Spin

Nobody is saying anyone's opinions are wrong, I'm just saying if you don't like soccer, I really don't care. And the people I talk to feel the same way. It's not right or wrong, we just don't want to be told over and over again that so and so doesn't like soccer. BIG DEAL. We're trying to talk soccer here. Go away. If I went to a tennis or golf forum and argued over and over that those sports were boring and I couldn't watch them, I'd get pretty much the same reaction from them. Or much worse. If watching the game doesn't make them fans, then we're not going to talk them into it. I've never become a fan of golf or tennis from reading a forum or listening to a talk show about those sports. And changing the sport is not an option. The NASL tried that and it backfired. We had "Americanized soccer" for 20 years and it didn't catch on. It didn't bring in the soccer haters and it didn't become as big as the NFL like it promised. The reasons some people don't like soccer are still there. If you can figure out how to get more than 3.89 points per minute to convert NBA Fan, then it won't be soccer. Why does every soccer discussion have to turn into a love vs. hate debate? Why can't we just discuss the sport? And if you want to talk about hating soccer and changing soccer, why does it have to be in a thread about UA marketing? You know, the original topic?

You guys are missing the point. You don't like soccer. We get it. Newsflush: WE COULDN'T CARE LESS!!!! Really. We couldn't. You're wasting your time here. Do you think after 30 years of watching soccer, and hearing it all before, ad nauseum, that I'm going to read someone's post (or hear some stick-and-ball host in a radio show) and say "You know what, he's right. This is boring." Save your time. Now, the thread is about whether Akron U should capitalize on the World Cup. Absolutely. The World Cup has captured the attention of the soccer fan, and there are new fans. Not billions, not everyone here, but there are new fans. Converts, whatever you want to call them. And they don't know about Akron soccer. Northeast Ohio had the only profitable soccer franchises in their time. It could have the only self sustaining college program if they'd get off their butts and promoted it. With no NEOhio soccer franchise this season and the swell of interest from the World Cup, there may never be a better time...

If the final score equals excitement, why isn't arena football more popular than the NFL? How is a 200 point NBA game that takes a half hour to play the last two minutes more exciting? If all we need is rules changes to make you a fan, why aren't you and everybody else watching indoor soccer? The Force would still be here and the MLS would still be some purist's dream. I've sat in bars and watched hockey and soccer while others were watching NBA basketball. Our whole side of the bar erupted when someone scored, we lit the place up. The basketball fans thought we were nuts. They just sat there. When the game was over they picked up their tab and just walked out. Sorry, that's not why I watch sports. But to each his own. Back on topic. Yes I think the U should have an aggressive marketing program going right now. Capitalize on the World Cup, and on what the program accomplished last year. Raise awareness to the teams and the school. Buy air time on a local TV channel against a high profile opponent. Like I said last fall, this area is hungry for a good soccer team. The Force was the only profitable franchise in indoor soccer, maybe in the sport's history. The Cleveland Caps set attendance records then the City Stars set them higher. Too bad the USL put them both out of business with stupid decisions. Akron could fill that need. They just gotta "put it out there."

After sleeping on this whole thing for a night, what did we really accomplish? We lucked into a point against a beatable England on their own goal. We needed last second heroics to beat a team from a country of New Mexico's population. (Not counting illegals). And we needed an extra time goal to beat a third world country with the population of California. We make Stage 2, and don't show up against another third world country with the population of Texas. OK, I get our best athletes are drawn (pressured?) into football and basketball when they get too old for youth leagues. I get that we had a couple bad calls in the four games. What's new? It would be different if we were simply beat because we didn't have the skills they do. But that's bullcrap. We have much better training and nutrition technology and facilities than the last 3 teams we played. We have players who play in First Division leagues around the world. Aston Villa. AC Milan. Rangers. Borussia Mönchengladbach. West Ham United. They had no heart. Unless they were about to get throttled by "World Powers" like Slovenia. Many times they advanced deep and looked like they didn't even know each other. Bob Bradley has to go. And that's NOT the best we've ever done, we made the quarterfinals in 2002 with Bruce Arena coaching. We were ranked 4th in the world. But the US needed a "fresh approach". How did that work out for ya? I'm disappointed. Almost embarrassed.

