Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba.com

I captured the video of WUPW FOX36's story on Internet sports message boards which featured three of the posters here at Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba.com

The file is relatively large at just over 7MB, but if you're not in the Toledo market and you don't have any other way of seeing it, I think it's worth the time! (or if you happened to be on the clip...I think you probably want a copy. )

The video is available by clicking here:

http://www.ay-ziggy-zoomba.com/downloads/FOX36-WEB.wmv (please save a copy on your hard drive, rather than downloading it repeatedly...that eats up the monthly allotment of bandwidth!!)

On a related note, the reporter that shot and edited the story, Adam Kuperstein, writes a semi-regular article at the FOX36 website called Kuperstein's Corner. He's got some good stuff up there, so you might want to bookmark it and keep an eye on it from time-to-time!

http://www.foxtoledo.com/index.cfm?acti ... &lnid=1001

-- That shot of Adam in the restroom stall really weirded me out. Give him credit for creativity.

-- For some reason, I thought Brad Fanning was way younger than he is. That's a young sounding name... and, being on Fox, I figured he'd have to be young.

-- I get the impression that both Stutz and Brandon wish they could put this newfangled Internet thing back in the bottle. I have more thoughts on this dynamic, but another time.

That was a nice piece.

A shame they didn't include a graphic spelling out the AZZ.com URL. It would be nice if people could find their way here.

Second thought -- I guess they flashed it at the top of a browser window. Not sure if that was enough to sink in.

very cool! that was a great idea for them to do that story!

Its funny, Schad, but I always thought "Grant Cummings" was a young sounding name, too... *shrug*

WOAH! That was smooth.

I liked how one clip they started zoomed in on my avatar! So really, I was on TV afterall! yay!

TG1996 wrote:very cool! that was a great idea for them to do that story!

Its funny, Schad, but I always thought "Grant Cummings" was a young sounding name, too... *shrug*

I always thought "Grant Cummings" sounded sort of porn star-ish.

That's was a neat report. Thanks for making it available Grant.

Did Amstutz lose weight?

Grant. Nice stuff. Good to hear BG's Philly fans get a plug

Schadenfreude: I think you're spot on Brandon and Imstufft

Man, the designer never gets any respect....

BGSU Falconz wrote:Man, the designer never gets any respect....

Hahhaha!! I told you man, I mentioned you by NAME but they cut it out! I've got the whole 30+ minute interview on audio tape...I can prove it!! :shrug:

The site looked great on air though!

think you could post the audio part on the site GRant?

1987alum wrote:Schadenfreude: I think you're spot on Brandon and Imstufft

Let me elaborate.

Again, I'm sure they hate it. Denny Stolz never took the kind of abuse Brandon can read on a regular basis here.* We hyperanalyze his every move. The great Vance Joseph debate is just one example. Most of us would have been oblivious to the situation were it not for AZZ.com.

And, heck, Brandon doesn't even have it that bad. Imagine being Stutz -- and knowing every online comment from some of your fans now contain the words "Fire Lou West."

These boards make the job of coaching a MAC program tougher than it was 20 years ago, no question.

On the other hand, I think boards like these are a blessing for emerging programs like Bowling Green. In fact, for the sake of argument, I'd submit AZZ.com has done as much to stir up interest in our program as anything else. (And interest is strong; our attendance average this year may be the largest ever)

For a long, long time, the dynamic of media in this country was top down. We've long been beat over our heads with the programs the big media think we want to hear about: Michigan, Ohio State and Notre Dame, for example.

It was very, very lonely work, being a Bowling Green fan -- and almost impossible to get good information about your team unless you happened to be within The Blade's subscription area.

The Internet, and boards like this, have changed that. Now we can *choose* the sources of information we want. And, suddenly, it has become a lot less lonely being a Bowling Green fan.

I'd argue that without AZZ.com, a lot of us would have given in to peer pressure and stopped caring -- especially those of us in outside of Northwest Ohio.

And I'd argue that this is one reason why we appear now poised to break a school attendance record this season, despite the fact that our current era of plenty does *not* measure up to the runs of the early 90s or early 80s, at least in terms of titles.

(In fairness, let me offer two alternate explanations for why support is so strong at this point:

1. Our unprecedented success against BCS programs. Despite the fact that we have not won a MAC title during this run, Falcon fans geuinely think we have a shot against any team in the country. That's an unprecedented place to be for us. In some ways, the knowledge that we can beat teams like Purdue or Northwestern may be more important for fansthan winning MAC titles.

2. The runs of of the early 80s and early 90s have set up this period of fan interest. I've always said the '94 season locked me in as a fan. In this era of success, we are building on one additional good era, the good Blackney years. That means we have a larger reserve of fans who were just waiting for the team to get good again).

So the coaches may not like this site. But they need it, too.

Eventually, they'll come around to accept that.

---
* I mean while he was coach. Stolz has certainly received his share of abuse since this board was up and running

I'm a case in point. I had lost contact with the program over the last 25 years. Donated to the Falcon Club and was happy with occasional reports.

Coming to AZZ and "talking" with other BG fans got me stoked again.

I'm pretty sure that if it wasn't for AZZ, I wouldn't be making the trip down to BG this weekend.

Schade,
I like your point about it being lonely work being a Falcon fan. I have to agree with you on that, and I live in BG! Being able to understand there are other people out there that share my love for BG has allowed me, and others I suspect, to "come out of the closet" so to speak. It's not that any of us are ashamed to be BG fans, it's just that we have Ohio State crammed down our throats by so many sources. It is great to be able to talk with others who are as passionate about the Falcons as I am, and not feel like you are talking to a wall because the other person could care less about BG. Thanks again Grant for putting together this incredible web site.

Down here in Lexington, we are not exactly the hotbed of Falcon country. In fact, since I've been here I think I've meet three Falcon alumni, not including my wife or myself. We have no alumni chapter here either, so needless to say AZZ is my preferred way to stay in touch with the "program." Conversing with Falcon fans on a regular basis on a variety of issues helps me to maintain my passion for the Falcons and wear my orange/brown proudly here at UK. So thanks to everyone who created this site (BGSU Falconz & ZZ) and to those who regularly post.

Nicely done!

I think if Coach AMstutz knew that he can order food online, his opinion of the internet would change.