Just some thoughts

[Class of 82]

Growing up in Akron during the 1960s, the Acme-Zip game was a highlight of life each fall. The Rubber Bowl packed with 35,000+. Tailgating with my whole freaking neighborhood. The crowd pumped. The Akron band. The Goodyear Blimp. Skydivers. Insanity everywhere. And almost always a great football game, win or lose. (Usually a win, though!) Wow... I know it was not the big time as far as college football at that time, but man... that was some special stuff boys and girls. How could you not grow up to be a Zips fan then? If it wasn't the big time, it damned well felt like the big time, I can assure you.I'm 51 years old now. I want that feeling back. I know it can happen. This city needs it. This city deserves it. This city doesn't even really remember how great it used to be. And how great it can be again.GO ZIPS!

[ZipAlumn]

Growing up in Akron during the 1960s, the Acme-Zip game was a highlight of life each fall. The Rubber Bowl packed with 35,000+. Tailgating with my whole freaking neighborhood. The crowd pumped. The Akron band. The Goodyear Blimp. Skydivers. Insanity everywhere. And almost always a great football game, win or lose. (Usually a win, though!) Wow... I know it was not the big time as far as college football at that time, but man... that was some special stuff boys and girls. How could you not grow up to be a Zips fan then? If it wasn't the big time, it damned well felt like the big time, I can assure you.I'm 51 years old now. I want that feeling back. I know it can happen. This city needs it. This city deserves it. This city doesn't even really remember how great it used to be. And how great it can be again.GO ZIPS!

I would also like to see the same things back, well maybe with the exception of the band ... the band sucked back then. My first day on campus the Band Director tried to "recruit" me, and I never played an instrument and can't read music. They used to turn the lights in the stadium off to allow the band to walk on and off the field before they stood still and played ... no kidding.

[Zipmeister]

Growing up in Akron during the 1960s, the Acme-Zip game was a highlight of life each fall. The Rubber Bowl packed with 35,000+. Tailgating with my whole freaking neighborhood. The crowd pumped. The Akron band. The Goodyear Blimp. Skydivers. Insanity everywhere. And almost always a great football game, win or lose. (Usually a win, though!) Wow... I know it was not the big time as far as college football at that time, but man... that was some special stuff boys and girls. How could you not grow up to be a Zips fan then? If it wasn't the big time, it damned well felt like the big time, I can assure you.I'm 51 years old now. I want that feeling back. I know it can happen. This city needs it. This city deserves it. This city doesn't even really remember how great it used to be. And how great it can be again.GO ZIPS!

I would also like to see the same things back, well maybe with the exception of the band ... the band sucked back then. My first day on campus the Band Director tried to "recruit" me, and I never played an instrument and can't read music. They used to turn the lights in the stadium off to allow the band to walk on and off the field before they stood still and played ... no kidding.

What a load of crap. The marching band was fantastic back then. And it frequently looked like the drum major was going to break his back he was arched so much. I always stayed and listened to the post game concert while the traffic cleared out. You must have been on some heavy duty medication to have the memories you do. I don't know if its true but the rumor back then was that THE ohio state band finally broke with tradition and went to more than 100 members because they sounded so puny compared to the Akron band.

[johnnyzip84]

I didn't grow up in Akron, but I did start attending UA in 1979 and saw much of the "big time" atmosphere to which you refer. Yes it was nice to sell out the bowl once every year, but I would like to point out a POSITIVE in the relatively smaller crowds I have seen in the last few years. First of all, many of those Acme-Zip fans left after halftime. I don't see that nearly as often with the "decent" (16-18K) crowds in more recent years. Also, we may not get the +30K crowd any more, but we have seen years with MULTIPLE 16-18K crowds, an indication of a more stable and reliable fan base.

