Blue & Gold

That would be absolutely BRILLIANT!!! That idea is too good to pass up, you've got to pull that off!

We'll know the ABJ has arrived when they give us team coverage throughout the year; when they provide human interest stories about the players' lives; when they still cover the daylights out of the team even when we have a down year and go 2-10; when we have a few consecutive losing seasons and the ABJ's sportswriters are critical and call for a coaches firing!

Is there any way I could get a DVD copy of the game?! I was watching at Johnny Malloy's (a really nice place, btw) but I'd love to watch that game at least a few more times!!! Second biggest win in our programs history! Ten years from now, when we're a perennial Top 25 program, we're gonna look back on this BCS win as a milestone victory!

I know it may be tradition, but I absolutely despise the asinine pregame chant of "Eat 'em up, eat 'em up, go Zips, go." I could think of so many negative adjectives for that banal chant: hokey, corny, uninspired, worn-out. It is so stale and trite that I find it insulting. I'm a rather die hard Zips fan (anyone who's been a fan of the Zips for the last 25 years would HAVE to be a die hard), but I've never shouted that cheer and I don't think I ever will. Every game it just goes over like a lead balloon. It's honestly embarassing. We need a chant that people will want to join in on and that will get everyone in the stadium in a vocal spirit. Now that we're presently turning the corner as a football program (actually, as an athletic program as a whole!) don't you think it is high time for a new chant as well?Out with the old, in with the new.I like the idea of Z...I...P...S!Z.I.P.S!ZIPSZIPSI also love the AK-Rowdies and think that AK...ROWDY is awfully cool!

Thanks! I wasn't able to make it to the game but everyone on this board who went to the game have without exception commented on how classy you NC State fans are! Good luck the rest of the year!

Yeah, it explicitly states in the article that losing to Akron wouldn't merit being on this list. It was Amato's low blow swipe at Akron and the MAC for accepting non-qualifiers that qualified NC State for the #5 spot in The Bottom 10!

I didn't see it. What did JD say?

I just had to comment that the Beacon's Zips coverage was GREAT this morning! Terry Pluto's article was outstanding, and David Morgan's column provided good critical analysis of not only the Zips, but also of CMU - so that, for the first time I can ever remember, the Beacon educated us about the upcoming opponent. It was great reading and I pray this is the new philosophy of the Akron Beacon!!!

Okay. I was wondering about that because for all the hype about the new web site, once it was launched I could hardly tell much of a difference from the old. They really need to get the pictures of our players posted online.

Honestly, to beat CMU we've got to play a very, very good game. Our O-line HAS to give Luke better protection. And we've got to cut down on so many stupid penalties. The penalties cost us big-time in two separate drives against PSU.

Ouch! Having a Columbus State player win just adds insult to injury. Ignorant, biased reporters, the OSU/Texas game is probably the only game they had a clue about! Man, that would have been some fantastic pub in USA Today! But we did win the fan voting!!! The Nation rocks! Let's keep it up! Go Zips!!!

I believe that's the picture run on the front page of the Beacon sports section today. I must admit that when I saw that picture in the paper I was thinking, "Man, how on earth did Kennedy cross the line without his elbow touching?!"By the way, great article in the ABJ today! Also a nice editorial in the Local section! I truly hope the ABJ is truly focussing on Summit County now! It appears that they very well may be!!!

I'm actually more worried about the CMU game than I was for the NC State game. I was expecting a victory at NC State - the 1st time I've ever expected a victory against a BCS team (man, our program has come a long way, and the giant has just begun to awaken!) However, I'm afraid this may be a let down week for us for at least 4 reasons...1) It's the 3rd road game in a row! This is still a killer schedule and, if you agree with media experts, there is a very real home field advantage in college ball as opposed to the NFL game.2) After the thrilling NC State victory (I wouldn't even call it an upset except for the fact that they had the home field advantage - we clearly had better athletes on the field) it will be natural to let down emotionally this week.3) Did anyone see the CMU - Boston College game?! Man, CMU looked very good! They were knocking Boston College's heads! They probably should have won that game were it not for a few outrageous coaching calls.4) CMU's freshman QB is going to be even better than he was in game 1 against BC.Honestly, I'm worried about this game.But... if we win out a Top 25 ranking is in order! I've been waiting for YEARS to see our program crack the Top 25!!! The giant is waking up and I believe we should be a consistent Top 25 football school!And, yes,

I'm hoping they're planning on incorporating a top shelf Zips store into the new stadium plans, much like the souvenir shop at Canal Park - accesible both from inside the park and outside. Probably along Exchange street. Naturally, open year-around.

