What do Zips Fans Really think?

[Zips Win!]

...sorry...but no one remembers who beat Illinois last year or UConn 2 years ago in the 1st round so I don't want just 1 win in NCAA tourney to trade a national championship we've all been craving for...it would have to be a run in a tourney...Without looking, who can tell me who played in the Independence Bowl or the Insight Bowl and the scores of those games? most likely not.

I like this topic. I don't think there is a wrong answer. How many Zips fans went to the Zips bowl appearance vs Memphis? How many Zips fans went to see the Zips play Gonzaga in the NCAAs last year? How many Zips fans went to see the Zips play Virginia in the soccer national title game? Not really apples to apples due to the geographical proximity, but you get the point.

I agree. I love the question, I just wouldn't answer it.I was at all three. I had completely different emotions at each.The bowl game was somewhat anticlimactic after the miracle win over NIU, although very enjoyable.Going to see the Zips vs. Gonzaga was like a ten ton weight (and 23 years) was lifted off my back.Watching the Zips in the national title game was the most intense, nerve racking, two hours ever. You felt that if we gave up even one goal during the game you would probably lose, so you were on the edge of year seat the entire game...and then to lose like we did...Well, sometimes life just sucks...

[Dr Z]

I agree. I love the question, I just wouldn't answer it. I was at all three. I had completely different emotions at each.The bowl game was somewhat anticlimactic after the miracle win over NIU, although very enjoyable.Going to see the Zips vs. Gonzaga was like a ten ton weight (and 23 years) was lifted off my back.Watching the Zips in the national title game was the most intense, nerve racking, two hours ever. You felt that if we gave up even one goal during the game you would probably lose, so you were on the edge of year seat the entire game...and then to lose like we did...Well, sometimes life just sucks...

Nice synopsis. Wouldn't it be fun to have some sort of "passion meter" on you during those events. The meter would go from one to ten. I would like to see my meter during three events. When the Zips won the MAC title game in football, when Miami made that last second three pointer in the MAC tourney to beat us, and when Virginia beat Akron in the national title game. I think it would read 9, 7, 2 respectively for me. Every fan is different, that's what makes sports so great. I was more emotional when Akron lost to Miami in basketball then when we actually won the MAC...weird?!? Us Zip sports fans are a unique bunch.

[ejcool27]

People ask who cares about soccer. I ask who cares about the pizza pizza bowl?A national championship in soccer gets us more press than winning a single NCAA tournament game. Now, if the choice was going to the sweet sixteen, then I would take basketball but just barely. Elite Eight or farther and it's basketball hands down. The thing is that we're way closer to winning a title in soccer than we are making it to the elite eight in basketball.

I say this with respect, but are you serious!!!Just qualifying for the NCAA basketball tournament brings hundreds of times more publicity than a soccer title. Winning a game or two in the NCAA tournament would bring thousands of times more publicity to our University.As much as I think it would be a cool thing to win a soccer national championship, just remember that NCAA first round basketball tournament games are on CBS, while even the final game of the soccer cup can't even make it to the main station of ESPN.

IDK we went last year and hand Gonzaga on the ropes, and we got nothing a highlight of McNees getting dunked on was all....I'd rather win it on in a sports which still gets time on ESPN 2, and the News around THIS AREA! we were on Channel 5 for Men's Soccer not that much for basketball....Cleveland St. was more important to Cleveland....

[RootforRoo44]

I hate this question because it is very divisive.It pits "Zips Football Guy" vs. "Zips Basketball Guy" vs. "Zips Soccer Guy"You can't win at UA if you're a fan of all three.

I would say that "Zips Soccer Guy" describes about .01% of the Akron Alumni/Student population. MOST Akron Soccer fans are first and foremost Akron basketball/football fans and that's why this argument is pointless.

I hate this discussion because I hate people speaking on behalf of me. Of the people that are true Akron fans (follow the team and go to the events) the percentage of soccer followers is much higher than your .01% just for the fact that the majority of Akron Alumni/Student population aren't fans of Akron's sports teams. I like soccer and basketball and football. The greatest success a team can achieve is a national championship. Has men's bball even come close to the attendance of men's soccer this year? If they were able to add more seats, you know those NCAA playoff games would have had even bigger crowds.

