Zip Watcher

The kicking game will be fine. I'm chalking it up to first game jitters .. and a little bit to the fact that the scoreboard incorrectly indicated 3rd down just prior to the first attempt. The special teams did not have their usual time to get set .. the first kick was rushed. The 46 yarder? ... no comment. Kickoffs were improved over last season.

If a politician is a Republican, they get a pass from their own party on things like cheating on a wife or soliciting sex in an airport bathroom. I don't think a beer bong will hurt his career.Rasor has all he needs to be a successful politician in northern Summit County suburbs. First, I believe he goes to The Chapel. The Chapel, like many new Christian churches, is as much cult-like social club as it is a place of worship. It falls right into the Republican's playbook of "us vs. them". "Us" means those that believe what we do and belong to our little group. "Them" means....well, I'm not certain they even know what it means. These churches also serve as recruiting tools for the modern day Republican party which has become more liberal than FDR with guys like Bush 43 and follows the intellectual lead of lightweights like Sean Hannity and neo-conservatives (code word for big government liberals). There was once a time when great thinkers of small government like William F. Buckley were the intellectual leaders of the Republican party (Buckley would have vomited out his bong water on neo-conservatives). Now, high school graduates and Sunday Christians have taken over that role. I honestly don't believe many modern day Republicans believe the childishly legalistic theology they are forced to spew for political purposes, which makes the party thoughtless and pandering to the most intellectually vacant, shrill masses. In a lot of ways, it makes them dangerous. The Republican Party has turned itself into a cartoon of itself. Like a lot of good cartoons, it is both funny and uncomfortable to watch......like South Park.Secondly, he writes about sports in an area where people love sports.I think this politician is a good guy. I hope he doesn't use his chance in politics to force others to behave and act as he may believe they should based upon his religious beliefs. Instead, he should think about freedom and what that means. Freedom is for everyone all the time. Not just when it is word that helps someone get elected.Let freedom ring!Go Zips!All,There's a place for politics .. and if you MUST do it at ZN.O .. do it in THE OFF TOPIC FORUM .. please do NOT do it in the midst of a sports discussion.Thanks & Go Zips!!! B) B)

Thanks to the moderator who fixed the link. Can you explain the "tinyurl" thing to us non-expert users?Sure .. it's been posted before .. but probably time again.If you have a long url or one that might get jumbled, you go to www.tinyurl.com and enter the long link in a box, and it gives you a modified small link that will redirect people to the same place. It's particularly useful for things like mapquest directions & winkflush sites ..Go Zips!

One reminder that this is a Zips board, and the original poster asked for feedback on Saturday at the Info. Please don't hijack the topic for your love or hate of some other school. Much more, and it'll be moved to the off-topic forum.Go Zips!!!

Sure hope that photo doesn't end a promising young political career before it got started.Go Zips!!

:wall: After your first post, I elected not to reply .. but seeing how you've completely missed my point, I thought I'd follow up.Your comments are noted. Clearly we can't have big disasters happen at the Info and hope to impress the casual fan. But you keep saying to the Zips Staff to do it right .. my point to you is: As the diehard FANS, we also can help make sure that those conversations on Monday are positive .. and that those little images you mention above are good ones. As you said above .. the experience is about far more than the facility. The surrounding fans can add or detract from the environment and experience.We can choose to be ambassadors for the Zips and try to make a positive impact on the entire situation .. or we can take the approach of asking to be catered to and searching for something to complain about and someone to blame for whatever we think isn't perfect the first time out.A pretty simple choice, IMHO. B) Go Zips!

Rumor has it you may get your wish. :lol: :lol: Post of the week!Go Zips!

