Akron vs OSU

[bobbyake]

This is to see who the true Akron fans are. I know a lot of you root for OSU but who do you put first? That's the big question.I'm talking about next year btw. I can't wait to watch Akron kick OSU's butt

[Valpo Zip]

That's a no brainer, who the hell on this site can cheer against the zips ?

[a-zip]

Huh?

[bobbyake]

i'm willing to bet you'll see Akron students rooting for OSU

[Balki Bartokomous]

I couldn't care less about who OSU plays or loses to. They could lose to a team of retarded clowns and It wouldn't mean a thing. I worry about the Zips. There are lots of OSUs, but only one AKR.

[bobbyake]

I couldn't care less about who OSU plays or loses to. They could lose to a team of retarded clowns and It wouldn't mean a thing. I worry about the Zips. There are lots of OSUs, but only one AKR.

yeah, you might not. But start talking crap about OSU on here and you'll get some people angry. I honestly think that if Akron played OSU at the Rubber Bowl, you'd see 1/4th of the Akron students wearing OSU gear. Check out all the OSU groups on facebook. I started that forget about the bucks, go zips group, but I don't think that flies very well with a lot of students.

[Zip Watcher]

There are lots of OSUs, but only one AKR.

What he said ... and furthermore:You can't spell "Buckeyes" without S U C KGo Zips!

[sgm405]

Some people who go to Akron root for OSU as well as a 2nd fav team.If the two meet, they cheer for Akron...otherwise, they cheer for OSU.It is no big deal.What's so hard to understand???

[Captain Kangaroo]

Some people who go to Akron root for OSU as well as a 2nd fav team.If the two meet, they cheer for Akron...otherwise, they cheer for OSU.It is no big deal.What's so hard to understand???

I can live with that sentiment, but I wish it were otherwise.BTW: At the Can't/Toledo hoops final at the Gund this year the Jumbotron showed a guy in a Michigan shirt. The crowd boooooo'd like he was a member of the Taliban. They then showed a clown in an OSU shirt and the entire MAC crowd went bananas. I thought that sucked. I wish the MAC crowd would have just ignored the "skit." Going bananas for an OSU clown in a retarded, staged skit at a MAC Championship event is pathetic. But...that's the mentality the MAC is up against.

[Valpo Zip]

I am not saying that we should hate OSU to be zips fans. When OSU is playing on TV and the zips game is at a different time, i find no shame in rooting for the buckeyes. why would i cheer for mich or iowa or northwestern against OSU ?In the same time, OSU is not my team, i do not buy/wear any OSU gear ever. Never did and i will never do it in the future. My shirts, hat, sticker on my car are all zips stuff and yeah, never been in the stadium for an OSU game, only on TV. Because only the zips deserve my money.

[w00t]

I love my alma mater, and can routinely be seen at soccer games, football games, and basketball games... but let's not forget that the MAC is the MAC. It's a mid-major conference. The Big Ten simply offers better competition. Most hardcore college sports fans want to identify with a team who has a fighting chance to go all the way and play those big games against major conference competition.We are from Ohio after all, so I don't see what's wrong with showing the Buckeyes some love... I liken them to our big brother.An act of God placed our soccer team at the top of the NCAA last year, but you will never see a MAC school #1 in either football or basketball. (The only two college sports that generate a serious amount of revenue... but that's a conversation for another day). I don't that being a Zips fan and being a Buckeye fan has to be mutually exclusive. Since they very seldom play each other, there's not even much of a need to divide your loyalties.

[Wally B]

This is to see who the true Akron fans are. I know a lot of you root for OSU but who do you put first? That's the big question.I'm talking about next year btw. I can't wait to watch Akron kick OSU's butt

I don't see the Zips betaing tOSU in 07, and i do like to watch their games. However, i can not root aginst the zips regarless of the odds. Besides, we beat them once before (1894) odds are we can do it again at some point.

[ZachTheZip]

why would i cheer for mich or iowa or northwestern against OSU ?

I would have to agree with you about cheering for Mich or Iowa. I have no reason to root against OSU, except for next year when Akron plays them. I don't like very many OSU fans because the ones I have met either seem like frontrunners, or they totally bash any school other than their precious Buckeyes. Rooting for Northwestern is a different story though. I root for them no matter what happens because a friend (someone I graduated from high school next to) is their star player and a Heisman candidate. But that is different than rooting for other schools that I have no connection to.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Let's not forget that the MAC is the MAC.

