Akron vs. Penn State in 2009

[zen]

Previous posters ran the numbers. Read them. What can screw this up over the next few years is bad scheduling and losses. We have to win to draw and keep the fans. Nobody is saying we should rely strickly on home attendance. A favorable OOC away schedule could bring in good money.

I agree with this. Non UA-related fans won't come to see games just because we're playing who WE see as rivals or good games. Face it, we need to win, and win often. Some of us have a hard time getting up for the last homegame in a 5 win season, AND WE'RE DIEHARDS!Joe 6-pack (god bless palin) isn't gonna give up his Saturday to watch a losing program just because it's a new stadium.We win to put butts in the seats, then they develop a closeness with the program and a disdain for our rivals, THEN they stick with us when we struggle and stick up for us at work when we lose to a strong BCS team down the road.I think that's the formula.

For at least the first couple of years at the new stadium, fans will come even if we have a poor team. Don't underestimate the draw that a facility can be. GO ZIPS!SeeTeeZip

That is true, SeeTeeZip, and the new stadium being on campus means more students will show, even if it's not a stellar season.... but I think pdt1420 is also right for the most part.If we could put together a solid couple of seasons, including a bowl appearance, over the next few years, it would cultivate a following that could endure beyond that time period that would not be as likely at the old rubber bowl.

[pdt1420]

About the big name games... I think people are right, that we could win a game one of these days. But let's play this scenario out. We play these guys and win 1 out of every 10 times going forward. This seems miniscule, but the fact is we've won 0 of 100 in the past. At best we beat a top 20 team 1 out of 10 times.... when it happens, we go crazy, there's madness in the streets, the big program's fans are gnashing their teeth and tearing their clothing, we all wear zips gear to work on casual friday...but the national pundits call it a fluke win for us or give us the "hey, isn't that nice for those lil' fellas" treatment... then they say that it's proof that said top 20 team (especially in the Big10) didn't deserve to be ranked that high and wasn't that good in the first place... and when we lose to another top 20 team next year, everyone that doubts our program is vindicated and we as fans become upset with the losing Zips team for not living up to last year's success.No... I think the better future is one where we consistently, I mean 60% or better, beat the midlevel schools... the mediocre schools in the big conferences and the big schools in the mediocre conferences... let the list include:Big10: Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, MinnesotaBig12: Iowa State, Baylor, Texas A&M, ColoradoACC: Duke, Clemson, NC StateBig East: Louisville, Pitt, West Va, UConn, CincyCUSA: UTEP, Houston, Marshall, UCFHell... can we play Notre Dame on NBC one time?The list goes on and on... and looking at that list, most of those teams won't play us or will beat us 70% of the time right now. However, a loss to one of those teams doesn't blow the whole season, and a win isn't swept under the carpet like Syracuse or Army as "hey, they should have beaten those teams, those teams suck"And one of those teams has to say yes to playing us. Even if it's on the road. And eventually, we can beat those teams consistently. And THAT's when those ESPN pundits will speak of us in the same breaths as a WestVa or a TexasA&M... that's what we should be playing for in the next 5-10 years.Being regarded as a school like that doesn't mean beating a Wisconsin one time then falling back to the basement. It means consistent bowl games and bowl wins, and it means every once in a while having a team so good that you get preseason ranked around 20-25.Sorry for the ramble, but I think our vision should be clear... right now we're usually fair to bad with an occasional good bowl year... we need to make a seemingly-small-but-actually-gigantic step towards usually 7/8 win bowl season with an occasional 11 win year.All the talk about leaving the MAC means nothing... we should play at a level when national talking heads are saying on TV "When is this Akron team going to move up to a BCS conference?"... that's when this program, as viewed from right now, will be considered a success in my mind.

[ctmjbowes@sbcglobal.net]