+1

Ok .. so now that we have a (near) sellout on our hands, we must as Zips fans turn to the hand wringing and worrying about whether the fans are good enough??! Really?This sounds to me like old ladies complaining at church that the younger crowd that's filling a church on Sunday isn't dressed to their standards. The point is .. the people are there. Getting fans in the seats to experience Zips Athletics has been a question and challenge for AD's, Coaches & Fans for years .. and now we have a full venue .. probably for 2 weeks in a row. How about we welcome one and all and hope they have a nice time rather than worrying about whether or not they have the right color shirt on or enough gold paint behind their ears.I'm not a Notre Dame fan .. not by a long shot for lots of reasons .. I'm a Boilermaker among several other things. But I will admit one thing .. when you go to a game @ ND, the locals, fans and staff at the facility and near it are quite welcoming. You go through the gate and the ticket guy looks you in the eye and says "Welcome to Notre Dame .. enjoy the game" .. same for the ushers .. and many fans. It's easy to see how someone can go to a game @ ND as a youngster and like it so much they become lifelong fans. Really easy.My friends and fellow Zips fans .. a tremendous opportunity lies before us over the next few days. One which may never exist again.The events of this weekend are going to be awesome. There's a huge buzz .. people are buying tickets .. lots of them. The tailgating and downtown atmosphere is going to be nutso crazy & all those things you find in places like Ann Arbor, Columbus and other places where lots of people join in revelry prior to a college football game in an urban setting.As committed Zips fans, we have a responsibility to put the best face forward for Zips football so that all the casual fans this weekend and next have a GREAT experience and want to come back again and again. Tom, Hunter, JD and staff can't possibly accomplish this by themselves. The FANS can do much of the heavy lifting. If you ever stopped by CK's spot by the fence at the Rubber Bowl, you know what I'm talking about. Welcoming, happy to see you .. offers you a beverage. Makes you want to come back.I'm issuing a challenge to the Zips Nation right here and now: You've chosen to "Be a Part from the Start' .. now DO YOUR PART .. have a great time, represent the Zips as you like them to represent you, and greet ALL fans with the same regard and congeniality that you greet those whom you know to be true Zips die hards. Saturday, we ARE the de facto University of Akron Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Let's make it our JOB to make sure people want to come back .. regardless of what happens on the field.Ignore it if you think that student isn't participating enough .. Ignore what they're wearing .. all colors are great in a full stadium. On this weekend and next, we should all strive to be color blind to the sports garb of attendees, and make this a place that they WANT to come back to. Eventually, the other things will take care of themselves. You think the flag pole is too short? .. keep it to yourself. Your pizza a little cold? .. great, you LIKE it that way. Line to get through the gate is slow? .. "isn't it great to have such a big crowd." Let's be positive, even if it's not in our nature .. positive for those around us on Saturday. The guy who asks you for directions or help will come back again because you helped make it a fun day. No one expects things to go perfectly .. but how the legions of die-hard fans react and represent will go a long way to a successful day.It starts now .. and continues through the weekends. There will be thousands of new people in our midst at a Zips event. Our actions by themselves might not convince fans to buy season tickets and donate millions. There are other factors (economy, the product on the field) .. I get that. But our actions CAN contribute to driving a casual fan away due to having a bad experience. Let's not be that fan that ruins it for others. As it pertains to growing the fanbase of Zips Athletics .. this weekend and next are probably as important as any time I can recall. It's not just an opportunity for JD & the team to impress .. it's a chance for Zips Fans to demonstrate that the Zips Nation is a great place to be, with teams more representative of the community, more accessible to fans .. and welcoming to families and small children.It's going to be great! GREAT! .. Let's all go have fun and enjoy the new reality that is Akron Zips Football .. Go Zips!! B) B) P.S. I know I'm speaking to the choir .. and it shouldn't need to be done .. but just in case ..

I think it's significantly overrated. This sounds like a bunch of whining to me.If a team / school wants to be treated & considered a big time team, they should act and perform like a big time team. Win big games .. build and maintain big time facilities .. treat the fans the way they are at big time programs. Act like you belong there .. learn how to belong there .. belong there. Ask for no breaks, and give no breaks. Earn it on the field.Are Boise and Gonzaga fans posting this on their forums today? I'd suspect not.Go Ziips

The image is graphic arts .. not a production blue print. Count the loges .. it's different. The goal of the item was to show how things are laid out .. not the specific details.It's a great piece .. but nothing to get concerned about if you don't see a trash can or something.Go Zips!!!

We're done here folks. It's over.Jupitertoo will be taking a brief break from the nation as he / she is trolling and flame baiting around these parts repeatedly. This doesn't add to the discussion here. As best I can tell, jupitertoo's motivation is to stir the pot and get under the skin of zips fans.This time, jupitertoo alone will be taking a hiatus from the Nation. Congratulations on earning what I think is only the third suspension / ban in the history of the Nation. You did earn it.Next time, those members of ZNO who are unable to avoid taking the bait and insist upon feeding the trolls will be joining him / her. Let this be a warning to all of you who just couldn't help yourselves.Don't feed the trolls.Go Zips!!