I like the MAC. I actually prefer it over the Big 10.

It's a mid-major conference.

There is no such thing as a "mid-major" conference. That is simply a term coined by large $$ schools to try and separate themselves from other institutions.

The Big Ten simply offers better competition.

Competion in the MAC is excellent. I see no difference in the MAC and the Big 10 regarding competition. The Big 10 is deeper. They have some better athletes. But the gameday conference competition is not any better than the MAC. Unless it is Can't/Buffalo.

Most hardcore college sports fans want to identify with a team who has a fighting chance to go all the way and play those big games against major conference competition.

I don't blame them, so long as they don't look down on the MAC while they're doing so.

We are from Ohio after all, so I don't see what's wrong with showing the Buckeyes some love... I liken them to our big brother.

I liken them to the rich kid down the street that has a superiority complex. I don't see the family connection in the least.

An act of God placed our soccer team at the top of the NCAA last year, but you will never see a MAC school #1 in either football or basketball.

Did an act of God place the soccer team in the finals in 1986. Did it place them in the Top 10 this preseason? If the NCAA wouldn't have been screwed in seeding in last year's tournament, the Zips would likely have won the championship. They beat Maryland on a neutral field.

I don't that being a Zips fan and being a Buckeye fan has to be mutually exclusive. Since they very seldom play each other, there's not even much of a need to divide your loyalties.

I agree with that too...to an extent. I have a bunch of friends that are OSU fans. And Notre Dame fans. And Michigan fans. Etc. That's all good as long as you don't have some superiority complex that the Big 10 is God. And, talk-down the MAC as some second class conference because it isn't on ESPN every 30 seconds or properly covered in the local papers.

[Dr Z]

Zips RULE, I root for anybody that goes up against Columbus State, including the police !

[Zip Watcher]

No personal disrespect intended, but I think your arguments are rubbish.To think that I didn't attend UA .. and you did .. our difference of opinion astounds me.

... but let's not forget that the MAC is the MAC.  It's a mid-major conference.  The Big Ten simply offers better competition.

I studied .. er .. spent time at a Big East (UConn) and Big Ten (Purdue) school. I watched hoops from the front row in those conferences for 7 years. In the 8 seasons I've been back in NEOH and owned season tix at the JAR, the basketball night in and night out is more entertaining and competitive than what I witnessed at Gampel Pavilion or Mackey Arena. Now there have been years when the Zips themselves wouldn't stand a chance against UC or PU, but the conference is more evenly matched and more entertaining than the BCS schools.The BCS teams all too often are just posing for the next level. Not too much urgency in playing defense or playing as a team. Not so in the MAC .. urgency reigns. Go to a Big East BB Tournament and then the MAC Tournament and then tell me which was more similar to the intensity of an NCAA game.The MAC title game in Detroit last year was one of the most exciting games I've witnessed in person. Second place? Suckeye's beat Boilers @ Ross-Ade on the bomb late in the game. MAC / BCS .. both great games.In the MAC, you also are looking (for the most part) at STUDENT athletes. That's worth something to me anyway.

We are from Ohio after all, so I don't see what's wrong with showing the Buckeyes some love... I liken them to our big brother.

I live just about as close to Pitt as I do OSU .. should I be a Panther fan? My sig sums up my sentiment to your comment.

An act of God placed our soccer team at the top of the NCAA last year

What the Captain said.

, but you will never see a MAC school #1 in either football or basketball. 

In hoops we will. 10 years ago you would have said you'd never see a non-BCS school in the Final Four .. and the Colonial got it done this year. Gonzaga's been regularly in the top 10 over the past few years. It's bound to happen one of these days. After Laranaga broke down the door this year .. it's on! The kids being recruited to fight for playing time at a BCS school now see they can conquer all at a school like GMU. You only need 2 or 3 studs and a roster full of athletes and good defensive depth .. 13 guys.It'll get done .. and it might as well be Akron. You're selling a whole lot of hardworking coaches and players short with that sentiment. Give Keith some time. We're only heading into year 3.

