UAZipster0305

"Leaders" and "Legends" LOL. What a joke. 0-5.

BUT when it hits $5.00 and $6.00, that HSR that the other states have will look awful good... Could you show me some source for your prediction that gas prices will go up that high and that it would have any relation to high speed rail? Honestly, if you have it, I truly would like to see it. When is that predicted to happen? Show me where the world is NEVER going to start running out of petroleum. And I never said the price of gas has anything to do with HSR. But WHEN petrol goes up, for any of a bunch of reasons, it sure would be nice to have an alternative mode of transportation. Ohio is so stuck in the past I can't stand it. There are still people all over Ohio waiting around for the steel mills to open back up. WAKE UP. It's not the 50's anymore. There's a reason most of the worst rust belt wastelands are in Ohio and people are leaving everyday... +1. HSR isn't a matter of if, it is a matter of when. Because of the current backwards, conservative thinking, Ohio will once again lag behind most other states in this development. I would rather take the train than drive or fly any day.

Haywood is done. Hope Pitt saved the applications...time to reach out to the #2 candidate. Ditka is a Pitt alum.

Track is also a really strong program.

Can we keep the negativity to PMs please? We just won a National Championship and have solid basketball and rifle programs, yet the focus of a handful of the most recent and active posts are exclusively anti-OSWho. I am not at all an OSWho fan, but I would much rather discuss our successes than their failures. We look like big losers obsessing over anti-OSWho posts all the time. Some points are valid, but most are overdone and petty.

Up until ten years ago or so, OSU didn't have very competitive admissions at all. Around that time, it was common knowledge that anyone who went to my old high school with a sub par GPA or better was a shoe-in at OSU. Of course, things have changed, but just about every school in Ohio has it's strong points. I agree that every universtiy has its strong points..im not trying to put anyone down. I just think OSU has probably the best overall university akzipper- I dont know..I could be wrong but I've never seen people around campus saying Akron sucks or anything like that. I think a lot of people root for them because they are an in-state team. Just like I root for the Bengals, Reds, and Cavs professionally. I do have a cousin who played for OSU who is currently in the pros (hartline). So I guess I do have a connection. But I dont think because you dont have a connection to a team, you cant root for them. Does that mean if you are from NE Ohio, you cant root for any professional team not from cleveland? Im curious to know who a lot of you rooted for while you were growing up. I honestly dont think it would be akron unless you had some sort of strong family connection to the university. Im from the ohio valley where the closest big city is pittsburgh(who i hate in all sports), so i dont really understand. OSU is not a pro team. It is a school, I don't go around calling myself a St. V's or Hoban fan just because they are good or because I live in Akron. I'm a fan of my High School. Growing up I would root for several colleges, never OSU. But I based it on which schools I wanted to attend when I got older. Now being a part of UA, I am a Zips fan. That's where I got my education and the place I can call "my school." OSU fans like to claim it as their school even if they didn't go there, which is annoying. Their excuse is "I've been a fan since I was a kid", well okay but once you attend a college such as Akron, OU, BG, Toledo, or even Can't, you should stand behind your school. I get sick and tired of hearing all this "Akron's not real college sports" crap from people in Ohio, even UA students. I don't need to be sitting in my dorm listening to idiots screaming after OSU beat the Zips a few years back. Thankfully we brought home a National Championship this year, which hopefully won't happen in Columbus any time soon. So we have bragging rights even if it is "just soccer." My problem with OSU is not their students or alums....but bandwagon fans and UA students rooting for OSU. +1 to EVERYTHING you said. You nailed it! And all of this undermines UA's stature and potential. How do we expect to be nationally and internationally recognized and branded if we can't even distinguish ourselves in our own back yard with our own alumni? The only alumni who are excused are buckzip and the like who have multiple allegiances to honor (provide they honor UA).

http://www.collegesoccernews.com/index_files/Page643.htm Mattocks and Kitchen on the first team.

Isn't the reason why players can't sell their own personal items is because if it were allowed, it would soon escalate into boosters paying players exorbitant sums for worthless items? Hadn't really thought about that, but there certainly could at least be some sort of rule about market value for items or something. Market value is simply what someone else is willing to pay. So, if a booster is willing to pay 500x what another person is for an item, then the market value of that item is 500x. I don't think there can be language that avoids a situation like this. Hence, the NCAA doesn't let student-athletes sell things, which I think is ludicrous. The trick is to get rid of the boosters, and allow student-athletes to sell personal belongings. Too much money involved though...won't happen.

There are two great players from Medina going to Florida as well.

How is a rail system like this an investment in the state? How does it make Ohio more competitive in the global market? It all sounds good when you say it and type it, but does it really do these things. Only one public transportation system in the United States turns a profit, New York City. Every other transit system loses money and is basically a welfare program. Roads don't "make" money either. They are exclusively paid for with taxes. By your logic, all forms of transportation are welfare programs. They are all in some way subsidized with public money. Even private jets usually (although not always) utilize public airports. Except everyone uses roads daily. About 2% of the population would use trains. And many of those would be once in a lifetime. With current American culture, yes, you are correct. The use of railroads would take some getting used to, but you need look no further than Amtrak's northeast corridor to see the potential. Europeans also make regular and widespread use of high-speed railroad.