[skip-zip]

First of all, the old Acme Zip game was abandoned several years ago, and I understand that it was under a previous athletic administration, and it was because it was "not a good financial deal for the U". Well, personally, I don't care. Getting people out there was the goal. Johnnyzip makes a good point that the people who do stay are dedicated fans. But still, seeing empty seats still looks bad, and does not help the attendance figures of the program. In terms of commenting on another reply......the big crowds had nothing to do with "the bands". Most people do not care about the bands....I'm sorry. The discount tickets got people out there, and it was a good time. I'll take that 30.000 boost any day, to aid our requirement for home attendance.

[zip81]

Acme-Zips was exciting.In addition to the discount tickets, it was truly a community tradition.I'll never forget the hundreds of paper airplanes the kids would throw into the end zone on the closed end.A D II team packing in 35,000, sometimes even more, every year.It was very difficult to watch it wither away into nothing.Why did it die? Changing times? Inept marketing? Competition for the entertainment buck?It was also disheartening to see only five or six thousand the very next home game.By the way, I've been watching our band since 1977. I have never seen them suck. Not as good in some years when compared to others...but they never sucked.An impressive memory is when the drum team used to line up for a solo and the guy on one end would throw his stick all the way to the guy standing on the other end....very nice!

[ZippyTuba11]

Acme-Zips was exciting.In addition to the discount tickets, it was truly a community tradition.I'll never forget the hundreds of paper airplanes the kids would throw into the end zone on the closed end.A D II team packing in 35,000, sometimes even more, every year.It was very difficult to watch it wither away into nothing.Why did it die? Changing times? Inept marketing? Competition for the entertainment buck?It was also disheartening to see only five or six thousand the very next home game.

To my recollection, Acme wanted to take all the money they were pumping into the University at the time and put it into just scholarships. UA wanted the straight cash and neither side came to a compromise and it was abandoned. Then again I may just be starting rumors as my memory on this isn't the best.

[skip-zip]

That's the point. I don't care about the money deal. From a promotional perspective, you exposed that many more people to Zips football. So, whether there was 15,000 "dedicated fans", (as there is now) or 30,000 for a home opener, I'll take the 30,000 total ANY DAY.

[Buckzip]

Acme-Zips was exciting.In addition to the discount tickets, it was truly a community tradition.I'll never forget the hundreds of paper airplanes the kids would throw into the end zone on the closed end.A D II team packing in 35,000, sometimes even more, every year.It was very difficult to watch it wither away into nothing.Why did it die? Changing times? Inept marketing? Competition for the entertainment buck?It was also disheartening to see only five or six thousand the very next home game.By the way, I've been watching our band since 1977. I have never seen them suck. Not as good in some years when compared to others...but they never sucked.An impressive memory is when the drum team used to line up for a solo and the guy on one end would throw his stick all the way to the guy standing on the other end....very nice!

We used to go to Acme-Zip every year. It was great. It sucked when they stopped that. I have some great memories from those days.The Akron band has always been ok, but never great. Anyone that feels they were great must be comparing them to the high school bands they are used to hearing. I am not saying they are/were bad, but they aren't as good as many others.I remember going to the game a few years ago against Hampton and there were a few other college bands at the RB.The other bands simply blew the UA band away. Whenever the UA band would play we wanted them to stop so we could hear the other bands better.

[ZipAlumn]

Zipmeister said"What a load of crap. The marching band was fantastic back then. And it frequently looked like the drum major was going to break his back he was arched so much. I always stayed and listened to the post game concert while the traffic cleared out. You must have been on some heavy duty medication to have the memories you do."First of all I am probably one of the few students in the sixties that didn't indulge in "heavy duty medication". And from the middle to late sixties the University of Akron Band probably numbered between thirty to sixty members and they were NOT VERY GOOD. The band director that followed Mr. Winter did dramatic improve the band and it became much better in later years, but I was talking about my well remembered years from 1964-1968.