About the big name games... I think people are right, that we could win a game one of these days. But let's play this scenario out. We play these guys and win 1 out of every 10 times going forward. This seems miniscule, but the fact is we've won 0 of 100 in the past. At best we beat a top 20 team 1 out of 10 times.... when it happens, we go crazy, there's madness in the streets, the big program's fans are gnashing their teeth and tearing their clothing, we all wear zips gear to work on casual friday...but the national pundits call it a fluke win for us or give us the "hey, isn't that nice for those lil' fellas" treatment... then they say that it's proof that said top 20 team (especially in the Big10) didn't deserve to be ranked that high and wasn't that good in the first place... and when we lose to another top 20 team next year, everyone that doubts our program is vindicated and we as fans become upset with the losing Zips team for not living up to last year's success.No... I think the better future is one where we consistently, I mean 60% or better, beat the midlevel schools... the mediocre schools in the big conferences and the big schools in the mediocre conferences... let the list include:Big10: Indiana, Illinois, Northwestern, Purdue, MinnesotaBig12: Iowa State, Baylor, Texas A&M, ColoradoACC: Duke, Clemson, NC StateBig East: Louisville, Pitt, West Va, UConn, CincyCUSA: UTEP, Houston, Marshall, UCFHell... can we play Notre Dame on NBC one time?The list goes on and on... and looking at that list, most of those teams won't play us or will beat us 70% of the time right now. However, a loss to one of those teams doesn't blow the whole season, and a win isn't swept under the carpet like Syracuse or Army as "hey, they should have beaten those teams, those teams suck"And one of those teams has to say yes to playing us. Even if it's on the road. And eventually, we can beat those teams consistently. And THAT's when those ESPN pundits will speak of us in the same breaths as a WestVa or a TexasA&M... that's what we should be playing for in the next 5-10 years.Being regarded as a school like that doesn't mean beating a Wisconsin one time then falling back to the basement. It means consistent bowl games and bowl wins, and it means every once in a while having a team so good that you get preseason ranked around 20-25.Sorry for the ramble, but I think our vision should be clear... right now we're usually fair to bad with an occasional good bowl year... we need to make a seemingly-small-but-actually-gigantic step towards usually 7/8 win bowl season with an occasional 11 win year.All the talk about leaving the MAC means nothing... we should play at a level when national talking heads are saying on TV "When is this Akron team going to move up to a BCS conference?"... that's when this program, as viewed from right now, will be considered a success in my mind.

OK, I agree with everything you just said. Now let's see it happen! You've got me pumped up to see UA make good things happen for the program, for the community, the students and the fans. Who buys the first round for Zipsnation posters at the first home game at the Info next year? I vote for the Cap'n!GO ZIPS! SeeTeeZipper

[pdt1420]

OK, I agree with everything you just said. Now let's see it happen! You've got me pumped up to see UA make good things happen for the program, for the community, the students and the fans. Who buys the first round for Zipsnation posters at the first home game at the Info next year? I vote for the Cap'n!GO ZIPS! SeeTeeZipper

Get pumped, Baby!!And we can't worry about the attendance too much... we'll have it for the next 2 years at least, but as far as converting tosu fans... that'll happen when the TV people start saying our name and getting our head coach right.Hell, it'll happen when we get to stop asking "is the game on TV this weekend?". They'll see highlights on local news of us beating the Golden Domers infront of a crazy crowd and they'll say to each other, "damn... check online the next time they're at home, we should go to a game"Then they'll come, and on top of the great atmosphere, they'll see our bball team in a halftime ceremony being presented a banner for MAC Champs, the whole place goes nuts more, and that new family says "damn... we should check out a bball game too... I heard they're in the process of building a new stadium downtown... that'll be sweet... hey, where do I buy a Zips tshirt at?"That's how we'll convert, not by bashing them over the head, but by not giving them any options but to be interested and excited.So, in closing... crank up the Rammstein to 11 and get ready to scream your headoff against the BUGS on Saturday... let's have a proper saturday sendoff for the Rubberbowl by feasting on falcon!GO ZIPS!!

[GP1]

in my defense, i was actually planning on not voting. i changed my mind and will be mailing in my registration tomorrow and between now and the election will be figuring out who i'm writing in. i have no political association and would love to see a third party independent take down the two party system.

Do what I did and vote Libertarian. It is the only party promoting freedom and liberty. I also wrote my own name in for US Senate...chuckled the entire time.

[zen]

in my defense, i was actually planning on not voting. i changed my mind and will be mailing in my registration tomorrow and between now and the election will be figuring out who i'm writing in. i have no political association and would love to see a third party independent take down the two party system.

Do what I did and vote Libertarian. It is the only party promoting freedom and liberty. I also wrote my own name in for US Senate...chuckled the entire time.

LOL, did you actually vote libertarian... because a lot of libertarians are going to vote for Baldwin (constitution party) because of how the libertarian candidate dis'ed Ron Paul. Sorry, I know an admonishment was posted about political discussion here, and I actually agreed with it, but I had to get that in because I think that more and more people are getting disgusted with both political parties in this country.