Was a Zips Blogger Drunk When He Wrote This?

[Quickzips]

At this point there is absolutely no reason Ianello should get another season. The team is indifferent to him, the fan-base doesn't support him (and never really has) and the administration cannot possibly be pleased with him. Giving him five-years would be insane. That is Can't State territory right there. We should have higher expectations than to let a lame duck coach hang around year after year after year. Short of a miracle 5 game winning streak to end the season Ianello really needs to be gone. He was a poor hire in the first place, and he hasn't shown any signs that he will get better.

As far as Rasor's allegations that the negativity of the fanbase, particularly on this board, is going to scare off potential recruits that is just hogwash (want to use a stronger word there, but Cap'n did send out the warning last week about language). You know what scares off recruits? Losing, and looking absolutely hopeless while doing it. The comments on here are, quite frankly, mild to say the least. Go take a look at a Buckeye's forum after their drubbing at the hands of Wisconsin. Now admittedly, I haven't read any of them, but I can still guarantee you that the stuff being written over there is far worse than anything that ever gets posted here (and there is probably 20 times as much of it). Recruits aren't going to stop going there just because of some message board fodder. To be honest, any recruit who would say, "I'm not going to Akron because their fans on zipsnation are mean," I don't really want here anyways. If you are that thin-skinned, you don't belong playing D-I football.

[Buckzip]

At this point there is absolutely no reason Ianello should get another season. The team is indifferent to him, the fan-base doesn't support him (and never really has) and the administration cannot possibly be pleased with him. Giving him five-years would be insane. That is Can't State territory right there. We should have higher expectations than to let a lame duck coach hang around year after year after year. Short of a miracle 5 game winning streak to end the season Ianello really needs to be gone. He was a poor hire in the first place, and he hasn't shown any signs that he will get better.

As far as Rasor's allegations that the negativity of the fanbase, particularly on this board, is going to scare off potential recruits that is just hogwash (want to use a stronger word there, but Cap'n did send out the warning last week about language). You know what scares off recruits? Losing, and looking absolutely hopeless while doing it. The comments on here are, quite frankly, mild to say the least. Go take a look at a Buckeye's forum after their drubbing at the hands of Wisconsin. Now admittedly, I haven't read any of them, but I can still guarantee you that the stuff being written over there is far worse than anything that ever gets posted here (and there is probably 20 times as much of it). Recruits aren't going to stop going there just because of some message board fodder. To be honest, any recruit who would say, "I'm not going to Akron because their fans on zipsnation are mean," I don't really want here anyways. If you are that thin-skinned, you don't belong playing D-I football.

You would be very surprised to know how many recruits and family members visit team boards to see how the fan base is.

[ZachTheZip]

You would be very surprised to know how many recruits and family members visit team boards to see how the fan base is.

Well, it's a good thing we don't have a fan base, otherwise they might get scared away.

[skip-zip]

You would be very surprised to know how many recruits and family members visit team boards to see how the fan base is.

Well, it's a good thing we don't have a fan base, otherwise they might get scared away.

Sad, but true.

[Lee Adams]

My God, the ABJ allows this to be posted on their web page. The more things change there, the more they stay the same at the ABJ.

Rasor asks if long term a Zips fan would change places with a Can't, OU, Temple or NIU fan. The answer to that in at least two out of four, I would. Temple can be good for a loing time. NIU has been good for a long time. The only team I would say Hell No to is Can't. NIU is a proven winner (wins a lot of games). If we have good facilities, so does Temple...an NFL stadium comes to mind. OU can continue to be good for at least five more years.

Secondly, our commitment to iCoach should be five years? This has to be a joke. If we go 0-12, the commitment to iCoach should not be five minutes. Not to win a game in the worst conference in the country after at least winning 3 last year with 17 returning starters, IMNHO, is cause for immediate termination.

Is Rasor really what law school and a career in an intellectually bankrupt Republican Party creates? I guess so. There are people who actually voted for this guy to serve on the board of a relatively large Ohio town. I'm simply amazed by it. He was a lot smarter before law school and a career in politics. Try harder Rasor.

Maybe he is posting that crap so he can continue to gain whatever access he has.

[Buckzip]

You would be very surprised to know how many recruits and family members visit team boards to see how the fan base is.

Well, it's a good thing we don't have a fan base, otherwise they might get scared away.

Funny, sad and true all at the same time. You can't say that very often.

[zipboy]

I could be wrong but I seem to remember a year ago Rasor writing that ohio.com bought out U of A for Rasor's blog.

