Championship Celebration - 1986 and 2013

[skip-zip]

I wanted to start this thread this morning, mostly to get some thoughts from some of my fellow old timers who were a part of both of these seasons, which are the only two times in D-1 when we clinched a conference regular season title in Rhodes Arena. It's not at all intended to be another "things were better way back when" discussion.

On the night we beat Austin Peay back to 1986 to clinch the regular season OVC title, nobody left the arena. I remember hanging on that railing upstairs along with everyone else in the student section, screaming as every player and coach walked up the ladder to cut down the nets, including one of the assistant coaches who decided it was a good idea to sit on the hoop.

I stuck around for this celebration last night, too. I'd guess that 90% of the people in the arena were gone. The loudest sounds seemed to be coming from people folding chairs and cleaning the aisles. It was really an empty feeling for me, recalling what I experienced 27 years ago. Yet, the crowds who attended both of these games were probably quite similar in size.

I'm left wondering, why did everyone leave?

Have we become that spoiled at being a consistent, yearly winner, which was not the case when we won the 1986 title ?

Did anyone even know that we were clinching a title with a win last night, before they walked out? (the PA Announcer said it)

Did the end of the winning streak really drain everyone's enthusiasm? The crowd seemed uninterested most of the night.

Was it the fact that the 1986 championship was such a surprise?

Were the fans and students in general much more "into it" back then?

Have regular season conference championships really become that meaningless? (you needed to win the tournament to qualify back in 1986 too)

I'm interested in hearing some thoughts from those who shared these two events along with me.

[Hilltopper]

I had no idea they were going to cut down the nets last night. I disagree with your assertions that the crowd wasn't into the game last night. Willie and the PA guys did a pretty good job of trying to keep fans excited. If you haven't noticed, opposing coaches have been using timeouts to try and keep the crowd out of the game. Every time the fans got going a time out was called. This team seems to really feed of the enthusiasm of the crowd, home or away. As far as the comparison to 1986, that was the first time we ever won anything at the D-1 level. Yes we had been successful at D-2, but this was the big time we all yearned for. When we cut down the nets at the Q, I will stay and watch.

[a-zip]

I think a lot of what you said is true in the sense that expectations are to go to the NCAA Tourney. When we win the game that clinches that for us, I am sure there will be a lot of excitement. I also have to believe there is a bit of a hangover from the streak ending and the possibility of an automatic berth ending. I know personally if we don't make it to the NCAAs, I will be dissappointed. I felt the same way when the soccer team got knocked out and did not win another championship in Caleb's final year. Was it a successful year for them.......yes, BUT expectations are different.

I think the expectations for our basketball team are also different now and I want to see Zeke end his career in style and see these guys make a run in the tourney (which I think they can do).

[akzipper]

I didn't experience the 1986 season so can't really compare, but I think all of your points about this season are valid. Everyone knows that making the NCAA tournament is the ultimate goal. Aside from giving us a meaningless NIT bid, the regular season title has become an afterthought. Is it a great accomplishment? Yes, but fans have bigger goals for this team.

On a side note don't all schools cut dow the nets for regular season championships? Don't get OhioU fans trashing Akron for doing it. Not like we stormed the court or anything.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I'm left wondering, why did everyone leave?

It is a school night, and I had to get my son home. If you've ever sat through a net-cutting, they take forever. If we cut down the nets in Cleveland on a Saturday night, I'll stay.

Have we become that spoiled at being a consistent, yearly winner, which was not the case when we won the 1986 title?

Winning a MAC title is nice, but the focus in 2013 is winning the MAC tourney. That's where everything is on the line. You see it on our site every day, you hear it from Dambrot himself - it all comes down to two days in Cleveland.

Did anyone even know that we were clinching a title with a win last night, before they walked out? (the PA Announcer said it)

I think most did. But the win was a foregone conclusion, and people wanted to get home on a cold March weeknight.

Did the end of the winning streak really drain everyone's enthusiasm? The crowd seemed uninterested most of the night.

The opponent, and the Zips lethargic 1st half play, were responsible for the lethargic crowd.

Was it the fact that the 1986 championship was such a surprise?

I think the bar for the 1986 team was lower, so people were more excited. Now, we play for NCAA tourney appearances. They're expected. And the should be. We have a 7-foot NBA center instead of a 6' 3" football player in the middle.

Were the fans and students in general much more "into it" back then?

Yes. The JAR was new. Huggins was a rising star. No ESPN (like today). ABJ was robust in its coverage and influence. Different era.

Have regular season conference championships really become that meaningless? (you needed to win the tournament to qualify back in 1986 too)

Not meaningless. But the program needs to keep elevating. Dambrot says so repeatedly.