I'll tell you guys what. I attended my first Lake Erie Crushers game the other night, and I changed my mind completely about minor league baseball and what UA should do with it's baseball facilities. The first half of the game was social hour for the women in attendance. Across rows, across sections. I don't think they knew what event they were at. Then they all left. We were then left with wild kids and drunk men, both falling all over us. What they need is drunk wild women, but I'll stay on topic here. I really missed sitting in the "stands" at UA with a few other people, you can talk baseball with someone else or just sit and watch. Pull up a folding chair on the bank. Very few kids, no drunks, no Pop Tart races or whatever those costumes were. No trying to leave and kids running you over trying to get to the "Run The Bases" gimmick (sadly that's the first time some of those kids have run in months). Just keep the ballpark the loveable dinky retaining basin for the soccer field it is. A place for BASEBALL FANS!!!

Dump Temple, and move Toledo to the East. Then Ohio schools face each other (almost) every year, and home-and-home in basketball.

CSU football is dead. The outgoing president wanted to start it as a legacy, nobody else thought it was a good idea, and it fell apart. Right now they're focused on losing the "community college" stigma they will probably always have.

No shootin', I promise. The NCAA is not behind this, it's the individual schools and conferences chasing the lucrative network TV dollars that are behind this whole thing. That's what it's all about. The schools want the network money from the conferences, the conferences involved want to spread their new networks into more markets, the schools want to be on those networks. Meanwhile Notre Dame is sitting pretty by itself, how that would change if their opponents were all restricted from playing them (as a power move by the Big Ten), nobody knows. And then there's Texas, wanting to start their own cable network, but the wouldn't be able to in the PAC-10, so they're not joining. And they have the Texas legislature behind them to "persuade" other the Texas schools to stay with UT. It's all big business, and the NCAA can't do anything about it. If they tried, the big conferences would pull out and start a new league. Anyone else remember the CFA? Anyway if this all takes shape, there's nothing Akron can do. They can build a college football power, against the odds, but it'll probably be too late as this is taking shape now. Maybe it doesn't come to that, hopefully not.

Sagarin had us at 137 at the end of last season...

Not really. Being in a top 20 market is one thing. Taking the big step to being a BCS program is another. I see it going to four 64 team conferences, each with a title game in football, then a two week BCS. Anyone outside the 64 loses it's bowl bids, for what they're worth, and most likely their big payday whoopin' against top teams. Outside the four mega-conferences, does it really matter what conference you're in? Take the top teams out of MWC and CUSA, and you have the MAC. With a lot more travel. And the hoopsters have a much harder road to the Dance... If the program was in a better way right now, the big conferences might look at the market size of C-A-C. But our program is just "not ready for prime time", and I don't think they want to be.

The University, from everything I read, took the money it would have cost to refurbish the Rubber Bowl (in essence putting lipstick on a pig), plus the sponsorships that came along with the new house, and spent that much. It was all paid for the day it was built. I haven't heard anybody say they were building a top notch college program here, and everything they've done leads me to believe they're not trying to. To me, spending the money on a NICE stadium even for an FCS team, makes perfect sense. Reference Canal Park, All Pro Freight Stadium, Classic Park, Huntington Stadium. I don't see how this school can go "big time" with the budget they have, the recruiting they do, and the seven other FBS schools in our backyard. Not to mention the 800 lb gorilla in Columbus. Even with the talent we have right now, we're outside the Top 25 in FCS. Personally, I have a LOT more fun watching the Akron Aeros play for championships than watching the Cleveland Indians try to play major league ball with a AAA roster.

Thanks for saving me $40+ this year. I'll stick with last year's version.

A MAC championship or two, and a Toledo-Michigan or Toledo-#9Pitt would probably do it. Toledo-Cincy, Toledo-Minnesota, Toledo-Penn St.

That doesn't look right. Just going through RB's, there's no Alex Allen Nate Burney Nathan Cope

The Gladiators were going for the national championship when they broke attendance records. So maybe we need to "drop" to FCS then?

And why is that? Because the Buckeyes have had generation after generation of fans who look to Columbus because they W I N. Every year. A lot of them are alumni, some were brought up to watch "Ohio's team". Others just want to watch a winner for a change. I'll use my worn out analogy they use to drive to Summit County to see indoor soccer. Because the Force were contenders year in and year out. One they figured out the team couldn't win when it counted, the bottom dropped out. But Cleveland fans will travel to Akron to see a winner, smack in the middle of a football hotbed. Going to a more "standard" offense and defense will help, hard core football fans look at the MAC the same way they look at arena football. We have to start a winning tradition first.