[MaxZIP]

I didn't know UA funded Rasor. I thought he was just a blogger.

Apparently law school was not the right path if he can't fund his own blog.

Why pay for it yourself, if someone will pay it for you? That's just smart.

Integrity. Apparenly the bloG comes with strings attached. He is not an Akron zips blogger he is an ABJ puppet? Isn't that what the conversation is all about?

[Buckzip]

I didn't know UA funded Rasor. I thought he was just a blogger.

Apparently law school was not the right path if he can't fund his own blog.

Why pay for it yourself, if someone will pay it for you? That's just smart.

Integrity. Apparenly the bloG comes with strings attached. He is not an Akron zips blogger he is an ABJ puppet? Isn't that what the conversation is all about?

Pretty much

[Captain Kangaroo]

I didn't know UA funded Rasor. I thought he was just a blogger.

Apparently law school was not the right path if he can't fund his own blog.

Why pay for it yourself, if someone will pay it for you? That's just smart.

Integrity. Apparenly the bloG comes with strings attached. He is not an Akron zips blogger he is an ABJ puppet? Isn't that what the conversation is all about?

I think it is pretty unfair to question the guy's integrity. He's always been up front regarding funding of his blog. And I think he is typically been pretty objective in his opinions, maybe sometimes to his detriment.

I agree that his last blog comes off like he wrote it with a gun to his head. But I don't think it is anything to get worked up about.

I did think this passage was kind of a cheap shot:

Akron won't be firing Ianello in the next three years. Being the most negative fanbase won't score any points with recruits and their parents who read ZipsNation.org.

I guess iCoach has an "out" if recruiting doesn't go well this year...it was ZNO's fault.

Maybe we should just all be sheep, and enjoy the abyss. Make everone happy.

[bobbyake]

I think I said something during week one about it getting ugly on here over the season. I can see that it's the case now. This topic is an example of one fan going after another. The fans are turning on each other. Very sad. This topic should never have been started!!

Mike is a die hard Zips fan and deserves more respect than this.

[72 Roo]

Let's keep the focus where it belongs. Not on Mike who does a good job, but on the guy who is tasked to lead the program and produce the results. Why after 0-7 would anyone feel that next year is going to be better? Top recruits with poor leadership become bad players. That's a fact, Jack. Sorry had to work in some Stripes humor. Anyone waiting for the future is denying the present. The future is best predicted by past results. Ianello can't coach and should be fired now. There is no basis for thinking he can coach. It is just loyal fans hoping he is truly not as bad as he is. Surely it has to get better. But 0-12 is a distinct reality. It is almost impossible to fathom, but he is that bad. He has lost the support of the athletics administration staff that have to work with him due to his arrogance ala I come from ND so you better be impressed. The other coaches in the athletics dept find him intolerable. He regularly disrespects them and especially their assistants.

The situation boils down to TW protecting his hire. I like TW but if he insists on supporting Ianello as the present coach, I'd fire both. This situation is intolerable and needs decisive action now. In closing consider this, last year 7,000 season tickets were sold. This year 3,000 were sold. Next year the ticket office expects 1,500. I will not be renewing my two.

[Big Zip]

You can count me in as another who will not be renewing my tickets next year. We have a family pack and nobody in my family wants to go including my dad who looks for any excuse to do something now that he is retired. I made other plans for this Saturday and will try to give my tickets away, but I'm pretty sure that is going to be difficult.

I will still go to a few games next year, but I will only by the tickets to the games I'm attending. The athletic department continues to lower the prices as it is they may resort to giving them away soon.

[akronad]

AH! We are beginning to see a separation between the true fans and the ones that will only support a winning program. I knew it would come to this.

[MaxZIP]

I didn't know UA funded Rasor. I thought he was just a blogger.

Apparently law school was not the right path if he can't fund his own blog.

Why pay for it yourself, if someone will pay it for you? That's just smart.

Integrity. Apparenly the bloG comes with strings attached. He is not an Akron zips blogger he is an ABJ puppet? Isn't that what the conversation is all about?

I think it is pretty unfair to question the guy's integrity. He's always been up front regarding funding of his blog. And I think he is typically been pretty objective in his opinions, maybe sometimes to his detriment.

I agree that his last blog comes off like he wrote it with a gun to his head. But I don't think it is anything to get worked up about.

I did think this passage was kind of a cheap shot:

Akron won't be firing Ianello in the next three years. Being the most negative fanbase won't score any points with recruits and their parents who read ZipsNation.org.

