Big-time Division I

Section_22_Sooner · Post by **Section_22_Sooner** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 9:43 am

This is actually a reply to a message by a BG fan somewhere below, but I could not find it this morning. It had to do with a comment like, "I'm not into big-time college football, but I'll be following Oklahoma for the rest of the year". The following is my reply I wrote earlier when off-line.

Something I read on this BG message board has perplexed me for a couple of days now and I must respond. I'm a Sooner fan who was at the game Saturday. I was impressed by the BG fans and was tremendously impressed by your team. Most of the people around me, (and local sports talk radio), commented about your stud QB and how well you guys played. We've seen good teams come to Norman, and we've seen bad teams come to Norman. Your team was one of the good ones. Heck, in the mid to late 90's, you guys might have beat us on our own field.

I think if played today, your Falcons could beat some in the Big XII, especially Baylor and possibly some unnamed others. (We always trash Baylor, so it's OK to call them out by name)! I won't mention the other teams I have in mind -- due to respect, and the fact that anyone can beat anyone on any given day (except Baylor).

On TV, I watched ESPN Gameday in Bowling Green last year (that's big-time). I have visited your campus and I watched one of your fall practices three weeks ago while stopping for gas on my way to Michigan. (That construction zone is terrible). I have followed your team over the years, and see a highly respectable Division I force to be reckoned with on the playing field. Anyone who can silence 84,000 Sooner fans must be doing something right.

So why the comment "I don't get into big time college football"? I'm, not flaming here, I am really perplexed by this statement. That is a low opinion to have of your program. In my opinion, any team that is good enough to be in Division I is big-time.

I've gone to small-time college games before all the way down to NAIA, and while that is fun to watch, it is simply small-time college football. If I ever visited BG on a Saturday, the LAST thing I would think walking into your stadium along I-75 is "this is small time". One of these days, and with the recent changes in the BCS rules, the BCS is going to have a real problem on their hands when someone like BG rips everybody apart and ranks a team like yours in the top eight. Don't think it can't happen. They were talking about BCS-busters on Sportcenter last night.

You guys have a fine team and great fans.

Dayons_Den · Post by **Dayons_Den** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:05 am

Points well taken and I like your frankness in supporting BG. I must point out that you can name others besides Baylor in the BIg 8/12 as we are 2-0 against Pinkel's Felines and beat the Fighting Mangino's a two years ago as well.

As to the comment you are refering to, big time college football to fans like us probably means NCAA probation, (see Barry Switzer), academic fraud, off campus melees and the like. We pride ourselves in BG in having STUDENT-athletes, not the other way around. Last year our starting TE was a 4.0 molecular biology student and is in medical school, I think . . .

THanks for the great hospitality and the great game. Hopefully we can say our only loss was to the National Champions!!

Hope this at least sheds some light on the questoin you posed. . .

BGSU Falconz · Post by **BGSU Falconz** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:28 am

When I saw this thread and read the title and that a Sooner fan posted it, I groaned a little.

But instead of the belittling of BG as a "mid-major" that I was expecting, this is an entirely different viewpoint than any Bowling Green fan would expect.

Your stance is something completely unlike what most fans of large, BCS teams take, apparently. Most fans, when thinking of teams from conferences such as the MAC, don't think of them as being big-time, even when some of the teams are genuinely good.

They think "they'll never win a National Championship". They think "they'll never have a top 25 recruiting class". - And they're probably right. Teams like ours would have to literally be flawless to even get into a BCS bowl, something that slackers from big conferences can easily do.

That's why a lot of people don't consider us big-time. And, unfortunately, the BCS is a vicious cycle in that we're a mid-major because we don't have the funding or talent to compete against the big boys, but it TAKES the BCS money to obtain that funding and talent.

Sure, lately we've been good enough to have a bone or two thrown at us (GameDay, a few national television spots), but unless the philosophy and ethos of the BCS is overhauled (or removed), we, and every team like us, will always be in this position.

I just don't understand why the NCAA allows themselves to be lead around by the cajones like they are. The NCAA is one organization that should not be controlled by the all mighty dollar. It's my opinion that every team in Division I-A should be able to compete for the exact same prize - that's why they're in the SAME DIVISION! mid-majors have it worse than anyone in all of college football. At least Division I-AA, Division II, and Division III teams can compete for a championship. We, unfortunately, fall between the cracks.