Do you ever actually read the entire posts of people? How did i in any way say that only .01% of Zips fans like soccer? I was saying that .01% of Zips fans ONLY like soccer and are "Zips Soccer Guy" as mentioned before.BTW, by seasons end BBALL will have crushed Soccers attendance. It's a stupid comparison anyways....two different sports, indoors/outdoors...no comparison.

[jem101]

I'm a freshman at UA, and coming into this year I had absolutely no interest in soccer. I simply dismissed it as an inferior and lame sport. My friend dragged me along to the MSU game midseason and I was fascinated by the sport. The physicality of it blew my mind. I'd always assumed soccer players were soft. I attended quite a few more games the rest of the season and ended up going to NC. Those two games emotion wise rank right up there with other emotional highs and lows that I've experienced as a CLE sports fan such as the 07 ALCS, the past couple years of Cavalier playoffs, etc. I personally haven't experienced that kind of emotion watching the other Zips sports. Hopefully, that will come in the next few years, but as for me I want nothing more than to wear a 2010 NCAA men's soccer champions shirt next year! Hope my rambling made some sense. Go Zips!!

[InTheZone]

If you took a poll across the nation, I GUARANTEE you a much higher percentage of average sports fans could name last years MAC Champion in football (the champion of the worst D1 league in the country) than could name a NATIONAL CHAMPION in soccer in the last ten years. For those of you who think that winning a soccer national championship brings the school any notoriety outside of the readership of the inside pages of the Akron Beacon Journal are kidding yourselves. I am like others here, I cheer for all our sports. But do I care about them all equally?? Hell no, almost nobody does. I can tell you this, if you were to get an honest answer out of Proenza to the above question, it would be any kind of postseason play in Football or Basketball HANDS DOWN.Football- 20k people drive 3 hours to Detroit for Akron postseasonSoccer- 2k people show up for the biggest HOME soccer match in school history.It's apples to oranges folks. Football and Basketball will always be the standards by which an athletic department is judged, and will always gather the most interest and support.Let's suppose in 4 years the Football and Basketball teams have each won 3 MAC Championships and 1 post season game each. Every other athletic program at the school has finished dead last in the MAC. TW would be hailed as savior by the media and fans and given a new 5 year contract and a huge raise, if he wasn't hired away already by some other school looking for a great AD.Now let's suppose that in 4 years every minor athletic program in the school has won a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, but both the Football and Basketball programs have finished dead last in the MAC all 4 years . TW would be fired.See the difference in terms of importance?

[skip-zip]

People ask who cares about soccer. I ask who cares about the pizza pizza bowl?A national championship in soccer gets us more press than winning a single NCAA tournament game. Now, if the choice was going to the sweet sixteen, then I would take basketball but just barely. Elite Eight or farther and it's basketball hands down. The thing is that we're way closer to winning a title in soccer than we are making it to the elite eight in basketball.

I say this with respect, but are you serious!!!Just qualifying for the NCAA basketball tournament brings hundreds of times more publicity than a soccer title. Winning a game or two in the NCAA tournament would bring thousands of times more publicity to our University.As much as I think it would be a cool thing to win a soccer national championship, just remember that NCAA first round basketball tournament games are on CBS, while even the final game of the soccer cup can't even make it to the main station of ESPN.

IDK we went last year and hand Gonzaga on the ropes, and we got nothing a highlight of McNees getting dunked on was all....I'd rather win it on in a sports which still gets time on ESPN 2, and the News around THIS AREA! we were on Channel 5 for Men's Soccer not that much for basketball....Cleveland St. was more important to Cleveland....

ej....if what you are thinking about is the publicity, you seem to be ignoring two very big factors.1) The NCAA tournament selection show, watched by tons of college basketball fan nationwide, followed by all the national sports analysts talking about the pairings for days afterwards, the brackets appearing in the sports section of newspapers all over the country, and the distribution of brackets in offices all over the country.2) The entire game televised in several part of the country on CBS, in prime time. And it's one of the most-watched yearly sporting events in the country. Sure, I'd love a soccer national championship. No doubt. But, noting that one of the Cleveland news stations may have shown a longer highlight of our soccer title game, as opposed to our NCAA basketball tourney appearance, doesn't address the much, much bigger chunks of publicity we got from basketball. There is not even a remote comparison in the amount of publicity we received from these two events.