I guess iCoach has an "out" if recruiting doesn't go well this year...it was ZNO's fault.

Maybe we should just all be sheep, and enjoy the abyss. Make everone happy.

I am not questioning his integrity as an individual. He comes off as a good guy in fact I voted for him. But when it comes to Rasors edge...not too edgy as of late.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I am not questioning his integrity as an individual. He comes off as a good guy in fact I voted for him. But when it comes to Rasors edge...not too edgy as of late.

Can't argue with you there.

[Quickzips]

AH! We are beginning to see a separation between the true fans and the ones that will only support a winning program. I knew it would come to this.

Don't go there man. I'm a big fan of this program, and do my best to support Zips athletics, but the reason I am a fan is that I'm looking to be entertained. There is absolutely nothing about this team that is entertaining. As a 25 year old recent law school school graduate who just got married and is still trying to find a job in one of the worst job markets in years, money is tight. I can't justify shelling out any amount of money on a product that has all the entertainment value of watching paint dry. If that means I'm not a "true fan" in your book then so be it. You are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine. I won't be wasting any more of my income on this team until I see some signs that we are putting an entertaining product on the field.

[MaxZIP]

AH! We are beginning to see a separation between the true fans and the ones that will only support a winning program. I knew it would come to this.

Don't go there man. I'm a big fan of this program, and do my best to support Zips athletics, but the reason I am a fan is that I'm looking to be entertained. There is absolutely nothing about this team that is entertaining. As a 25 year old recent law school school graduate who just got married and is still trying to find a job in one of the worst job markets in years, money is tight. I can't justify shelling out any amount of money on a product that has all the entertainment value of watching paint dry. If that means I'm not a "true fan" in your book then so be it. You are entitled to your opinion and I am entitled to mine. I won't be wasting any more of my income on this team until I see some signs that we are putting an entertaining product on the field.

+1

I have 4 tickets for this weekend's game and I can't even get my wife to go (biggest Akron fan I know and former zip athlete). I am not worried about the games selling out next year. I may buy 2 season tickets if I am football starved and yearning for action next spring. Either way I would rather not hear people lament buying season tickets after the first game of the 2011 season. I can't even give my tickets away. I have an employee that lives three blocks from campus and he won't even take free tickets for his kid's sake. It is pretty bad when I consider mailing tickets to TW to express my disappointment.

I can't help but wonder how many years I would get at my job if I performed like RI. I know he is playing with another bosses players but that is part of life. Wouldn't it be great if you could have years to handpick you employees? His job is to be a leader of men and provide a master’s take on the game of football. I see a newbie making stupid mistake after stupid mistake and failing to lead anybody including the fans. Yes ,it is the coach's job to make the fans believe. He can make us believe by showing improvement on the field and avoiding all of the coach speak crap whenever interviewed. How many executives in this country make over $300,000 per year while only supervising a mixed staff of about 100 interns (players) and a shallow management structure? There is no excuse for losing bottom line.

I have been opposed to cutting BCS schools off of the schedule in the past. I now however am starting to believe that having 3 BCS teams a year is not only a recipe for disaster and not fun to watch but can act as a smokescreen for crap teams and coaches. Scheduling some early games against teams from comparable conferences would act as an early measuring stick for all of the non BCS conference members. Of course some teams will continue to ring the register but what is there to gain? Build the program first by learning how to win and then think about bringing in more than 1 low level BCS team a year. Cut at least 1 BCS team and the FCS opponent off the schedule if possible. Play peers for the majority of the season.

[Lee Adams]

AH! We are beginning to see a separation between the true fans and the ones that will only support a winning program. I knew it would come to this.

Way off the mark. I have been buying season tickets for years. I mean years. I did not have to. I could have paid general admission price for every game and gotten a good seat. And I would not have had to pay for all the games. I bought season tickets to support the program not just have tickets. The program has over the long haul been a loser but I still bought season tickets. When I see cheap tickets flying around because the athletic department badly miscalculated support for the team, I feel almost like I am being punished for continually supporting a bad program. They got my money,too bad for me. I want to see what the cost of season tickets will be next year. Lets at least throw a bone to the real 'true fans' who spend the money and go to all the games,

[dreal1scout]

AH! We are beginning to see a separation between the true fans and the ones that will only support a winning program. I knew it would come to this.

