you would shoot would dictate what you would need. You need target carriers and dividers. To really do it right, I believe they now have electronic scoring systems and I believe they automatically feed the targets so you don't need to shoot around your target. Obviously the more points you have, the more the cost is. Back in my day they some equipment you could hook up to your gun and track where your gun was moving before and after your shot. It was very accurate and could even pick up your heartbeat. I bet this is more advanced today and it would be really cool to have this available to each shooter every practice. I'm sure I'm missing a bunch of stuff....I haven't shot competitively in about 10 years.

Rumor has it that Akron will be kicking off it's new Nike contract tomorrow. IN the spirit of one upping Ducks, the Akron players will be dressed as giant kangaroos to raise the rediculous uniforms competition to a whole new level!

Gozips.com is probably the best place. They seem to have a photographer go to every game. http://www.gozips.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_...;ATCLID=1573597

I think they did a great job given this project just started in late Jan 2008. If, they'd had a two full years like the construction company had to build Minnesota new stadium. I'm sure the 2% would be done as well as further along on floors 2 through 4 in the press tower that won't be completed until next year.I'm looking forward to all the people who claimed the project was not behind schedule and would be 100% done by this Saturday afternoon telling me how wrong I was. Think it will be done in 42 days?

I wanna be sedated? Something to do I know where to go....tailgating then the Info!

Two evenings to undo the movers "Repacking" of my 4 tubs clearly labled "Tailgating".....it was totally worth it! Checklist has been gone through, and almost everything is sitting staged, in the garage. Flagpole....checkGrill....checkfootball....checkTime to redo my "Akron Pregame" playlist!

I vote we put this on the main page for the next two days! No, you should not have to mention this, but I am glad you did. Great Job.

I don't know why they expect people to show up only 4 hours before kickoff to tailgate! Hell, didn't people used to camp overnight at the RB? I plan on being packed up and ready to walk to the stadium by 12:30. Follow the band, Stop by the circle at Carroll and Union streets. Get to my seats around 1:20. Pregame festivities start at 1:35. It takes what, 1/2 hour to get stuff set up and 1/2 hour to tear down. In other words, I'm looking at cramming in all of my tailgating into 1-1/2 hours! When we went to OSU, I was at the lot at 7:00 AM and was worried about getting a spot! That was 5 hours before kickoff! We said we were going to do this thing right, and leaving only 4 hours prior to the game to tailgate is rediculous. Lots should open 6:00 AM the day of a game. Also, I will gladly pay the parking attendant if I get there before they do. I'm not trying to cause trouble, I'm just trying to do this thing RIGHT!

Lot 34...where I will be!!

Well folks, here we sit, less than 3 days to kickoff at Infocision Stadium with more tickets sold than seats...where are all those naysayers now?!? I can't tell you how many people I ran into during the course of the stadium construction (personally, not on Zipsnation) that said it would never happen, UofA would blow it, no way it would be done in time, it was way behind schedule, there were major problems, they haven't sold any tickets, ....... So many people had "Inside Information" and that UofA was just blowing smoke. Believe me, I was worried at times but as the project progressed, it just kept getting better and better! Saturday will be one of those days that stands out in my Zip Memory alongside Hixon's Catch at the MACC, and the Win over Marshall in '04! The atmosphere will be ELECTRIC, as I have never experienced it before! Instead of the smell of bread, we will have the smell of brats and burgers filling the air across campus! Thousands of Students, Alumni, and Citizens of Akron will converge! The city will be packed , the campus will be packed, InfoCision will be packed! Most college football fans NEVER get to experience what we will be experiencing on Saturday with the opening of InfoCision! ! We've got a real gem on our hands, the final piece of the puzzle to lift us to the next level! We've been talking for years about about doing things bigtime! Well..We've got facilities that are Bigtime! UofA has built a Stadium that is BIGTIME! As fans, lets do this thing BIGTIME! LETS OPEN THIS THING BIGTIME!!!

Going through my pre-Game Tailgating checklist. It's been a while since I've really needed it. Moved from Michigan about 2 years ago and most of my stuff was in storage or the kids prevented the tailgating. Listening to the University of Akron Marching Band on my Ipod while digging through boxes in the basement....AWESOME! I am so pumped right now! I'll get the final stuff at Giant Eagle tomorrow, and be ready to ROLL early on Saturday Morning! Plan to roll into Lot 34 around 9:00 AM. Probably won't be the first one there....hopefully I can get a spot!

#1 is great boasting for fans, but if I were on the team, I couldn't care less. We've been shafted in the past two seasons when it came to the post season, so I would be out for blood each and every week. The only ranking that counts is the one at the end of the season!

I'd say that's a fair speculation. Programs like polymer engineering, corrosions engineering, and the bioinnovation institute will generate revenue that can help support improvements in other areas(i.e. b-school, nursing school, etc).I also saw that g-mann mentioned a feasability study focused on Mary Gladwinn. IMO, we'd be better off totally demolishing Mary Gladwinn and Knight and rearranging that part of campus. It's really cramped because of the old days. We could add some green space where those two buildings (Knight and MGH) and the parking spaces are and make the organization a little less cramped. The only buildings in that part of campus that really should stay put are Auburn, Whitby, and obviously the main polymer center. So we have the vision...now all we need is some rich alumni...ahem...zipsnation?I'm sure all those "Rich" alumni have recently taken 10+% pay cuts because of the economy. As for rearranging buildings. I always thought it would be cool to span the RR tracks, bury them if you will, under new buildings. This would accomplish multiple things. First, it would hide an eyesore and a source of noise on campus. Second, it would open up the center of campus more allowing more green space. Third, it would connect campus to downtown and increase the urban density, which is what I like in a city. I'm sure there are lots of issues related to doing something like this such as additional stresses on the buildings, air quality both in and below the buildings, and what would happen if the train crashed below the buildings??? I'm sure this could be overcome, but the price tag would be high. With that said, I am very much in favor of having the university pay down it's debt before going off and building more structures. Maybe 15 years from now they could do something like this.

Yea, it all does kind of look the same, but it's all pleasing to the eye.

ARE YOU ARGUING ABOUT US ARGUING? I'm not arguing about us arguing...am I?

VERY NICE! Doing that stuff takes a lot of time, but just wait until people start asking "Where did you get those??". It's all worth it!

Thanks for the heads up, we seem to be building a good head of steam right now. I hope when we reach the sellout stage, we start pimping the Indiana game just as hard. When we sell out the Indiana game, we start pimping the OU game, and so on until 2015 when we expand the stadium.

Good luck. UofA has been doing a good job of taking care of those of us who have had ticket issues so hopefully you will come out pleased, I know I did!

Not even thinking about Indiana. I predicted a win last week so.....I won't put in a prediction this week. I'll hope for a win and also, in the event we get far enough ahead, we throw some exciting plays out there so people want to come back.

I agree. It's not as if we're sweating bullets over the chance of precipitation It's just something that would drastically change the gameday experience.Yes, yes it is important but 1) You can't control it2) Predicting it a week out is pointless.I'll be there, rain or shine. I think we should argue about it for a few more days and then I'll star worrying with you.