CRAP!!!!!!

I just figured out how to get to the website. Pretty funny stuff. "Everybody counts" Does that mean Can't State has raised their admission requirements?

Hell, we watched the soccer team play in that sorry excuse for a high school girls soccer stadium last year... Sat in the frozen water, one porta-jon was the only "facilities". And the students got to pay for the pleasure. I didn't try the food, was afraid to.

Latest word, Texas A&M is staying in the Big 12, as will Texas who wants to start their own cable station. You can't do that in the Pac 10. Rumor has the Big 12 surviving, and picking up TCU as a replacement. With the B12 surviving and the Big Ten reportedly done expanding, it sounds like the mega-conference scheme is dead.

You're right, this is all based on having four 16-team mega conferences and then everybody else, where the "mid-majors" would lose their Big Ten payday game$ and their bowl slots. Which right now seems it won't happen, with Texas saying they will stay in the Big 12. All the other Texas schools will do likewise, and rumor now is the B12 picks up TCU as a replacement. So this in all probability never get to this point. But, if it did, once some hardcore fans got past the FBS stigma, you'll sell as many tickets to a quality FCS program as you could a quality FBS program left out of the mega-conferences. You're going to be playing the same caliber of teams anyway. My comparison is Aeros fans don't care that the team isn't in AAA. Gladiators fans didn't mind the team wasn't in the NFL. The teams play well, play for titles, the venues are comfortable, and the games are a good time. Does anyone really care whether we play Northern Illinois or Northern Iowa? Kentucky or YSU? Anyway moot point at the moment.

One thing not brought up with so many schools in so little space is the spread of available talent. By lopping off 2 or 4 schools into FCS, the rest will have a bigger local talent pool to draw from. If/when the mega-conferences come about, you're going to be playing the same caliber of opponents either way. Do the fans care whether we play Northern Iowa or Northern Illinois? Using my well worn baseball analogy, do Aeros fans care whether they play Reading or Lehigh Valley? They win, they have a comfortable park with good food that's inexpensive, and the kids can get a new glove or jersey and get it signed by Orbit or the left fielder. If we lose the annual "get stomped for cash" game against the Big Ten, and our chance to make the Bob's Bail Bonds Bowl, what do we have to lose by going FCS? Plus like already said, the chance to win a national championship. We all know there are only about 12 legacy schools that are "eligible" to play for a BcS title. Winning a national championship is more attainable and more fun than being the "best of the rest (Boise, Tech) in fBS. Mount U has been having a lot of fun down there in Alliance. Imagine the fan base we would have with a Division I (FCS) title contender. If we built one of course.

When the trickle down gets to the MAC, and the C-USA's look to the MAC to replace schools taken up to second tier conferences, what are the chances of the MAC going after Cleveland State and Youngstown State or other Horizon League programs? The MAC is the bottom of the FBS food chain, and if "higher" conferences are looking to FCS, will the MAC have to?

I was at the Aeros game last night. Hudson Little League brought about 300 people. The Norton Band brought about 200 people. And there were probably about 150 random people milling about. If you took away the freebie tickets, the Aeros would have drawn about 150 people on a beautiful June night. I can't look at one game, on a week night, middle of a 6 game home stand, 71 home games, and say this region will not support a quality football program. Summit County had the only profitable indoor soccer franchise, there were SRO nights. The Aeros draw extremely well. NEOhio broke Arena Football attendance records. We had 400+ straight sell-outs at the Jake. You put a good product on the field, sell it right, people will come. Lots of them. If these people will pay to see the Wichita Wings, New Brittain Rock Cats, or Grand Rapids Rampage, you don't need BCS opponents to draw in fans to see a quality team. In the Rubber Bowl, that would have been a tough sell. In the Info? It's just what we needed for a venue. Which is the jist of the message I was answering in the first place...

I agree with your first point. If we had any hope of being a power one day wayyyy down the road, this puts the skids to that. I disagree with your second point though. IMO a winning exciting team properly marketed would sell BIG TIME in this area. It doesn't matter who we play. Reference the Akron Aeros. Plus, the Zips play football and we know what football means in this area. If the Aeros can play Altoona and New Brittain and rank among the top minor league clubs in attendance, a well run football program could do it too. But when you have UA marketing, and the results and sideshows we had last year, fuggetaboutit.