[johnnyzip84]

Acme-Zips was exciting.In addition to the discount tickets, it was truly a community tradition.I'll never forget the hundreds of paper airplanes the kids would throw into the end zone on the closed end.A D II team packing in 35,000, sometimes even more, every year.It was very difficult to watch it wither away into nothing.Why did it die? Changing times? Inept marketing? Competition for the entertainment buck?It was also disheartening to see only five or six thousand the very next home game.By the way, I've been watching our band since 1977. I have never seen them suck. Not as good in some years when compared to others...but they never sucked.An impressive memory is when the drum team used to line up for a solo and the guy on one end would throw his stick all the way to the guy standing on the other end....very nice!

We used to go to Acme-Zip every year. It was great. It sucked when they stopped that. I have some great memories from those days.The Akron band has always been ok, but never great. Anyone that feels they were great must be comparing them to the high school bands they are used to hearing. I am not saying they are/were bad, but they aren't as good as many others.I remember going to the game a few years ago against Hampton and there were a few other college bands at the RB.The other bands simply blew the UA band away. Whenever the UA band would play we wanted them to stop so we could hear the other bands better.

It was actually Howard (I think the Central St. band was there too), but you're right Buckzip. I felt sorry for the UA band for having to follow THAT amazing display of brass, rhythm, choreography and entertainment.

[GP1]

In terms of commenting on another reply......the big crowds had nothing to do with "the bands". Most people do not care about the bands....I'm sorry. The discount tickets got people out there, and it was a good time. I'll take that 30.000 boost any day, to aid our requirement for home attendance.

For the 1,000,000th time, there is not NCAA attendance requirement.The discounted tickets (free) were a problem because they trained the people of Akron to think it should be free to go to a Zips game.

[zipseuph]

Acme-Zips was exciting.In addition to the discount tickets, it was truly a community tradition.I'll never forget the hundreds of paper airplanes the kids would throw into the end zone on the closed end.A D II team packing in 35,000, sometimes even more, every year.It was very difficult to watch it wither away into nothing.Why did it die? Changing times? Inept marketing? Competition for the entertainment buck?It was also disheartening to see only five or six thousand the very next home game.By the way, I've been watching our band since 1977. I have never seen them suck. Not as good in some years when compared to others...but they never sucked.An impressive memory is when the drum team used to line up for a solo and the guy on one end would throw his stick all the way to the guy standing on the other end....very nice!

We used to go to Acme-Zip every year. It was great. It sucked when they stopped that. I have some great memories from those days.The Akron band has always been ok, but never great. Anyone that feels they were great must be comparing them to the high school bands they are used to hearing. I am not saying they are/were bad, but they aren't as good as many others.I remember going to the game a few years ago against Hampton and there were a few other college bands at the RB.The other bands simply blew the UA band away. Whenever the UA band would play we wanted them to stop so we could hear the other bands better.

It was actually Howard (I think the Central St. band was there too), but you're right Buckzip. I felt sorry for the UA band for having to follow THAT amazing display of brass, rhythm, choreography and entertainment.

as a former memeber of Ohios pride I can tell you that the University of Akron band is more geared towards music while bands like Howard are geared towards flush. the battle between the two has been around as long as music it self. on one hand if you gear your band toward musical quality football fans will find it boring but if you go to flush then you are giving your students next to no real musical education. so now the question is where do you draw the line between entertaining (but not to the point where your students are playing 5th grade music and doing dance moves that make them look like they're humping the football field) and musical quality? (but again not to the point that you are playing music that no one in a football stadium would care for).my big problem with Ohios pride is that we have nothing to hang our hat on. nothing that is truly our own that only we do. I would personaly like to see the tire drum brought back but not everyone agrees with that. however I think everyone would like to see a military type of pre-game entrance where the entire band repells from the good year blimp onto the field and then takes out someone dressed as the flush mascot. that would be hard corp

[ZachTheZip]

In terms of commenting on another reply......the big crowds had nothing to do with "the bands". Most people do not care about the bands....I'm sorry. The discount tickets got people out there, and it was a good time. I'll take that 30.000 boost any day, to aid our requirement for home attendance.