[mes102]

All I've been hearing is how everyone is craving for a national championship....but if given the choice of trading a national championship for a bowl game or a win in the NCAA tournament they would...totally hypocritical IMO...I bet that the Akron "Joes" don't remember George Mason or where they are after their final four run...same with Davidson in five years....so how do you expect to get publicity with just one win in NCAA tourney, and contain that publicity in 5 years? Same with football...Would someone in Utah remember Akron's win in a "Whatever name it is" Bowl 3 years later....so i don't want to hear about publicity and media and press when it won't have a long-term effect like a national championship would...

[Dr Z]

All I've been hearing is how everyone is craving for a national championship....but if given the choice of trading a national championship for a bowl game or a win in the NCAA tournament they would...totally hypocritical IMO.

We have THREE national titles. 2009 Stevi Large NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship.2009 Jenna Compton NCAA Individual Air Rifle Champion.2000 Christi Smith won the heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

[mes102]

All I've been hearing is how everyone is craving for a national championship....but if given the choice of trading a national championship for a bowl game or a win in the NCAA tournament they would...totally hypocritical IMO.

We have THREE national titles. 2009 Stevi Large NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship.2009 Jenna Compton NCAA Individual Air Rifle Champion.2000 Christi Smith won the heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

i know..let me clarify my comment if you would please: All i've been hearing from students is wantingm the first TEAM national championship at Akron...sorry about the cloudiness of that comment...hopefully i clarified it up for all of you...

[Zip_ME87]

I like this topic. I don't think there is a wrong answer. How many Zips fans went to the Zips bowl appearance vs Memphis? How many Zips fans went to see the Zips play Gonzaga in the NCAAs last year? How many Zips fans went to see the Zips play Virginia in the soccer national title game? Not really apples to apples due to the geographical proximity, but you get the point.

I went to all three. By far my favorite was the soccer weekend.I'm biased though.

Like you, meatwad, I was fortunate enough to go to all 3. All were great in their own way, but soccer weekend was tops given that was for a national championship.

[bigzipguy]

I mentioned this in another thread. How many things sound as sweet as " NATIONAL CHAMPIONS" ?? I like basketball and football and baseball better, but give us the national title!!!!!!!!!!

[RootforRoo44]

I like this topic. I don't think there is a wrong answer. How many Zips fans went to the Zips bowl appearance vs Memphis? How many Zips fans went to see the Zips play Gonzaga in the NCAAs last year? How many Zips fans went to see the Zips play Virginia in the soccer national title game? Not really apples to apples due to the geographical proximity, but you get the point.

I went to all three. By far my favorite was the soccer weekend.I'm biased though.

Like you, meatwad, I was fortunate enough to go to all 3. All were great in their own way, but soccer weekend was tops given that was for a national championship.

All 3 were great, but i personally LOVED going to the NCAA tournament in Basketball. There is NOTHING like it in sports.

[ejcool27]

People ask who cares about soccer. I ask who cares about the pizza pizza bowl?A national championship in soccer gets us more press than winning a single NCAA tournament game. Now, if the choice was going to the sweet sixteen, then I would take basketball but just barely. Elite Eight or farther and it's basketball hands down. The thing is that we're way closer to winning a title in soccer than we are making it to the elite eight in basketball.

I say this with respect, but are you serious!!!Just qualifying for the NCAA basketball tournament brings hundreds of times more publicity than a soccer title. Winning a game or two in the NCAA tournament would bring thousands of times more publicity to our University.As much as I think it would be a cool thing to win a soccer national championship, just remember that NCAA first round basketball tournament games are on CBS, while even the final game of the soccer cup can't even make it to the main station of ESPN.