[Zipmeister]

Zips RULE, I root for anybody that goes up against Columbus State, including the police !OH NO. I hope Maurice's latest problems with the law don't negatively impact his chances of becoming the Suckeyes new starting tight end.http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2544467

[Zips fan]

I agree with all of captain's points. It is not so much an anti-OSU sentiment, but a pro-Akron/MAC sentiment. I would rather see the Zips play than any B10 school. I disagree with the assertion that the MAC is a lesser product than the B10. The Zips are my team and the MAC garner the majority of my attention. If OSU were never listed in the local papers again, I wouldn't miss them at all. GO ZIPS!!!

[Valpo Zip]

, but you will never see a MAC school #1 in either football or basketball. 

In hoops we will. 10 years ago you would have said you'd never see a non-BCS school in the Final Four .. and the Colonial got it done this year. Gonzaga's been regularly in the top 10 over the past few years. It's bound to happen one of these days. After Laranaga broke down the door this year .. it's on! The kids being recruited to fight for playing time at a BCS school now see they can conquer all at a school like GMU. You only need 2 or 3 studs and a roster full of athletes and good defensive depth .. 13 guys.It'll get done .. and it might as well be Akron. You're selling a whole lot of hardworking coaches and players short with that sentiment. Give Keith some time. We're only heading into year 3.

I love that spirit.I know that football is at the door but i already can't wait till Bball starts.

[w00t]

CK, I think you're a great guy and I don't mean any disrespect, but if you think that the MAC and The Big Ten are on the same level talent-wise, then I would have to ask how much you've had to drink at this early hour. The money doesn't lie... how many MAC alumni are there in the NFL? How many from The Big Ten? Are you joking?It's great that you like the MAC and prefer it to The Big Ten... you're in the minority (check the TV ratings), and The Big Ten has better teams and better athletes. I suppose it means nothing to you that the champions from the MAC (Akron) had their score doubled by a team firmly entrenched in the bottom third of the Big Ten (Purdue) last year. How much more evidence do you need as to the talent disparity there? Want to place any bets on the NIU/OSU game in a few weeks? Any idea why the MAC Champs or Runners Up are slated to play the SEVENTH PLACE Big Ten finisher in the Motor City Bowl on December 26th this year? MAC vs. Big Ten last year... 0-11. If Akron beat Can't 11 times out of 11 and a Can't fan told you that Akron wasn't any better, you'd pass him some smelling salts, right? I'm interested to see how you chalk that up to anything but The Big Ten being a better conference. And what do you mean there's no such thing as a mid-major conference? Just denying it doesn't make it true. I suppose there's no such thing as a BCS conference either?Superiority complex?!?! OSU is the preseason number one... who the heck are they supposed to feel inferior to?!?!?! If they feel superior, it's for good reason, they would beat us by four touchdowns on any given day.I don't even think I'm "looking down on" the MAC so much as just plainly stating a fact... I'm pretty comfortable that, barring a miracle, there will be no MAC squad challenging for a national title in football or basketball in my lifetime. George Mason became the first mid-major to crack the final four (which means they were still two wins away from a title I would remind you) since the field expanded to 64 in 1985. That's one in 88 for the MM's (and they were not the first 11-seed to make it, LSU pulled it off in '86). Now that high schoolers can't jump directly to the NBA, the high-major talent pool will get stronger again... wanna take a bet on whether or not there will be a mid-major in the Final Four next year? I'll give you a straight-line ten for one, and I'm guessing you wouldn't take me up on it. My point about soccer was that (and this is coming from someone who claims soccer as his favorite sport) it doesn't really count, because it's not played on any sort of a national stage. You know as well as I do that you couldn't name me five non-Akron NCAA soccer players, but I'll bet you knew every Heisman candidate from last year. And the Zips did not beat Maryland on a neutral field last year... they beat them at home in a preseason tournament and tied them on the road before failing to advance in a penalty shootout. Not that it matters, I wasn't arguing that Akron's soccer team is anything other than phenomenal... they absolutely got screwed by the seeding committee. All that being said, it is a GREAT time to be a Zips fan. Being favored to win the MAC in football and basketball (and likely to absolutely drub Can't in both sports) and having another national title contender on the soccer field is pretty exciting. I will be at as many soccer, football, and basketball games as I can possibly make... and I am ecstatic for how far all of those programs have come in such a short time. I just don't have any delusions about where any of them stand on the national stage.