Could you imagine if only half the teams in the NFL were allowed to compete for a spot in the Super Bowl?

falconfan1 · Post by **falconfan1** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:31 am

Section 22, thank you for those comments. I am a huge college football fan and an even huger Bowling Green fan. I love my Falcons and do crazy things to support them, travel to see them, etc. etc. I had a tremendous time in Norman as I posted somewhere. Wonderful atmosphere. I have seen us play at OSU, Mich, Alabama and so on and so on.

Please note the "at". We rarely ever entice a "big time" read BCS teams to Perry Stadium for a number of reasons. The foremost would be scores like BG 51, Gary Pinkel/Missouri with Brad Smith 22. No wonder Missouri says they won't be back. Because teams in the BCS seem to want to avoid us and don't even like the 2 for 1's, some of our fans get frustrated with the "big time" D 1 scenario. We also have one university in our state (OSU) that some fans fel may get a little better treatment from our friends in the state legislature- overall not just sports. This tends to stick in the craws of a few.

So, I, for one, love the big time atmosphere at Oklahoma etc. I am trying to do any small thing I can to continue to move BG forward in this general direction. I just mean head that way. There will be a big time announcement coming on our new Student Athlete Center (super training facility in Norman by the way) and I enjoy my other hobby- helping get BG freshmen involved with BG athletics/football early.

So don't despair on any comments. Our fans are good people who have a variety of outlooks. They all have BG's best interests at heart and, for those of us fortunate enough to get to Norman, we appreciate the super hospitality at a true big time college football powerhouse. We played our butts off against a team that I feel will play for the national title in January.

And you are right. Believe me, if we play Texas Tech, Kansas, Baylor, Texas A & M or Iowa State, we would likely win. And if we were a part of the league, they would even have to play us in BG in our blinding orange uniforms. (Sorry for reminding you of Oklahoma State.)

Good luck and go Falcons!

Schadenfreude · Post by **Schadenfreude** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:33 am

Thank you for the post. You've said some nice things, and I appreciate it.

We are in a tough situation. An Ohio school hasn't beaten Ohio State since 1921. So the perception gap is huge between the Big Ten and the MAC -- even though Bowling Green has demonstrated three times now they belong on the same field.

Habits are hard to break. I know of people who claim to be Bowling Green fans who were rooting for Ohio State because they didn't want Ohio State's (mythical) national championship chances ruined.

It is clear to many of us here at AZZ.com that Bowling Green has one of the best football teams in the country. We have been getting it done on the field for years.

But the perception lags behind.

We are gradually building a program here, but it's going to take a long time before Bowling Green fans truly feel comfortable talking about the Falcons in the same breath as Oklahoma, Michigan or Ohio State.

I'm just hoping we can get 20,000 people at our ritual mauling of Southeast Missouri. That would be another small step foward.

BGSU Falconz · Post by **BGSU Falconz** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 10:42 am

Another thing that sucks is that major schools have nothing to gain and everything to lose when competing against us. They're supposed to win, so when they do, nobody cares, but if they lose, they're made to look like fools. Therefore, as someone mentioned, major schools avoid scheduling us at our place like the plague.

Now, see, if we were all competing for the same thing, these perceptions wouldn't exist.

TG1996 · Post by **TG1996** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 1:54 pm

BGSU Falconz wrote: They're supposed to win, so when they do, nobody cares, but if they lose, they're made to look like fools.

I was going to make this another thread, but driving home last night, some schmuck on FOX Sports Radio was talking about the "scares" for the top 3 this weekend, and after talking about LSU, he said something to the effect of "Well, Oklahoma dominated Bowling Green....though they didn't put away the cupcake like they probably should have." I can't wait for the day "the cupcake" puts down another big time team.

As for the original post, I think what was meant by "not a fan of big-time football" is alot of what's been said here, especially the "you have to like OSU, right?" mentality. It might have just been worded funny, but I'm betting it was a way of saying "I like BGSU, and only BGSU and just because I live in Ohio does NOT automatically make me an Ohio State fan."

Class of 61 · Post by **Class of 61** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 3:05 pm

Section_22_Sooner wrote:This is actually a reply to a message by a BG fan somewhere below, but I could not find it this morning. It had to do with a comment like, "I'm not into big-time college football, but I'll be following Oklahoma for the rest of the year". The following is my reply I wrote earlier when off-line.