We've gotta find a place! In my never-ending Quixotic quest to build up the Zips fan base, I've already told 6 friends to come w/ me to Panini's to watch the game (it's not conflicting w/ the Buckeye's game this week!) But I was counting on Panini's carrying the game!!!

I like them. They're not as busy as the old ones. Classy.

Ha! Yeah, I suppose. I'm just saying that it can be extremely frustrating trying to get other people excited about Zips football. Almost every guy I know LOVES OSU football, all while virtually none of them have even set foot on campus in Columbus. You're raised to root for OSU around here and it gets to be a part of one's cultural DNA. To do otherwise almost requires an existential leap!!! And so I get frustrated when I make deliberate attempts to be verbal about my excitement for the Zips - when everyone else is talking about the OSU game - I'll often try to interject Zips football into our conversations and they just give me a few condescending nods and then immediately continue talking about OSU!!! It gets so old real quick, especially when I'm trying to get other people excited about the Zips but all they care about is OSU. I honestly sat at home by myself this past Saturday to watch the Zips game because all of my friends were going to watch the OSU game!!! Really, doesn't that just piss you off!

Also Zipdad (sorry if I'm nagging you but this is my favorite topic on the board) would you say that the project gave you the impression of, "Oh, that's really nice. We'll be on par with other 'mid-major' programs now." Or did the project strike you as, "Wow! They've gone out of their way to make this one of the best 'small' stadiums in the country! Just like the field house, D-1A programs from across the country are gonna be jealous of this!"So, would you say it is a a) "nice" stadium, or... "awesome" stadium?

That's actually why I root against the Buckeyes. If they would regress to the point of being an 8-3 team and go .500 in bowl games, maybe people around Akron would fall out of love with them and open their eyes to the other fish in the sea - US!!!But in sgm's defense, I believe I remember him posting that he got his bachelor's from OSU, but I may be mistaken. And in everyone's defense, being raised in Ohio, we are taught to root for OSU - it's part of our cultural DNA. It's considered odd if one doesn't root for OSU. To not root for OSU is clearly non-conformist. It truly takes an independently strong mind to do otherwise, and quite frankly, there aren't too many independent minds in the whole world, let alone Ohio. Human beings are sheep. Everyone knows that. It is frustrating none the less.

Thanks a lot Zipdad! It's fun to get the imagination going! Your description provides some nice daydream material! But what did you mean by "stand alone seating" in one end zone? Could you clarify that for me? Thanks alot!!!

How many years have we had a ladies soccer team? Seems like we're building a pretty tough program very quickly! The men's success may have a lot to do with that. Akron is becoming a prestigious destination for soccer talent!

Hey Zipdad,Could you tell us about the stadium plans you saw when they were recruiting your son?Thanks!

Getting momentum going has to be harder than maintaining momentum. JD's getting momentum built into this program which no one has been able to do before. Over the next few years, if we establish ourselves as a winning program, when JD leaves the next coach should have a much easier job of selling the U to recruits. A winning tradition plus the nicest fieldhouse in college sports plus a brand new stadium! JD's the man, but the next coach should be able to take the batton and run with it.Or at least I hope. Perhaps I'm overly opptimistic?

We need to pay JD as much as we can possibly afford and then some. JD can turn Akron into the best non-BCS program in the country! We'd go .500 in the Big 10 this year and we've only just begun turning this program around and rebuilding our football tradition!

I like the Panini's idea... we should support businesses that televise our team! We need to drop cash at Panini's and not just watch the game in someone's living room!