zen

(actually, it was tough to find any dirt)http://nevada.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=1...8977119&style=1 http://www.ncaabbs.com/forums/wac/phpbb/vi...highlight=akron

whaaaa??? I must be killin too many brain cells.:CK_brew:This is how I remember it.The week after the Miami and BG wins, AP gave us 3 points. Can't had 2.At the time, in the MAC we were tied with Can't, but we had a better overall record.The week after we split (loss to Can't), we had no AP points and Can't got 3.Then we went 2-0 the next week, and Can't lost one. That's where we stand now. AP voting after last week, we got 8 AP points.Even though we have one more victory since then, and hopefully one more against Nevada on Friday, AP points wont change until this weekend.

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Even undefeated, would they really break the top25?If Nevada were ranked, that might be different.

What it comes down to is, there is a serious lack of mystique surrounding our athletics.I am willing to bet if you went out on campus and stopped 100 students and asked them in a casual manner about if they like to attend basketball or football events, a very good portion of them will scoff at it cynically. If you ask them why they don't attend or support their teams, they will hand you a bunch of excuses (like the ones in the ABJ article). The excuses are the outward symptoms and signs.But the causative disease is the cynicism and perception (lack of mystique).We need to treat the disease and we need to do it bigtime.That's why I love the "fear the roo" campaign and the new images and icons that don't seem as cheesey as the old stuff. It is a very good step in the right direction.It's unfortunate, but packaging really does make a difference. Winning is essential, but sometimes, it's not enough.

That JAR isn't exactly ancient. I don't see why it couldn't be renovated so that it function much better as a true arena. The problem that poses for the University then, is what to do with the other functions it serves which would undoubtedly be downgraded or removed in the renovation.What other sports does it serve, and could it still serve them?Would it still be usable for most of the intermural sports and activity courses? and if not, where would those go?These are the things that need to be convered before you just go an Renovate the JAR into a true arena.But even so, a renovation would be much more cost effective then new construction.A caviat would be, if you have truely sold the power-structure at Akron on the future of the Zips basketball program, then get them to budget an Arena into the new On-campus Stadium. That would allow for the Arena to be used for athletics, and the JAR to be converted to sole use for student recreation & curriculum requirements.

My post was in jest, although you do seem to be unnecessarily negative in this thread, in my opinion. And I know that you know the misspelling was intentional.

Don't be a haitor.

Ahh the new rankings are out. I suspect that the coaches/media that vote in those only look at the conference standings.AP two weeks ago, Akron: 3 votes | Can't: 2 votesAP last week, Akron: 0 | Can't 3 (that was after akron lost to Can't)Now this week Akron has 8?That's a hell of a jump for only having gone 1-1 in the week since the last poll.But since Can't lost, they see Akron on top and vote for us.Not saying I don't like the 8 votes. I just question if most of those guys have any idea about the team.

I am somewhat proficient in PHP and MySQL, but I don't have much experience with IPB (a little with vB and more with XMB). I have also remotely administered linux/apache dedicated servers.However, I don't know if I can offer myself for major projects, as I am currently brushing up on PHP5 and working on writing my own content management system.I don't know how far the administrator of this site's expertise goes, but if they need advice or assistence with problems or development, feel free to PM me.

I wouldn't call that a rip. I would call it a sports writer who doesn't really know much of what's going on... he's not a beat writer, so he just makes note of Kents relative successes in the past, and glosses over Akron.If you want attention, you got it (atleast a little bit) and begars can't be choosers. You can't write the article for him. The only thing to do is make him look bad by proving him wrong.

It's definately nothing to be ashamed of either.I say, kudos. Keep up the good work, and I'm happy to see improvement.

