Captain Kangaroo Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Sports fans in Akron fail to show up By David Lee Morgan Jr. Maybe Akron sports fans owe Charlie Frye an apology. Here was the Most Valuable Player of college football's Senior Bowl who played four years in front of nobody at the Rubber Bowl. I know. I was there covering every home game. Frye became the University of Akron's all-time leading passer and owns 49 records, but the crowds were sparse, for the most part. Frye's fan support was different from that of LeBron James when James played in high school. True, sellout crowds came to see him, but it seemed like a large number came hoping to see him lose. When St. Vincent-St. Mary didn't lose, then it seemed some people hoped James would be sidelined for the Hummer or throwback jersey incidents. When he got back on the court and led his team to the USA Today national high school poll championship, people talked about whether he was going to be a bust in the NBA. Obviously, he's not. I just don't get it. There have been some recent outstanding athletes right here in the city who have gone on to impressive pro careers. While they were playing here, few seemed to notice. Want another example? That would be former Zips cornerback Dwight Smith. During Smith's senior year (2000), he was a first-team consensus All-American, only the fourth Mid-American Conference player to receive that honor. He led the nation with 10 interceptions and was a finalist that year for the Jim Thorpe Award, given to college football's best defensive back. Smith didn't win the award -- Jamar Fletcher of Wisconsin did. But Smith was considered one of the top three Division I defensive backs in the country that year and was invited to Orlando, Fla., for the college football season awards TV show. Smith just completed his fourth season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was a starting safety. Two years ago in the Super Bowl, Smith returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the Buccaneers' 48-21 win over the Oakland Raiders. There was Dwight Smith -- a winning member of a Super Bowl team. Fans who followed Frye's career are not at all surprised that he won the MVP on Saturday playing against some of the top Division I players in the country. Week in and week out, he proved that not only could he play with the ``big boys'' but also that he is NFL material. Pro coaches, scouts and executives were impressed with Frye during the week leading up to the game. For the record, Frye was 10-of-12 for 138 yards and a touchdown in the North's 23-13 victory over the South. Frye could have left Akron after his junior year to make the jump to the NFL, but he wanted to return for one last try at a MAC championship. The Zips, under first-year coach J.D. Brookhart, did play for the East Division title but lost to Miami University and finished the season 6-5. MAC fans also should be in Frye's corner because he is another in a long line of outstanding quarterbacks who have been routinely overlooked when it came to national recognition but, later, proved that they had what it took at the next level. In recent years, the MAC has been recognized for notching wins against some of the storied Division I programs. A look around the NFL also shows there are some quality starting quarterbacks in the league who played in the MAC, starting with former Miami University and rookie sensation Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Others who have established themselves are former Marshall standouts Byron Leftwich (Jacksonville Jaguars) and Chad Pennington (New York Jets). Frye has the potential to follow their lead. It's a shame, though, that if and when Frye becomes a star in the NFL, just a small percentage of fans in Akron will be able to say they saw him first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Zip Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 How nice is is for David Lee to right this article now...Hey David if you had written these articles regularly and covered the Zips like you do the Buckeyes maybe things would be different. How about you point less fingers at the people in Akron and more fingers at the rinky dink newspaper you report for that refuses to assign a writer specifically dedicated to the Zips year round. We've provided you with numerous ways to do it on the cheap on this board -- I think my favorite was a hire an intern from Akron to cover the team. How about that help the community give back to the University and its student body. It just get more pathetic day in and day out down there at the Beacon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip Watcher Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 I know. I was there covering every home game. Gee David .. did you cover any road games that weren't @ Can't State? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 How nice is is for David Lee to right this article now...Hey David if you had written these articles regularly and covered the Zips like you do the Buckeyes maybe things would be different. How about you point less fingers at the people in Akron and more fingers at the rinky dink newspaper you report for that refuses to assign a writer specifically dedicated to the Zips year round. We've provided you with numerous ways to do it on the cheap on this board -- I think my favorite was a hire an intern from Akron to cover the team. How about that help the community give back to the University and its student body. It just get more pathetic day in and day out down there at the Beacon. Nice work Big Zip. Hell, the list of great players that played at the Rubber Bowl could go on and on. The ignoring of the Zips program by both the Beacon and the Akron public has been a shame. There have been plenty of lesser known Zips to go onto the pros that people are missing as well. Shawn Vincent (St. Clairsville HS) Robert Lyons (St. Clairsville HS) John Buddenberg (Three NFL years, several CFL years) Reader Jake S. Mackey Vic Green (10 year veteran) Anyone hear of that Jason Taylor guy? Brake Brian Hilk (long time CFL player) How about non-Zips just to name a few? Randy Moss Culpepper Leftwich Watts Roethlisberger Charlie Batch Not a bad list of players and the list could go on and on as well. What a shame.......Quality players are playing at the Rubber Bowl at least six times a year and the people of NE Ohio, where they call themselves the greatest football fans in the world, don't go to see future stars play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ted Pulitzer Posted January 31, 2005 Report Share Posted January 31, 2005 Someone should write a Letter to the Editor and blow the Urinal out of the water for having the gall to write a column like that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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