For the 1,000,000th time, there is not NCAA attendance requirement.The discounted tickets (free) were a problem because they trained the people of Akron to think it should be free to go to a Zips game.

There is an attendance requirement imposed on FBS schools. Essentially, the school must have an average attendance of more than 15,000 every other year.But you are entirely correct about training people to think that Zips games should be free. It's absurd for people to complain about having to pay $15 ($12 for the ticket, $3 for parking) to see a division I-A football team.

[Blue & Gold]

as a former memeber of Ohios pride I can tell you that the University of Akron band is more geared towards music while bands like Howard are geared towards flush. the battle between the two has been around as long as music it self. on one hand if you gear your band toward musical quality football fans will find it boring but if you go to flush then you are giving your students next to no real musical education. so now the question is where do you draw the line between entertaining (but not to the point where your students are playing 5th grade music and doing dance moves that make them look like they're humping the football field) and musical quality? (but again not to the point that you are playing music that no one in a football stadium would care for).my big problem with Ohios pride is that we have nothing to hang our hat on. nothing that is truly our own that only we do. I would personaly like to see the tire drum brought back but not everyone agrees with that. however I think everyone would like to see a military type of pre-game entrance where the entire band repells from the good year blimp onto the field and then takes out someone dressed as the flush mascot. that would be hard corp

One thing I would absolutely do away with before moving into Info next season is dotting the "i" in Zips. Wow!!!!!! That is an absolutely embarrassing and el-cheapo knock off of we-all-know-who. It's downright humiliating and shameful. Whoever had the idea to do that is never allowed to volunteer any ideas ever again. Also, the band has really got to work on their formation when the team runs onto the field. It still seems confusing out there and is embarrassing. The band should funnel the team towards the 40 or 50 yard line - not towards the sideline. It's just not working.

[ziptrumpet87]

In terms of commenting on another reply......the big crowds had nothing to do with "the bands". Most people do not care about the bands....I'm sorry. The discount tickets got people out there, and it was a good time. I'll take that 30.000 boost any day, to aid our requirement for home attendance.

For the 1,000,000th time, there is not NCAA attendance requirement.The discounted tickets (free) were a problem because they trained the people of Akron to think it should be free to go to a Zips game.

There is an attendance requirement imposed on FBS schools. Essentially, the school must have an average attendance of more than 15,000 every other year.But you are entirely correct about training people to think that Zips games should be free. It's absurd for people to complain about having to pay $15 ($12 for the ticket, $3 for parking) to see a division I-A football team.

I agree with you on the ticket price issue. I'm heading to UCF to watch my son march in their band and tickets in the 2nd level in the corner of the endzone are costing me $45 each - and that's not marked up at all, it's the list price from the university! I believe ticket prices for an Aeros game are similar to UA sports also.

[ZippyTuba11]

however I think everyone would like to see a military type of pre-game entrance where the entire band repells from the good year blimp onto the field and then takes out someone dressed as the flush mascot. that would be hard corp

A variation of this is mildly being worked on. *

One thing I would absolutely do away with before moving into Info next season is dotting the "i" in Zips. Wow!!!!!! That is an absolutely embarrassing and el-cheapo knock off of we-all-know-who. It's downright humiliating and shameful. Whoever had the idea to do that is never allowed to volunteer any ideas ever again.

Ohio A&M stole it from Michigan. It has actually been apart of the Akron past and tradition more than you might think. The Band used to do a "Script Zips" but was abandoned circa 1990. The Block zips you see now is an attempt to bring the tradition back a little bit. And have you even SEEN this years 'i' dot? The Suckeyes have nothing that can top the tuba player doing the splits out there.

I believe ticket prices for an Aeros game are similar to UA sports also.