Winning the 2013 MAC is nice. Great accomplishment. But the ceiling for the program is much higher than 27 years ago. More is possible, and more is expected. That's a credit to KD. Kudos to him and all the players over the past 9 years that have made a regular season championship worthy of a polite golf clap.

[UAZip0510]

"Think Bigger"

I'm proud of our team winning the regular season title, but we'll only remember what happens in Cleveland years from now.

[skip-zip]

Funny that a couple of you mention that a weekday night game might have caused the early fan exit. But, we beat Austin Peay to clinch the 1986 title on the MONDAY.

I have no doubt that expectations are much higher now for most fans, but I was still quite shocked at the low number of people who stayed for the celebration.

Thanks for all of your thoughts so far.

[zen]

Have we become that spoiled at being a consistent, yearly winner, which was not the case when we won the 1986 title ?

Winning the MAC is a great thing and should not be taken for granted. The players and the staff worked very hard to get where they are.

But to answer your question, yes, I think everyone is spoiled. I have heard KD say it numerous times, and I'm paraphrasing, 'we want to get the the NCAA tournament and get some wins there'. This is what everyone wants as well.

[odhgibo]

Have we become that spoiled at being a consistent, yearly winner, which was not the case when we won the 1986 title ?

I'm not sure whether I'd go so far as spoiled, but I do think the circumstances are sufficiently different to merit a different reaction.

Akron had played 5 D1 seasons leading up to the 1985-86 season. In those 5 years, they had won 8, 7, 8, 14, and 12 games.

To make matters worse, the first four of those years were headed by Bob Rupert, who left the program on probation.

That 1985-86 team was down a couple scholarships due to the probation, and Hugs was looking for athletic bodies to fill out the roster. That they won the OVC title was both unexpected and thrilling.

The only analogy that I can come up with, and it's not perfect, is Toledo winning next year's league title. I think UT fans would be expected to be more excited about a league title should one come their way than would Akron or OU.

[legendofzippy]

Hello. New to the forum, but was at the game last night. The crowd wasn't as "into it" as some other games, but this was an average Miami team that was also missing some of their best players. You can't expect fans to be rabid for such a matchup.

I'm also a bit skeptical that 1986 fans are "better" than 2013 fans. The fact is that this isn't the championship that really matters for this team - it's the one next Saturday that counts. We all know Akron needs the automatic bid. So this is still a great accomplishment, but it's not the one fans - or the team - are shooting for.

[Big Zip]

Last night wasn't an outright Championship so maybe that played into it too.

[Dave in Green]

@skip-zip, first I want to say that even though you and I have disagreed on some things, I really appreciate that you are a longtime loyal Zips fan who would think to start a thread like this. In my case, I didn't really start following the Zips until I moved to Akron and Coach Huggins was here. At the time I worked for Goodyear and was on the road a lot, so I didn't get to see a lot of games. I missed the 1986 championship celebration game. As to why I didn't take the time to stay after last night's game, I'm just not personally big on celebrations in general. It takes something really special to motivate me to want to stay behind and savor the moment. I've done it for the Zips at the Q, and hope to do it again this year. If I can get to a Zips NCAA tournament game and they win, I'll want to stay behind and savor that win even longer. But I'm happy for you and other Zips fans who stayed behind last night and enjoyed the regular season championship celebration.

[Dr Z]

For anyone that didn't see it, they showed the cutting of the nets on STO after they interviewed KD.

I saw the Beacon Journal photographer taking photos while cutting down the nets, but don't see any this morning.

My take (still being in high school in 86) is expectations. Also, been there done that.

[tpsjugglerdude]

I wasn't expecting them to cut down the nets last night. When Akron clintched last year KD did not allow them to cut down the nets, trying to make them more hungry for the Q.

[skip-zip]

I wasn't expecting them to cut down the nets last night. When Akron clintched last year KD did not allow them to cut down the nets, trying to make them more hungry for the Q.

That's not correct. We DID cut down the nets in the JAR after we returned from clinching the regular season title in the season finale at Ken+ on a Friday night.

This is why I pointed out that last night was the only time since 1986 that we clinched a regular season conference title on our home floor.

[skip-zip]

I'm not sure whether I'd go so far as spoiled, but I do think the circumstances are sufficiently different to merit a different reaction.

Akron had played 5 D1 seasons leading up to the 1985-86 season. In those 5 years, they had won 8, 7, 8, 14, and 12 games.

To make matters worse, the first four of those years were headed by Bob Rupert, who left the program on probation.