[Zip Watcher]

CK, I think you're a great guy and I don't mean any disrespect, but if you think that the MAC and The Big Ten are on the same level talent-wise,

Ummmm .....

It's great that you like the MAC and prefer it to The Big Ten... you're in the minority (check the TV ratings), and The Big Ten has better teams and better athletes.  I suppose it means nothing to you that the champions from the MAC (Akron) had their score doubled by a team firmly entrenched in the bottom third of the Big Ten (Purdue) last year.  How much more evidence do you need as to the talent disparity there?

Yeah .... I think you need to go back and reread the Capn's post. Nowhere in his post does he talk about the MAC having more talent than the Big 10.

... I'm pretty comfortable that, barring a miracle, there will be no MAC squad challenging for a national title in football or basketball in my lifetime.

That's too bad .. you must be in extremely poor health or advanced age .. or of little or no faith. Sucks for you.Point of order though .. we weren't really discussing winning a title .. you stated "ranked #1" .. that's not necessarily challenging for a title .. if the TV networks bar you from the games (ie BCS) .. you can't really challenge for the title on the field.

.. George Mason became the first mid-major to crack the final four

Game ON!

.. (which means they were still two wins away from a title I would remind you)

and I would remind you that they dispatched of the clear favorite to win it all .. and the team that most would agree had the most talent going into the tournament, borne out by the number of draftees in the last NBA draft .. UConn. GMU didn't stumble in .. back in .. or get lucky .. they went out, defended as a team .. busted their asses .. and got it DONE.

I'll give you a straight-line ten for one, and I'm guessing you wouldn't take me up on it.

No one here is telling you it will happen every year .. but if you want to revisit your odds on a 3 year bet (one more of your so-called "mid-majors" in the Final 4 in the next 3 seasons) .. I'm sure you'll get more than one taker here.Norm Abram would tell you to:Read twice & reply once.Go Zips!

[w00t]

Whatever chief, he may not have used the words "the MAC has as much talent as the Big Ten", but what exactly do you make of this?

Competion in the MAC is excellent. I see no difference in the MAC and the Big 10 regarding competition. The Big 10 is deeper. They have some better athletes. But the gameday conference competition is not any better than the MAC. Unless it is Can't/Buffalo.

I would remind you that they dispatched of the clear favorite to win it all .. and the team that most would agree had the most talent going into the tournament, borne out by the number of draftees in the last NBA draft .. UConn. GMU didn't stumble in .. back in .. or get lucky .. they went out, defended as a team .. busted their asses .. and got it DONE.

I loved George Mason's basketball team... I don't think I was more into a college hoops game all season that the UConn/GM game... I really hate UConn. But the smart money does not have another MM in the Final Four for a long, long time... 22 more years maybe? And even then, two more wins to go against teams that are obviously pretty good. I'll give you those same odds on a five-year bet.

Point of order though .. we weren't really discussing winning a title .. you stated "ranked #1"

No, I didn't, I said "#1" (read: champion)... Read twice, post once.

[Zip Watcher]

he may not have used the words "the MAC has as much talent as the Big Ten", but it was implied all over the place.

Saying the competition is as good means the teams are as evenly matched .. it says nothing about talent level. But that's fine.

No, I didn't, I said "#1" (read: champion)... Read twice, post once.

But the context of your original statment ...

An act of God placed our soccer team at the top of the NCAA last year, but you will never see a MAC school #1 in either football or basketball.

.. indicated that #1 meant "ranked #1" which Lolla's boys were .. not "champion", which they weren't. That's fine .. misinterpretation on my part .. I guess..

I'll give you those same odds on a five-year bet.

Sounds great to me. I'll put $50 on that. Does it stand for the whole 5? What happens when the Zips get there twice?

[w00t]

Great, then the MAC is "evenly matched"... but don't try and tell me that The Big Ten isn't at a higher level of competition.I promise to only spend your $50 on Zips apparel.

[Zip Watcher]

I promise to only spend your $50 on Zips apparel.

Sounds great. I'll spend your $500 on my flight to the Final Four!