How is a rail system like this an investment in the state? How does it make Ohio more competitive in the global market? It all sounds good when you say it and type it, but does it really do these things. Only one public transportation system in the United States turns a profit, New York City. Every other transit system loses money and is basically a welfare program. Roads don't "make" money either. They are exclusively paid for with taxes. By your logic, all forms of transportation are welfare programs. They are all in some way subsidized with public money. Even private jets usually (although not always) utilize public airports.

+1 to everything you said. Summed up my thoughts exactly. Kitchen is waaaay more ready than Mattocks. If Mattocks leaves I would be shocked. You are absolutely right. The MLS is not the NBA, MLB, NFL, or even NHL in terms of salaries. Nonetheless, if MLS salary income is responsibly managed, it provides enough to live off of while finishing the remainder of a degree. Even if this isn't the case, what's the harm in returning on loans? That's what most students do anyhow.

Don't under-estimate. After the 2009 season and losing Bunbury, most would have never guessed we'd even compete the for National Championship in 2010. Yet, we won! The standards and expectations now couldn't be higher, and I think that's how Coach Porter likes it.

This isn't a bad thing, it's a dream come true! All the players that are leaving are going to go on to be some of the best professional players the United States has ever produced after winning a National Championship for the Zips. All-Americans, Academic All-Americans, National Champions, and gentleman off the field who are proud to be from Akron! Other than earning their degrees (which some or many may still do), what else can you ask for? Ideally, I'd like to see all student-athletes graduate, but how can you ask someone to delay their dream with the risk of future injury? 50 years ago and maybe even 20 years ago, this was a legitimate argument, but these players can always go back to school or into coaching. We were worried when Zakuani left, then when Bunbury bounced, and this season and the following will be no different. Coach Porter has made UA THE program for blue chip recruits, and this will continue in the future.

Great responses, Z.I.P. and sportsfan. I wasn't intending to suggest that we oust Coach Pfau at all. No doubt the woman's program is greatly improved. I was merely wondering how much success on the men's side could benefit the woman, and if Coach Pfau were to leave or no longer make progress, could/would Coach Porter translate everything he has done on the men's side to the women's? I was previously unaware of the coach at Portland doing the same thing, but it does provide an excellent precedent for what I was suggesting. I don't buy the argument that X BCS school has these grand facilities, and we can't compete. I have been to both UNC and Lee Jackson Field and ours is a much nicer stadium. Say what you will about the lockerroom facilities (http://tarheelblue.cstv.com/facilities/unc-mccaskill-soccercenter.html), but UNC is the quintessential woman's soccer program (with 20 of 28 National Championships) and their men have the same advantage yet our current program is superior. We can compete at the highest level of woman's soccer if the administration recognizes these things and makes them a priority. Of all the BCS programs with beautiful facilities, only UNC (20), George Mason (1), Notre Dame (3), Florida, Santa Clara, Portland (2), and USC have ever even won the National Championship. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NCAA_Women%27s_Soccer_Championship). To me, this lack of parity means that regularly making the NCAA Tournament and cracking the Top 25 is possible within 5 years; however, becoming one of the truly elite top 5 to 10 programs on an annual basis will be much more difficult for the woman than it was for the men. Go Zips! P.S. I love how the moderators have renamed the soccer forum, "Akron Zips NCAA Championship Soccer."

The band is definitely what separates its atmosphere from that of a professional game. I like when the band played at soccer games a few years back too.

I am all for Frenchy!

Still waiting for GP1 or Z.I.P. to drop in on this one.

I am all for the rail. I have used it in the northeast and it is a wonderfully relaxing alternative to flying or driving. If I could take the train from Pittsburgh to Akron and vice versa, I would. Doing away with 3C rail service is yet another example of Ohio holding itself back and proving it is behind the times. The fact that Akron was not included on the 3C route was sick. Especially considering Dayton and Medina were.

It sounds like another installment of dominant (possession) soccer is long over due.

+1! This was precisely my point in starting this thread. Other than tradition, there is nothing preventing UA from catching up to UNC and ND in women's soccer. And no, this does not require a diminished investing in football or basketball. I would guess that the extra ca$h to put the women's program over the top is relatively small.

That wasn't at all what I meant. I think this is a new ZNO record...hijacked in the very first response. Anyone care to hate on OSU here and at least take this off on a familiar tangent?

Given the success of the men's program and the world-class facilities, how long will it be before the women's side is regularly seen in the top 25 and NCAA Tournament? As a new program, tradition is not in their favor. Could Coach Porter run both through a puppet coach on the women's side that employs his coaching philosophies? It would be an epic accomplishment unparalleled in other programs and sports if he could. I would love to see us as Soccer U with Akron Soccer being branded as opposed to just Akron Men's Soccer. Hey, I'm not complaining. We're still

We will likely never be competitive for National Championships in the other three big notoriety sports (Football and Men's and Woman's BB) because of the BCS establishment. However, the growing popularity of soccer and our players playing on the USMNT and throughout the world will make the respect and dignity achieved through Coach Porter's success worth every penny. We are the new soccer establishment. Here's to dominant soccer, National Championships, All-Americans, Academic All-Americans, and one of the best coaches in the country in any sport!

You can't win the lottery if you don't play. I have been plenty critical of iCoach thus far. However, recruiting is supposedly his bread and butter. Show us what you can do. Let's get competitive and successful in a hurry! Go Zips!