Way off the mark. I have been buying season tickets for years. I mean years. I did not have to. I could have paid general admission price for every game and gotten a good seat. And I would not have had to pay for all the games. I bought season tickets to support the program not just have tickets. The program has over the long haul been a loser but I still bought season tickets. When I see cheap tickets flying around because the athletic department badly miscalculated support for the team, I feel almost like I am being punished for continually supporting a bad program. They got my money,too bad for me. I want to see what the cost of season tickets will be next year. Lets at least throw a bone to the real 'true fans' who spend the money and go to all the games,

I still love the ZIPS and will continue to support them in good times and bad. I still believe that Icoach will turn this team in the right direction. Believe me, I want to see wins as much as anyone. We can't get any worse. I hope we are on our way up. GO ZIPS!

[ZachTheZip]

AH! We are beginning to see a separation between the true fans and the ones that will only support a winning program. I knew it would come to this.

In order to have that separation, we would need to have had a winning program in the past.

I think we're seeing a separation between normal people and insane people. Why continue to give money to something that you don't like?

[Zipmeister]

A unique perspective from the Capt. and I definitely learned something from his post. Most egg cartons hold 12 eggs, but I have also seen some that hold 18 and some that hold 6. I have never before, however, seen one that holds ten (10) eggs! Way to go.

It's because I think we'll go 2-10.

At this point, I don't know if we would win 2 games the rest of the way against a purely I-AA schedule. I guess that is pretty much what the MAC is, but still...WMU, Temple, Ball State, Miami, Buffalo? Any other year I'd say we should win 3 of 5, but not this season. The good part is that there won't be anyone at the final two home games to witness the debauchery.

What are the chances that iCoach will resign?

About the same as the odds are that you know the definition of debauchery.

[Quickzips]

AH! We are beginning to see a separation between the true fans and the ones that will only support a winning program. I knew it would come to this.

Way off the mark. I have been buying season tickets for years. I mean years. I did not have to. I could have paid general admission price for every game and gotten a good seat. And I would not have had to pay for all the games. I bought season tickets to support the program not just have tickets. The program has over the long haul been a loser but I still bought season tickets. When I see cheap tickets flying around because the athletic department badly miscalculated support for the team, I feel almost like I am being punished for continually supporting a bad program. They got my money,too bad for me. I want to see what the cost of season tickets will be next year. Lets at least throw a bone to the real 'true fans' who spend the money and go to all the games,

I still love the ZIPS and will continue to support them in good times and bad. I still believe that Icoach will turn this team in the right direction. Believe me, I want to see wins as much as anyone. We can't get any worse. I hope we are on our way up. GO ZIPS!

I could settle for not getting a ton of wins if we were at least competitive and entertaining to watch. We're not. We aren't anywhere close to competitive. We are un-imaginative, un-inspired and downright boring. I'm not going to spend any of my money to go watch that. I'll save it and add another basketball game to my schedule this winter.

[MaxZIP]

A unique perspective from the Capt. and I definitely learned something from his post. Most egg cartons hold 12 eggs, but I have also seen some that hold 18 and some that hold 6. I have never before, however, seen one that holds ten (10) eggs! Way to go.

It's because I think we'll go 2-10.

At this point, I don't know if we would win 2 games the rest of the way against a purely I-AA schedule. I guess that is pretty much what the MAC is, but still...WMU, Temple, Ball State, Miami, Buffalo? Any other year I'd say we should win 3 of 5, but not this season. The good part is that there won't be anyone at the final two home games to witness the debauchery.

What are the chances that iCoach will resign?

About the same as the odds are that you know the definition of debauchery.

[ZipRoo]

Funny, I was LAMBASTED on Rasor's blog over the past year when I suggested that ticket prices were too high for the UA football product. LAMBASTED. "We're D-1...Stay at home, then!...How can UA support its athletic dept.?...What's $15 or $20 a game??"----Those were all the excuses I heard, justifying UA charging $10 to $15 MORE than crosstown rival Can't State. Well, who's lambasting NOW? Took ya all long enough to finally see the light.

I was also LAMBASTED for suggesting that Terry Bowden would ever come here. Well, he's at a I-AA school, and every man has his price. He also coached here before.

Bottom line, folks: Think before you instantly go negative on other bloggers' thoughts. Our tickets ARE overpriced, and Ianello was NOT the right hire. Either was TW. Call me what you want, but I'll be at the game Saturday. I support the school. But I certainly do not support the hiring decisions. And after hearing about Ianello's alleged arrogance and intolerability around the department, I am more convinced than ever...this guy has GOT TO GO. NOW.