IDK we went last year and hand Gonzaga on the ropes, and we got nothing a highlight of McNees getting dunked on was all....I'd rather win it on in a sports which still gets time on ESPN 2, and the News around THIS AREA! we were on Channel 5 for Men's Soccer not that much for basketball....Cleveland St. was more important to Cleveland....

ej....if what you are thinking about is the publicity, you seem to be ignoring two very big factors.1) The NCAA tournament selection show, watched by tons of college basketball fan nationwide, followed by all the national sports analysts talking about the pairings for days afterwards, the brackets appearing in the sports section of newspapers all over the country, and the distribution of brackets in offices all over the country.2) The entire game televised in several part of the country on CBS, in prime time. And it's one of the most-watched yearly sporting events in the country. Sure, I'd love a soccer national championship. No doubt. But, noting that one of the Cleveland news stations may have shown a longer highlight of our soccer title game, as opposed to our NCAA basketball tourney appearance, doesn't address the much, much bigger chunks of publicity we got from basketball. There is not even a remote comparison in the amount of publicity we received from these two events.

This is true I forgot about that....but being at the game I was told we were not shown on CBS that much...That they showed the other games...I honestly have no idea....It's the same tho I mean in 5 years who's gonna remember even if we won that game besides us....A Nation Championship same thing, but it's still a national Championship compared to a win....Idk Let's just have all three happen! I honestly can't compare all three...then again I was a soccer player in high school.

[Dr Z]

but being at the game I was told we were not shown on CBS that much...That they showed the other games...I honestly have no idea.

You were misinformed, I remember seeing the map state by state of whom was going to see what game, half the country saw the Zips/Zags game in prime time on network tv. I was at a sports bar and when the other game (I can't remember at this time who it was) went to half, they switched over to the Zips game. I'll guarantee that was the most watched Akron sporting event since I have been following them. Lots of people (non Akron fans) that know I root for Akron commented to me throughout the week that they watched that game.

[zippyrifle32]

Lot of guarantees being made on hypothetical and impossible to prove situations.

[Dr Z]

Lot of guarantees being made on hypothetical and impossible to prove situations.

TV Ratings are far from hypothetical, very well studied due to the all powerful advertising dollar. Look up what share a prime time network first round ncaa playoff game pulls, then look up the other two scenarios. You'll be surprised. I realize this isn't the intention of the original post, but for the sake of knowledge for those who aren't aware, it's a nice research project.

[scottditzen]

Add me to favoring the Soccer title.Tough choice...I just think being THE elite team in a given sport would be so awesome. And unlike the B-ball option, the Zips aren't seen LOSING on national tv again in the next round. I've had enough of losing.

[zippyrifle32]

Lot of guarantees being made on hypothetical and impossible to prove situations.

TV Ratings are far from hypothetical, very well studied due to the all powerful advertising dollar. Look up what share a prime time network first round ncaa playoff game pulls, then look up the other two scenarios. You'll be surprised. I realize this isn't the intention of the original post, but for the sake of knowledge for those who aren't aware, it's a nice research project.

But TV ratings have nothing to do with the "guaranteed .01% of Akron population caring about soccer, or the guarantee fan preferences. TV is a whole different ball game and part of the reason football is more popular than soccer in America is because TV and the media tells us it is. This thread is like asking if you'd want a Indians National Title vs. Cavaliers making (only) the first round of playoffs vs. the Browns beating the Steelers in regular season. A title, championship, being THE winner overall is the highest honor. Nothing else comes close.

[vmd9]

I found this feature yesterday on google, it's interesting...Google Trendsbasically it breaks down, into graphs, the amount of news coverage and searching of any subject you want. You can see huge spikes around the end of 2005 when we won the MAC in football, and last year when we won in basketball.

[RootforRoo44]

Lot of guarantees being made on hypothetical and impossible to prove situations.

TV Ratings are far from hypothetical, very well studied due to the all powerful advertising dollar. Look up what share a prime time network first round ncaa playoff game pulls, then look up the other two scenarios. You'll be surprised. I realize this isn't the intention of the original post, but for the sake of knowledge for those who aren't aware, it's a nice research project.

But TV ratings have nothing to do with the "guaranteed .01% of Akron population caring about soccer, or the guarantee fan preferences. TV is a whole different ball game and part of the reason football is more popular than soccer in America is because TV and the media tells us it is. This thread is like asking if you'd want a Indians National Title vs. Cavaliers making (only) the first round of playoffs vs. the Browns beating the Steelers in regular season. A title, championship, being THE winner overall is the highest honor. Nothing else comes close.