$10 general admission (that's before any deals)* [cough]by worked on I mean a few military members of Ohio's Pride, past and present, are dreaming of asking our commanders to allow something along these lines/cough]

[UADavid]

Acme-Zips was exciting.In addition to the discount tickets, it was truly a community tradition.I'll never forget the hundreds of paper airplanes the kids would throw into the end zone on the closed end.A D II team packing in 35,000, sometimes even more, every year.It was very difficult to watch it wither away into nothing.Why did it die? Changing times? Inept marketing? Competition for the entertainment buck?It was also disheartening to see only five or six thousand the very next home game.By the way, I've been watching our band since 1977. I have never seen them suck. Not as good in some years when compared to others...but they never sucked.An impressive memory is when the drum team used to line up for a solo and the guy on one end would throw his stick all the way to the guy standing on the other end....very nice!

We used to go to Acme-Zip every year. It was great. It sucked when they stopped that. I have some great memories from those days.The Akron band has always been ok, but never great. Anyone that feels they were great must be comparing them to the high school bands they are used to hearing. I am not saying they are/were bad, but they aren't as good as many others.I remember going to the game a few years ago against Hampton and there were a few other college bands at the RB.The other bands simply blew the UA band away. Whenever the UA band would play we wanted them to stop so we could hear the other bands better.

It was actually Howard (I think the Central St. band was there too), but you're right Buckzip. I felt sorry for the UA band for having to follow THAT amazing display of brass, rhythm, choreography and entertainment.

Did they have a band. I remember to Ooh La La girls with the white gloves and the Central St. ladies who did the same. They would sit and cross their legs in unison.

[skip-zip]

GP1...I'm sorry, but there is an attendance requirement. It used to be 17,000 per year when we first joined 1-A back in 1986, but that has since been relaxed to 15,000 every 2nd or 3rd year (I can't recall which), as uakronkid pointed out. I agree that it was sad that people were trained to think that they could go to an Akron football game for a few bucks. Heck, we're not a high school. But I did love the environment, and seeing a packed Rubber Bowl. And I am sure that some long-term fans resulted from those promotions. Retailers, restaurants, etc., take that gamble all the time. The "if you like what you saw, you might come back again" mentality. Like I said, I'd still rather see 10,000 more people show up, even if they did it with discount tickets. Although, we probably won't need to offer incentives to get people to come to the new stadium for the next couple of years. Then, we might need to start getting creative once again.

[zip81]

There is an attendance requirement, but has it ever been enforced?

[Class of 82]

Wow... didn't expect this much response. Lot's of good stuff.I guess my point was mostly that the feeling of Akron football as a major community event is what a lot of us are hungering for. Back in the day, we had that feeling for one game each year. I don't want to make too much of that, but neither do I want to diminish it.What has me pumped is the opportunity that is presenting itself to bring that feeling back, and for a full season of home games rather than just one.

[RootforRoo44]

By the way, I've been watching our band since 1977. I have never seen them suck. Not as good in some years when compared to others...but they never sucked.

I'm sorry but it is true, the band does truly suck. At least in the past 15 years that i've been around. Have you ever been to a game with Ohio U's "Marching 110"? Now that's a real college band, perhaps the best in the country. But even if you havn't im sure you all have seen Ohio States band, USC's, Tennessee's. They are all LEAPS AND BOUNDS better than ours and that is no slight, it's just the truth.

[tbozeglav]

Ohio State's Marching band is vastly different than ours. Consider this... Akron's band consists of many, many instruments including horns and woodwinds. OSUs marching band is strictly horns/brass. They are a military-esque band. We aren't. They use the high-step march. We don't. Not that those things make our band bad, but its just our style. Each band has their own style. I have had the opportunity to witness TBDBITL in person, albeit that they were at the browns game against Dallas. Even so... they are a truley amazing band to watch as their precision and marching is damn near flawless. The script Ohio... aside from the fact that it's college's most touted tradition, is amazing to watch from a choreography standpoint because of the exact precision it takes to march perpendicular through the line without people running into each other. They are, in my opinion, a TRUE college MARCHING band.

