Aaron

On your top toolbar, click on 'My Controls' then on the left, under options, select 'Board Settings'. You can fix the time from there, probably GMT-5:00, DST in effect (for now).

Where's the 'dead horse' picture? Anyway, the big money game for most leagues is their league championship game - you need at least 12 teams in a league for that.

Marching Band,It was a night and day difference this week at your performance. Congratulations! You put a lot of work this week into pregame and it showed. You definitely showed the energy expected from the band, and showed it well. You were easily 2-3x louder this week than the week before, and the marching looked great. I liked the subtle changes in run-on, as well as Phil's (the announcer) higher energy calls, and fewer announcements during the show.Halftime is what it is, great sound playing the music. Song selection wasn't my style, but I can appreciate a song played well. Didn't expect much marching since you only had one week to get it ready. Can't wait to see what the next show is, I'm looking forward to being on the field with you guys in the alumni band.Keep up the good work!

I can attest that ticketing was completely targeted at minors - those 'ladies in their mid 20s' you saw drinking probably either couldn't or didn't show the proper ID. I heard cops carding people, but not ticketing just for drinking out of red cups.

Can't get much more contradictory than that...Not quite contradictory - Akron beat Ohio State before OSU joined the Big 10, so we've never beaten a Big Ten team, but we did defeat a school who later joined the Big Ten.

Looks like the 'best of times' to me

we do indeed have imperial march. we even played it a time or two :)also, the venga boys' "we like to party" is an interesting suggestion. i say this only because it can be hard to translate techno into band music. i didn't say impossible, mind you. its just that if its written poorly it can not sound good AT ALL.I agree about the techno - I don't think you could get a good arrangement of the entire song, but the 'hook' is good enough (and musical enough) to be a classic stand tune.

How about the Darth Vader theme from Star Wars (to play from the stands) now that we might have a defense that warrants such an ominous tone.I'm fairly certain they have the Imperial March, only reason I didn't mention it. Definitely one of the better ones though!

I can add a piccolo or a set of marching bells (since nobody would be able to hear the picc anyways). I'm in lot 9 anyways, so its especially convenient.

Desired stand/marching tunes:Iron Man (make an Ozzy show sometime too, with War Pigs and Paranoid)Land of a 1000 DancesFinal CountdownCome Out and PlayDuel of the FatesWilliam Tell (aka Lone Ranger theme)We're Not Gonna Take ItBlitzkrieg BopWe Like to Party - Venga BoysJungle BoogieI'm sure I'll come up with more when I think about it, but these are what I could think of off the top of my head. Not sure if you have these in your repertoire or not, but I don't remember hearing any of them at the game.

I'm not sure what section you were sitting in, but in 202/204 there were vendors up and down the aisles all game long

So the only solution is to have TWO marching bands, one to play to each side of the stands I'm certain that a combination of having Karriker back, recruiting, and the stadium and student excitement will bring many good things to the band soon, as well as a ton more people.All in all, these are good problems to have. At the rubber bowl, the echo from the empty seats allowed everyone to hear the band very clearly. Now, we have a 'middle' season where we no longer have an echo (hooray) but also don't have the extra band members that bigger crowds and more student involvement inevitably bring.

I WAS sitting on the pressbox side of the field, on the north side near the bottom of the second deck (the family section), and it was difficult to hear the band there as well. It seems the acoustics of the stadium are not favorable to marching band performances - the sound funnels down, not up.

Finally, a good explanation for the kind of energy you guys are speaking of (at least, to me)! I'm serious, too. Thank you!Happy to help Listen to what Dr. Karriker is saying to you guys, and you'll be fine. He knows what he's doing

You missed one important quick and easy suggestion for improvement - keep your horn angles up. The reason you couldn't be heard well in the upper deck is partially acoustics, but also that quite a few of you were looking either down at the field or horizontally right at the director. In a large stadium, you should be watching the director/drum major with your lower peripheral vision, and looking at the field should be kept to a minimum. Obviously this won't fix everything, but I can guarantee it makes a big difference as to how well your sound will carry. You guys have done a great job learning some difficult precise drills during pregame and halftime, and memorizing your music. Now add the last part of it, marching with confidence and with your heads held high, and you have a complete and exciting band.The energy spoken of by myself and others has more to do with body language then by how hard or how well you're playing. In musical terms, a virtuoso playing into their stand isn't going to be heard across the concert hall. The mediocre player who sits up and projects will be. Keep the band feeling good about itself, instill confidence and excitement into your new players and your veterans, and it will show on the field. I don't think the band members realize how the monotonous announcements take away from the exciting music you are playing. The announcements need more feeling behind them - an announcer who is as excited about the band as each band member is. I love you guys, you're great - believe in yourself!

I brought GCI bleacherback chairs - they fit all of the university's requirements. They don't have metal rails on the bottom, they are only 16" wide, and best of all, they come in navy blue with yellow buckles

RootforRoo, something tells me you and the Akron band staff / director are on totally separate pages. Many people, myself included, think that wearing capes, dancing on the field, and playing songs with three chords are just ridiculous for a college marching band. I've just never been impressed by OU, and I think there's a reason there aren't that many 'show bands' in the collegiate atmosphere. As far as some of the other bands on your list, I would agree. Stanford is known for having some of the most amazing drills anywhere.

Hoban's kicker is the real deal, he could probably start for us tomorrow.

I was in the band '97-'03 here, I do have some thoughts on this topic (with concrete suggestions for improvements!) . I was sitting in section 202 - not quite as far away from the band as is possible, but still quite a distance. I was not impressed at all with the acoustics from the field to the stadium seats - I could barely hear the band most of the time. Looks like this stadium was built to funnel noise down the field, not for noise on the field to make it up to the stands. I can only imagine how much worse it was for GA. Not much can be done about that, except to work on horn angle. There was a lot of horizontal or lower facing horns, these absolutely need to be angled up - more in this stadium then you ever had to do in the Rubber Bowl.Phil has been a fantastic announcer for over 20 years for our marching band, but it appears that his time has passed. His voice can certainly carry, but he sounds bored and blase when announcing the cheers. Get the guy they had announcing in the rubber bowl at the end of last season if the band feels they need announcers - somebody young with incredibly high energy. An individual like that can really get the crowd fired up. Phil is classy, but we don't need classy - we need 'in your face exciting'.I think the assertion that the crowd needs to see the whole band coming out of the tunnel with energy to be a fallacy. I would get more pumped up by an extended drum intro, building to a crescendo as the band runs from the sidelines onto the field. Picture this: The entire band is lined up around the sidelines, single file so we cover most of the field. Drums (and possibly tubas) set up on the field, marching on from the end zone to a slow beat. A very excited announcer builds up the introduction as the drums increase the tempo (with the band possibly doing cheers from the sideline) leading up the moment where all the band members rush the field from the sideline at once, run-on step into squads, then into their formation. As SOON as everyone is in place, you snap around and play the fanfare. The announcer has already made the introductions, so this should be possible (although wind sprints may be necessary to guarantee you have the breath support). The crowd goes wild!I rarely heard a stand cheer during the football game, I chalk it up to how far away from the band I was sitting, and one of the casualties of finally having a full stadium! If horn angle or positioning can fix that, great. Otherwise, I'll have to make sure to get tickets in a different section next year. Keep up the hard work and the recruiting - on alumni band Oct 10th, we should come up with ZNO badges to finally meet in person all the folks who post on the boards here!

During one of the timeouts, I recall a commercial of sorts on the screen about a local artist (Don Drumm maybe?) who was painting the stadium during the game today. Did anybody else there catch that, or knows more information about it? I'd love to buy a print and hang it in a place of honor in the house. Great game, fantastic atmosphere today. Go zips!

It's been changed yet again today - now we have a high of 69, partly cloudy. FANTASTIC football weather. See you from sec. 204 tomorrow.

So we have BGSU coming from 14 down and dominating the 4th quarter to win, Temple crumbling badly, Ball State continuing their losing streak against North Texas, and Can't State beating up on defenseless animals (and feeling proud of themselves for it). I'd say our chances of going undefeated at home are VERY realistic this year. Indiana could barely hold on against FCS Eastern Kentucky, needing a couple last minute pass breakups to stop the upset. Unless we're actually much worse than I think we are this year, I see no reason JD shouldn't be expected to defend home field with a passion. Winning traditions start now!

1) 3 Wide Draw, gain of 4 weak side2) Deep slant to Bowser, inc

Here's the official info from the UA Alumni Association, guess that answer my initial question.Is the University (and their money) converting Barley house from there Cowlumbus loving ways?http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=136145974784Come watch your Akron Zips as they take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in the first game of the season this Saturday September 5, 2009 with a noon kick-off at The Barley House in downtown Akron. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.A DJ, giveaways and halftime contest are planned. Don’t forget to wear your Zips gear.The Barley House is the Official Watch Party location and Post Game Party Headquarters for Akron Zips Football.And always remember Go Zips!

I was wondering if there was a specific reason for the watch party not being there.I am not sure if I'll make it to OBC. If I do end up going to any watch parties, it will be there though.When I was hearing Barley house earlier, I'm fairly certain it was because of an expectation that OBC would not be open. Since it is now obvious that OBC will be open (and staying open throughout the season, minus one week possibly), will things be there similar to last year? I loved bringing out the family, getting stuffed on 1/2 price appetizers and beer/sodas and watching the game with other loyal supporters. The games, giveaways, and commentary during the commercials was nice as well.