NO the comparison is asking whether you want the Indians making the playoffs as a wild card or seeing the Gladiators win the championship.Soccer is NOT on the same level of football or basketball....period.

[Zip_ME87]

Lot of guarantees being made on hypothetical and impossible to prove situations.

TV Ratings are far from hypothetical, very well studied due to the all powerful advertising dollar. Look up what share a prime time network first round ncaa playoff game pulls, then look up the other two scenarios. You'll be surprised. I realize this isn't the intention of the original post, but for the sake of knowledge for those who aren't aware, it's a nice research project.

But TV ratings have nothing to do with the "guaranteed .01% of Akron population caring about soccer, or the guarantee fan preferences. TV is a whole different ball game and part of the reason football is more popular than soccer in America is because TV and the media tells us it is. This thread is like asking if you'd want a Indians National Title vs. Cavaliers making (only) the first round of playoffs vs. the Browns beating the Steelers in regular season. A title, championship, being THE winner overall is the highest honor. Nothing else comes close.

NO the comparison is asking whether you want the Indians making the playoffs as a wild card or seeing the Gladiators win the championship.Soccer is NOT on the same level of football or basketball....period.

You're right...soccer is a world sport, American football is not, though the NFL gives out rings that say "World Champions" to the Superbowl Champions. What a joke!

[mes102]

Lot of guarantees being made on hypothetical and impossible to prove situations.

TV Ratings are far from hypothetical, very well studied due to the all powerful advertising dollar. Look up what share a prime time network first round ncaa playoff game pulls, then look up the other two scenarios. You'll be surprised. I realize this isn't the intention of the original post, but for the sake of knowledge for those who aren't aware, it's a nice research project.

But TV ratings have nothing to do with the "guaranteed .01% of Akron population caring about soccer, or the guarantee fan preferences. TV is a whole different ball game and part of the reason football is more popular than soccer in America is because TV and the media tells us it is. This thread is like asking if you'd want a Indians National Title vs. Cavaliers making (only) the first round of playoffs vs. the Browns beating the Steelers in regular season. A title, championship, being THE winner overall is the highest honor. Nothing else comes close.

NO the comparison is asking whether you want the Indians making the playoffs as a wild card or seeing the Gladiators win the championship.Soccer is NOT on the same level of football or basketball....period.

RootforRoo44, you're right. Soccer is not on the same level as football or basketball; however, if I had to pick between a national championship or a playoff appearance, I would have to say that I would choose the national championship because that will forever be there...no matter what the sport is even though it may not seem as important as football or basketball, being able to say "National Champion" can be said forever, people won't remember outside of Akron in what basketball or football does unless they win it all...

[g-mann17]

Lot of guarantees being made on hypothetical and impossible to prove situations.

TV Ratings are far from hypothetical, very well studied due to the all powerful advertising dollar. Look up what share a prime time network first round ncaa playoff game pulls, then look up the other two scenarios. You'll be surprised. I realize this isn't the intention of the original post, but for the sake of knowledge for those who aren't aware, it's a nice research project.

But TV ratings have nothing to do with the "guaranteed .01% of Akron population caring about soccer, or the guarantee fan preferences. TV is a whole different ball game and part of the reason football is more popular than soccer in America is because TV and the media tells us it is. This thread is like asking if you'd want a Indians National Title vs. Cavaliers making (only) the first round of playoffs vs. the Browns beating the Steelers in regular season. A title, championship, being THE winner overall is the highest honor. Nothing else comes close.

NO the comparison is asking whether you want the Indians making the playoffs as a wild card or seeing the Gladiators win the championship.Soccer is NOT on the same level of football or basketball....period.

RootforRoo44, you're right. Soccer is not on the same level as football or basketball; however, if I had to pick between a national championship or a playoff appearance, I would have to say that I would choose the national championship because that will forever be there...no matter what the sport is even though it may not seem as important as football or basketball, being able to say "National Champion" can be said forever, people won't remember outside of Akron in what basketball or football does unless they win it all...