That 1985-86 team was down a couple scholarships due to the probation, and Hugs was looking for athletic bodies to fill out the roster. That they won the OVC title was both unexpected and thrilling.

The only analogy that I can come up with, and it's not perfect, is Toledo winning next year's league title. I think UT fans would be expected to be more excited about a league title should one come their way than would Akron or OU.

It was truly an amazing, and unexpected accomplishment.

That team had everything working against them, didn't they?

One point that you left out was also that probably our best player (Merchant) got booted from the team early in the season.

[roopride]

I was at the game and debated. For me my son was with me and had some school work. Certainly the interest is there with ove 5000 on a Tuesday eve. Most were not there anticipating to see the championship clinched but to see these ZIps play.

How many were at the 1986 game? I also agreee expections are much greater now.

[odhgibo]

How many were at the 1986 game? I also agreee expections are much greater now.

Announced attendance was 5511.

[phil]

I remember staying for the net cutting at the Q when they won the tournament and we were going to the NCAA. Had a great time!

Winning the conference gets us the first seed and an NIT bid. If it got us an NCAA bid I would have stayed and celebrated. The celebration on winning the conference seems premature when our goal is to get into the NCAA tournament.

[GoZips]

Completely different set of expectations.

The 1986 team was just happy to be there; as were the fans.

The 2013 team has goals well beyond securing the NIT ticket. They remember the disappointment of last year.

We ain't won nothing, yet, baby. Last season the kids set a goal for themselves to get to the Sweet Sixteen. Instead,

Ohio enjoyed that ride. The bar is set even higher this year. The kids know what it is. That is their expectation.

So far, these talented and experienced Zips are still playing way below their abilities. They have two choices,

fall back and relax, take the NIT bid and piss away all their hard work. Or, they can work even harder and make a

run for the gold ring.

This team has the size, the talent and the skills to go deep, deep into the tournament. The loss at Buffalo crimped

them a lot. It was painful. They know that they did not reach down and play their guts out. No one is happy.

Some one, preferably a senior, needs to take command and provide the leadership. Has not happened thus far.

A lot of college coaches are really wary of this edition of the Zips. And, they damned well better be. They have been

challenged by the coaches to make a new winning streak seven games long. I want an eight game win streak. It all

begins Friday night. Time to blow out Cant State. Go into the MAC Tourney primed and ready. Win that and move on

to the NCAA Tourney.

I WANT AKRON OUT OF THE MAC.

[Zip76]

I WANT AKRON OUT OF THE MAC.

Where would we go?

There is nowhere to go right now that would make any sense for the Akron Athletics Department.

[akzipper]

Where would we go?

There is nowhere to go right now that would make any sense for the Akron Athletics Department.

The Big East leftovers

[akronzips71]

Completely different set of expectations.

The 1986 team was just happy to be there; as were the fans.

The 2013 team has goals well beyond securing the NIT ticket. They remember the disappointment of last year.

We ain't won nothing, yet, baby. Last season the kids set a goal for themselves to get to the Sweet Sixteen. Instead,

Ohio enjoyed that ride. The bar is set even higher this year. The kids know what it is. That is their expectation.

So far, these talented and experienced Zips are still playing way below their abilities. They have two choices,

fall back and relax, take the NIT bid and piss away all their hard work. Or, they can work even harder and make a

run for the gold ring.

This team has the size, the talent and the skills to go deep, deep into the tournament. The loss at Buffalo crimped

them a lot. It was painful. They know that they did not reach down and play their guts out. No one is happy.

Some one, preferably a senior, needs to take command and provide the leadership. Has not happened thus far.

A lot of college coaches are really wary of this edition of the Zips. And, they damned well better be. They have been

challenged by the coaches to make a new winning streak seven games long. I want an eight game win streak. It all

begins Friday night. Time to blow out Cant State. Go into the MAC Tourney primed and ready. Win that and move on

to the NCAA Tourney.

I WANT AKRON OUT OF THE MAC.

Everyone loses a game once in a while. Better to lose at Buffalo than at the Q.

If it serves as a wakeup call good.

We are very good. We are not invincible. No one is.

[Zip76]

The Big East leftovers

That doesn't help us. I can't imagine how awful that travel would be.

[skip-zip]

Great discussion. I thought it warranted some attention, especially from those who personally took part in both events.

I don't know guys. I still find it pretty stunning, regardless of some of the differences in expectations, that the 1986 net-cutting celebration crowd was surely in the thousands, while the 2013 celebration prompted maybe a hundred or so people to stick around.

I'm sure in both instances, it surely had great meaning to the players, coaches, and staff, even if it didn't mean much to the fans.