Walter Payton would have had negative yardage in the first half Saturday. DT wouldn't have made a difference.

Interesting thought. Can't imagine that the no-huddle is helping the D at this point.

Well capacity is 32,000, so that's about all you can squeeze into Bronco Stadium. The 34,127 was a record crowd there (Wiki Link). They have plans to expand to 50,000.Wiki LinkMy observation centers on the capacity of Bronco Stadium vs. the Info .. they're not sitting on a gold mine of 50K paid attendance to accelerate their rise to the top levels of the FBS. They've only been D1-A / FBS since 1996. It is the only game in town, I get that.But if it can happen there .. it can happen here. The Zips stadium is better .. for both the fans and players. B) Go Zips!!

Watched some of this game on TV last night .. missed the end, so I didn't see the punch live.What struck me about this game was the atmosphere .. the place was jammed. Fans into the game, a real home field advantage for the Broncos. I'm thinking this is a big home game for them, BCS team in town .. huge crowd, sellout .. BSU is on the fringes of being a BCS program while playing in a lower league. I also figure while I'm sitting there that in a state capital, biggest school in the state sports wise .. this must be a crowd of about 50k.Not so.Attendance: 34,127Very interesting to me.

Back & forth battle all day. Both teams score TD's on Offense, Defense & Special Teams.Zips get the ball at their 20 with 2:45 left in the 4th, trailing 28-27. Drive stalls at the PSU 34 with 5 seconds left.Rogovic from 51 yards for the win. Ends the day 3 for 3 on FG's. B) B) B) Go Zips!

Somewhere GoZips88 is either smiling or shaking his head.Go Zips!

You sir, have posted in that forum. Congratulations!

You mean this one?!

Zip Watcher's Lock of the Week: Igor won't shank any extra point kicks. Mark it down.

Just a quick note to add onto CK's excellent post:- Disappointed to report a 68. 5 under on the front, 1 over on the back. Greens were brutal for me. Brutal in that they were like putting on glass. Not used to that at all. I was pretty much an anchor on my team's hopes the entire afternoon.- Nice event .. nice course, good way to spend a day. Was nice to hear how things were going, and chat up the coaches for a little bit. Thanks go out to all of them for humoring this hoops addicted Zips fan and his endless questions.- Staff seems pretty upbeat on the team. Sounds like the summer conditioning and individual workouts went well, and everyone's starting the semester ready to go mentally. The recurrence of Humpty's injury is cause for concern, but it's September 1 and they sound hopeful it will be resolved in time. Back injuries suck and I feel for B McK .. we saw what that did to Andy .. let's hope this is something different.- Anyone who has ever sat at a Zips game, Toledo or otherwise, and questioned KD's passion, drive and motivation to have the Zips succeed needed to be at the discussion yesterday after the morning golfers had lunch. I was ready to go out and peddle GA seats on Public Square in CLE when I left. He believes that the Zips can accomplish a lot .. and I believe that too. They've got to be good, dedicated, committed .. and lucky .. but the opportunity is there. The fans have a role as well.- I'm extremely confident in our staff going forward. Great to have the stability that KD has enjoyed. I didn't meet Peters, but spoke with the others .. and they're hoops knowledge and willingness to discuss is pretty cool. Great guys all.- Nothing is ever all roses and brandy .. but I'm hearing that things went well this summer and the guys are ready to go, building on what was accomplished last year. Staff seems to have big expectations for Nikola and the other young guys, now that they have a full year in the system, and an off-season conditioning run. Pure speculation on my part here: what if Nikola had the type of conditioning season this summer that Brett McKnight had last summer? Could be scary.Golden Era Zips Fans!! B) B) Go Zips!

Here's a link to the new GoZips.Com Gameday Central. Everything you need to know and more!!!Game Day Central @ GoZips.ComGo Zips!!! B)

As a public service, I'm posting a recent message sent to many fans from the new Athletic Director, Tom Wistrcill. This was sent on Wednesday the 26th of August. The link in the email pointed to the YouTube message, which I've embedded below the text of his email.Go Zips!!!

Nice to have him reach out ... here's the text of the email: