Spin

For those of you who question my fan-hood, my first date with my high school sweetheart was a Zips football game. Everyone laughed then, we've been married almost 25 years. Since then she's graduated from Akron and I will next year. Non-traditional students. Anyway yeah I've seen a few alone. None of my friends are fans. Infatuated with "the vest". I just run around with the wrong crowd I guess.

Skip, I have to feel motivated in order to go into research mode. I just don't feel motivated to go off in search of data related to being an ACC member in only the sport of soccer. I don't think this data would be easy to find, and I'm just not motivated to spend the hours required in search of numbers that may well not be available anywhere. It might be possible to find numbers related to belonging to the MAC and ACC in all sports. But everyone knows that UA is never going to become a full member of the ACC. Not only that, but what kind of revenue are you looking for in college soccer? Even if we got a stipend from Wake and NC, would that offset the difference in travel to the other schools?

I'm all for getting into a better conference (I prefer the Big Ten because of travel and fan familiarity with the other schools). It improves our overall competition. What do the MAC schools offer us as far as competition to prepare us for the post season? The Big Ten has four teams in the top 25 right now. Think about the rivalry with a regular season and most likely a B10 final against tOSU. I just don't see how weighing down our schedule slaughtering MAC fodder does anything to prepare the team, or improve their ranking. Independent wouldn't be bad. But you sit and wait while everyone else goes through their conference tourney. And you miss out on that revenue. And we get to see less games (even if they are MAC fodder).

Thank you. Thank you very much. I appreciate you realizing I am the only poster who thought the team was unprepared. I am the only poster who thought the customer service was a "little" lacking I am the only poster who thought the price jack was a little ridiculous. Your man crush thing is a little unsettling, but I decided you get the "Flying Bird Award" because only YOUR opinion matters!!! Now let's all get together and sing the Barney song, and then talk about all the positive things going on in Zip Football... {crickets chirping}

Well you're in a different situation. You don't look at things the same way a lot of other people do.

You got that right. I didn't want to go. Because I knew full well I would just sit there and get ticked off all night, we would get embarassed, and IT WASN'T WORTH IT. Get a freakin clue. I would pay that to see the soccer team play. I don't care who they are playing. THEY'RE WORTH IT. They're entertaining. It's the fans who would pay anything to see anything as long as it's Zips Football, is the reason they don't care if they build a winner or not. They went to the Larry Dolan school of "Getting Rich off of Ignorant Fans".

Shutting out #3 and #4 in the same weekend. I wonder if that's a record? Just 11 more days!!!

You build a fan base. Through winning. And the slightest customer service wouldn't hurt. Would it? How many people would travel to a school (they never attended) 150 miles away to watch a 3-9 Buckeyes team? That hadn't had a winning record in years? This is football heaven. Bernie Kosar built a winning Arena team and NEOhio broke all the attendance records. There are more people at some NEOhio high school games than many colleges can draw. There's a D3 school in freakin Alliance that's on TV about every week. The Akron Aeros broke attendance records, drew better than all but 5 AAA teams. The Cleveland Force drew SRO crowds 20,000+ to see indoor soccer. This market is starving for a winner. Sold out entire seasons at the Jake. Imagine what a college football program could do. Nobody wants to see this program become respectable and win conference titles and bowl games and make Boise State look like a failure more than I do. To walk through campus and see more Zips garb than tOSU. I know personally what potential this area has... If you build it, they will come...

I have. Just because they play football and I was born and raised football and nothing else, I'd still rather see a top ranked team. A first class program.

Some people think they made this "huge investment" in the Info because they want to build a Div I-A level football program. No, they looked at how much it would cost to patch up the RB, and used it (and sponsor money they attracted by building it) to build the Info. It was virtually paid for the day it opened. It was cheaper to build the Info than to patch up the RB. That's why it's here. And for those who don't think we should play I-AA football in such a nice place, have you been to Canal Park? Pro Freight Stadium? Classic Park? There's nothing wrong with having a really nice venue to watch a team play. Even if they aren't considered top level.

Well, considering we haven't had an NFL team since 1994, I would say '94 or '95... If it were the Colts and Patriots, I would agree. They're a I-AA school (your quote) playing the 91st ranked team in the country. BCS my arse. They'd be third best in the MAC. They were 1-6 against the Big Easy last year. Still a lot better than us, but not quite a game big time college football fans schedule on their calendar as a must see. You guys act like they brought in the Crimson fricken Tide. That's right, it's all my fault. I'm the one recruiting, I'm the one teaching these guys the most basic fundamentals, I'm the one who can't figure out how to sell ice water in the desert. WE'RE the reason we're a I-AA school. Funny, the soccer program built itself into a powerhouse, without gouging the fans for years beforehand. No excuse. Maybe it's the people willing to pay Big Time College prices for a 124th ranked team, and get gouged to see them play a top 100 team (barely) is the reason they don't build this program. Just like the Browns and the Indians. What is Larry Dolan's incentive to put even a handful of major league players out there? Those idiots will pay for anything, because it's "Major League Baseball". And they'll pay $50 more per ticket to watch the team get slaughtered by a top team than play a team almost as bad as they are. He's sitting on one of the most profitable franchises in baseball. Why try? I see no reason to pay filet mignon prices for a McNugget Value Meal.

This early? This is the same product we have had the past several years. Only with a higher price tag. I'm a life long Indians fan too, but I'm not about to throw down over $100 to take the family to see that mess. They don't want to see that anyhow. Call me whatever you want. I don't think it's worth it.

I think they took the money it would take to patch up the RB for a few more years, got some sponsorship funds and other monies (one of Proenza's strong suits), and built a nice facility. I don't know if they ever intended to make the program more than it is. Other than replacing the RB, I haven't seen much from UA... There are schools that have played their cards right and have built competitive programs. Despite not being a BCS school. It's possible. But they have to decide whether they really want to build, or quit embarassing themselves against the Syracuses and Indianas. I'd rather watch them play YSU and Dayton and pay $10 or $15 per than what they're monkeying with right now.

Agreed. I had my three teenage boys waiting for me in the car, when I found out not only were tickets going to be $20 a piece, but I was also going to be charged for parking. That's $70 before we got in the door (I'm a student). Who do they think they are, the New England Patriots? For what? A team that imploded last September, has a new coach who hasn't had a chance to recruit, and an offense that looked like crap against it's own "finding it's way with a new system" defense. We went somewhere else. We're not going back. At least until they put an entertaining product on the field.

Anthony Schrock was dressed for the scrimmage, wearing #16, and got in on special teams.

I can't be a LeBron fan anymore. I was going to, no matter where he went. But he took a huge dump on Cavs fans, and I was a Cavs fan before LePrincess was born. The bridges are still burning. I don't think he hurt his legacy by going to another star's team. Any more than Moses Malone hurt his legacy when he went to Dr. J's and Andrew Toney's team. Or A Rod hurt his by joining Jeter's team.

They didn't have rosters available at the scrimmage either. My sons wanted to watch their former teammate. The coach is doing his part, with having these things for us. It's the Mickey Mouse athletic department that can't figure out how to tie their own shoes.

Good point...

So we hurt attendance at home games, take away a neat chance for those who attend games to see more, and still only get about half the exposure a Baldwin Wallace or Mount U gets.

Just a hall of fame rocker... "The Pride of Firestone High". Although to listen to the local "classic" rock stations, you'd never know she existed. That's pretty sad when they play her almost daily on the classic rock station in TOLEDO. If you like Benatar or Jett, she's the one who blazed that trail.

It'll make the decision of whether to go or not a lot easier to make. I'll be at more games!!! This will work a lot better than Can't's billboard champaign. Baseball games are worth 10? I would have had a nice bunch of points last year. They're just more convenient for the commuter student to catch a ballgame between or after classes.

Sounds like Can't's marketing program is going well... http://www.ohioverticals.com/blogs/kent_state/

+1+1 they haven't even begun to touch the possibilities with MCUC. And Wayne's getting bigger and busier. Why waste time and money on one of the most depressed parts of the rust belt? When Kant, Stark, Mount U, Malone, and Walsh are already there? Expand west and southwest, where the money is...

Just now, on ESPN during the NASCAR race.