Wow, that is the most untrue statement I have ever heard. And this is still the dumbest topic I have ever seen. Each sport right now has a different expectation of success. Football - MAC Championship or Bowl game (winning season)Basketball - NCAA Tournament bid (wins would be excellent)W. Basketball - a solid winning seasonSoccer - National TitleW. Soccer - NCAA Tournament appearance MAC championshipRifle - National TitlesTrack - National TitlesWhy (other than for a stupid argument) would want to pick one over the other. If you don't think people outside of Akron don't remember the MAC Championship you are fooling yourself (ESPN Classic plays that game regularly). If you don't think that playing Gonzaga was more exposure than playing in the College Cup Final, you are fooling yourself. Every paper in the state talked about Akron, CSU, Dayton, Xavier, and OSU being in the tournament (one of the greatest Ohio Basketball years ever). I want the Soccer NC because that is the expectation. I would not give up a level of success for any other sport to get it, that is just plain idiocy. Nor would I give up the Soccer NC for success in any other sport. You take what you get. We are a nationally dominant soccer program, track program, rifle program, that is what we want for every sport we have. It's just more difficult in the major sports (Men's & Women's Basketball & Football) because there is a barrier of history that has to be broken in order to get the people we need to win.

[RootforRoo44]

Lot of guarantees being made on hypothetical and impossible to prove situations.

TV Ratings are far from hypothetical, very well studied due to the all powerful advertising dollar. Look up what share a prime time network first round ncaa playoff game pulls, then look up the other two scenarios. You'll be surprised. I realize this isn't the intention of the original post, but for the sake of knowledge for those who aren't aware, it's a nice research project.

But TV ratings have nothing to do with the "guaranteed .01% of Akron population caring about soccer, or the guarantee fan preferences. TV is a whole different ball game and part of the reason football is more popular than soccer in America is because TV and the media tells us it is. This thread is like asking if you'd want a Indians National Title vs. Cavaliers making (only) the first round of playoffs vs. the Browns beating the Steelers in regular season. A title, championship, being THE winner overall is the highest honor. Nothing else comes close.

NO the comparison is asking whether you want the Indians making the playoffs as a wild card or seeing the Gladiators win the championship.Soccer is NOT on the same level of football or basketball....period.

RootforRoo44, you're right. Soccer is not on the same level as football or basketball; however, if I had to pick between a national championship or a playoff appearance, I would have to say that I would choose the national championship because that will forever be there...no matter what the sport is even though it may not seem as important as football or basketball, being able to say "National Champion" can be said forever, people won't remember outside of Akron in what basketball or football does unless they win it all...

Wow, that is the most untrue statement I have ever heard. And this is still the dumbest topic I have ever seen. Each sport right now has a different expectation of success. Football - MAC Championship or Bowl game (winning season)Basketball - NCAA Tournament bid (wins would be excellent)W. Basketball - a solid winning seasonSoccer - National TitleW. Soccer - NCAA Tournament appearance MAC championshipRifle - National TitlesTrack - National TitlesWhy (other than for a stupid argument) would want to pick one over the other. If you don't think people outside of Akron don't remember the MAC Championship you are fooling yourself (ESPN Classic plays that game regularly). If you don't think that playing Gonzaga was more exposure than playing in the College Cup Final, you are fooling yourself. Every paper in the state talked about Akron, CSU, Dayton, Xavier, and OSU being in the tournament (one of the greatest Ohio Basketball years ever). I want the Soccer NC because that is the expectation. I would not give up a level of success for any other sport to get it, that is just plain idiocy. Nor would I give up the Soccer NC for success in any other sport. You take what you get. We are a nationally dominant soccer program, track program, rifle program, that is what we want for every sport we have. It's just more difficult in the major sports (Men's & Women's Basketball & Football) because there is a barrier of history that has to be broken in order to get the people we need to win.

Exactly G-mann17.Also i have no problem believing that some of you would want a National Championship for soccer more than the other mentioned things for other sports. That's certainly okay to be a fan of soccer and wish them to win a national championship first and foremost if that's what means the most to you. However, that's not the argument, the argument really is "What is best for the school/notoriety"? Fact is, Soccer is off the radar and Football/Basketball do a lot more for notoriety.