[ZippyTuba11]

Ohio State's Marching band is vastly different than ours. Consider this... Akron's band consists of many, many instruments including horns and woodwinds. OSUs marching band is strictly horns/brass. They are a military-esque band. We aren't. They use the high-step march. We don't. Not that those things make our band bad, but its just our style. Each band has their own style. I have had the opportunity to witness TBDBITL in person, albeit that they were at the browns game against Dallas. Even so... they are a truley amazing band to watch as their precision and marching is damn near flawless. The script Ohio... aside from the fact that it's college's most touted tradition, is amazing to watch from a choreography standpoint because of the exact precision it takes to march perpendicular through the line without people running into each other. They are, in my opinion, a TRUE college MARCHING band.

The Suckeye's band would be booed off the field if they performed at a proper Drum & Bugle Corps show. A lot of what they have to offer in terms of quality of a band is as much over rated as their sports teams. They don't exactly high step either. It is a modified bicycle step (very easy form of high step). The forms they run at half time and pre-game are also very easy, however due to their large size as well as being an all brass band gives the impression they they look and sound great. This works on a certain level. As a whole, they show very well. Individually is a different matter. They cannot and never will compare to say the Canton Blue Coats or the Glassmen who very existence is competition.Akron's troubles root from other, larger problems. They do not have the luxury that Ohio A&M has in that they hold auditions for every spot. Akron puts on everybody that can make practices and games. Akron also doesn't march an all brass ensemble. This means that sound production will never reach the level of OA&M and other such bands (don't get me wrong, OA&M has several members who suck, but the fact that they have so many others who can play very well means the poor performers are drowned out). Akron also marches at half time the tradition Corps style low step. This allows the band to focus on sound quality and complexity of the drills without being caught up in complex foot movement. This is very boring for an audience to watch. This if the very reason that OU's band is a huge crowd pleaser. They look entertaining. Akron's band blows them away in sound quality, but they can never match OU's level of 'chuck and jive' which really gets the audience going. But rating bands has huge problems. Outside of true competitions that the Drum and Bugle Corps play, college bands have no real level of standard to meet. Do you care about the music they play? The quality of sound? The style and accuracy of marching? The entertainment value of the show? The Zips band may not give an entertaining show like OU, or have the drowning sound that LSU or tosu does, but the quality of music and sound generally is at or exceeds other bands in the area. I know of some MAC bands that would dream to be able to do some of the things that Akron does or has. Some could care less. In the case of Ohio A&M the question arises does their band please their crowd, or is the crowd simply pleased that it is tosu's marching band? I have had this discussion with many friends and members of these different college bands. Specifically at tosu, I have heard several incidents where they band would say they had horrible performances, but the crowd went nuts regardless. At the same time they booed for the opposing team's band even before they started playing. Oh, and on the subject of tosu; the script ohio is not very challenging for a band. I was apart of a high school band and have seen several other high school bands do the same perpendicular marching through their own lines and they did it flawlessly. To say that Akron's band has always been horrible is very ignorant and buys into the OA&M mindset. The prime of the Jackoboice era is an excellent example of how good the Zips band can be. I would argue that they were better and more entertaining that any other in the MAC and quite possibly tosu. Akron has a long way to go to get to that level again.The real question is, who cares? I'm sure there is a significant number of football fans who would rather have rock legends perform at half time like the pros have, and play the pep music during the game from recordings over the speakers. How could any band live up to fans who have no knowledge of what a good marching band is? Perhaps the new stadium venue will change things for the better in all levels of akron sports.

[tbozeglav]

Dont get me wrong, I love Akron's sound, but like you mentioned, the marching and stepping style (or how you put it "crowd-pleasing" style) leaves something to be desired.At least we can say we're better than can't state in that they have to use microphones and speakers hooked up to the band so that people can hear them across the stadium while our band was clearly audible from the the opposite endzone (not EXACTLY that far, but close enough)