No they wont. Not even if it is sooo convenient that they magically find themselves having appeared there out of nowhere.Seriously though, think of it as a forumula where lack of convenience is the deterant (divisor) and Xfactor is the desire to go (dividend). It's not calculus, but the difficulty is that Xfactor is too abstract to quantify. X----- CConvenience helps A LOT, but it's not the only thng you need to consider. This region has a much greater football psyche than basketball. For that reason, a lot more people will travel to the ruberbowl (not very convenient) than to the JAR. If the ruberbowl was more convenient (on campus), forget about it. Sold out.The example above, football has some of the Xfactor that can be explained. People 'round here grew up with football in their blood. That is not to say that you need to try to conceive ways to force a basketball psyche on NEOhio (lebron can do that 100000x better then any masterplan you can hatch anyway). But it does mean that if you want to draw a crowd to the JAR, you need to remember the top half of your equation. The JAR is convenient enough. So, why isn't winning doing as much as you would expect for the Xfactor? It's the most predicatable aspect to calculating the top half of the equation. Winning is usually the biggest part of Xfactor. That is why I said in the beginning that Xfactor can seem so abstract, almost mythical.Remember how Jacobs field sold out sooooo consistently over a long period of time? Winning was the greatest factor by far. But there was more to it then that. Timing. The timing of a new stadium created a phenomenon similar to magic wad of mystique, fad, and momentum, all rolled up into a gargantuan snowball on a steep slope.Winning is a part. But sometimes wins only get the ball rolling. Somehow, you need to make the ball larger, with more momentum, and then you need to find a way to defy the logic of physics and make that slope steeper. That is the abstract and unquantifiable aspect to all this. That is why this forumula can't be wrought out on a blackboard or brutforce computed by IBM.AKrowdies. That is your best angle by far (aside form the winning team, of course). You need to make it vogue to support the team. You need to make it fun to be a part of it. You need to make an atmosphere such that people desire could overcome convenience no matter how great it was. Don't focus so much on the C (convenience). That's been taken care of. You energy should be focused on cultivating X.

A genuinely "zen" approach would ultimatley entail the harmonious perfection of teamwork and athletic performance regardless of the score.:lol:I think those hippies should stick to lenin, chavez & mao, and leave eastern philosophy out of it.

How big are the rowdies?

Wait, wasn't that zippy's cousin or something in the NFL apparel commercial stealing uniforms, when the eagle mascot catches him red handed?

The proponents of their plan would say that it is near the crossroads for Rt.8, I-271, and I-80 (turnpike), so they got yours matched, plus it's closer to Cleveland. Those developers are cleve-centric, and they would prolly snicker at your "we can draw from canton" comment.I'm not taking their side.... Just injected some cold reality.

Nobody else has one, so let's stay inside the box and be normal, boring, and off the radar.NICE! Exactly the thinking I would expect.Anyway, I didn't say to get rid of zippy. Roo would be a great dramatic suppliment.

That's waht I was going to say!Zippy = fuzzy lovable G rated mascotRoo = (cue the villain music) Imposing, looming, archtype from teh dark side.It would be tempting to have them get into antics with each other, but I say no. They are not truely seperate creatures. One represents our lighter side (Our hopes and dreams and passions of goodwill), and the other one represents our darker side (aggression, competativeness, and lust for victory). They can be at the same events, but should not be seen together.

David vs. Goliath?We'll see. Somehow, I suspect it's more like fly vs. windshield.

Someone has been busy.

I think I'll chose to ignor the predictable excuses he makes for the ABJ along with the hand wringing about all the other reaons why attendance isn't where it could be, and instead I will focus on the fact that this article, itself, in a way sheds light on the state of the team and the fact that there are plenty of seat for people to grab. :)Was this article online only, or in the ABJ paper as well?

East Coast Bias is not a conspiracy theory. It is a genuine sociological phenomenon, like ethnocentricism on a regional level. From Boston, through NY and philli, perhaps as as far as DC and Baltimore, people who live there are somewhat more isolated from outlying areas (the rest of the country) in their information sphere and common consciousness. What is the MAC?Where is Akron?It doesn't take a deliberate and premeditated conspiracy to screw you as bad as a conspiracy would.

Wow! I didn't see the game, but that final score makes it look pretty bad. Here, I was thinking that Akron might have to wait until the final game of the season to return to emminence.

Banner ads at the tops of articlesGoogle ads under articlesInteruption ads before you can get to articles (with a small link to the actual article)SPAM on other forums BEFORE the article even comes outThese are the sites that I don't visit. Sorry, no disrespect, but if this is your site, or if you have a vested interest in it's growth, you need to reconsider your philosophy.