Something I read on this BG message board has perplexed me for a couple of days now and I must respond. I'm a Sooner fan who was at the game Saturday. I was impressed by the BG fans and was tremendously impressed by your team. Most of the people around me, (and local sports talk radio), commented about your stud QB and how well you guys played. We've seen good teams come to Norman, and we've seen bad teams come to Norman. Your team was one of the good ones. Heck, in the mid to late 90's, you guys might have beat us on our own field.

I think if played today, your Falcons could beat some in the Big XII, especially Baylor and possibly some unnamed others. (We always trash Baylor, so it's OK to call them out by name)! I won't mention the other teams I have in mind -- due to respect, and the fact that anyone can beat anyone on any given day (except Baylor).

On TV, I watched ESPN Gameday in Bowling Green last year (that's big-time). I have visited your campus and I watched one of your fall practices three weeks ago while stopping for gas on my way to Michigan. (That construction zone is terrible). I have followed your team over the years, and see a highly respectable Division I force to be reckoned with on the playing field. Anyone who can silence 84,000 Sooner fans must be doing something right.

So why the comment "I don't get into big time college football"? I'm, not flaming here, I am really perplexed by this statement. That is a low opinion to have of your program. In my opinion, any team that is good enough to be in Division I is big-time.

I've gone to small-time college games before all the way down to NAIA, and while that is fun to watch, it is simply small-time college football. If I ever visited BG on a Saturday, the LAST thing I would think walking into your stadium along I-75 is "this is small time". One of these days, and with the recent changes in the BCS rules, the BCS is going to have a real problem on their hands when someone like BG rips everybody apart and ranks a team like yours in the top eight. Don't think it can't happen. They were talking about BCS-busters on Sportcenter last night.

You guys have a fine team and great fans.

Thanks, Sect. 22!, but as the other posters have already mentioned or alluded to, ESPN referred to the OU-BG game as a "Rout", Cleve. Plain Dealer had the Sooners "rolling over BG" etc. OU DID control the game, as most of us would admit, but you and many other fans evidently must've seen a different game than the media. Anyway, thanks for your thoughts and ideas. As I posted on another thread, I've become an Oklahoma fan as a result of dealing with and exchanging ideas with some truly classy fans.

Scott D. · Post by **Scott D.** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 6:30 pm

Well ya gotta remember that most of the media didn't watch the game, and rather just got ticker updates, and assumed it was a class a blowout when the score was 37-10, and figured that BG got their two late TD's against a bunch of walk-ons, because as we know, the general media is filled with talking airheads.

Regardless, as I have utter contempt for other teams up in this region of the country, your Falcons are now my second favorite team. And I think as you'll begin to see, recruiting will definitely continue to get better. Programs like BG's by being successful will draw good players especially since the 'big timers' like Ohio State and Michigan can't really promise playing time as early to every recruit they go after.

Falconfreak90 · Post by **Falconfreak90** » Mon Sep 06, 2004 11:28 pm

Feel the love! These Sooner fans are the classiest bunch I've ever seen.

I have no problem saying and knowing BG is 1-A.

Thanks for the kind words and win the national title!

GO FALCONS!!

SoonerBird · Post by **SoonerBird** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 2:51 am

I think this year's Falcon team would beat half the teams in the Big XII and do it handily. BGSU is a very solid team. Maybe we can get BGSU to join the conference. We will delete Iowa State and add BGSU, I would like that since we wouldnt have to play BGS every year as you would be in the North Division. At least having Bowling Green in would add more quality competition in the Big XII

BGSU Falconz · Post by **BGSU Falconz** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 6:26 am

SoonerBird wrote:I think this year's Falcon team would beat half the teams in the Big XII and do it handily. BGSU is a very solid team. Maybe we can get BGSU to join the conference. We will delete Iowa State and add BGSU, I would like that since we wouldnt have to play BGS every year as you would be in the North Division. At least having Bowling Green in would add more quality competition in the Big XII

Poor ISU

Given time, I think we could be decent in the Big XII. We already have a couple wins against Mizzou and Kansas

Of course, we wouldn't really fit in geographically. Not like any of this would ever happen. What would really make me happy is if they got rid of the whole mid-major/major divide and allow ALL teams in Div 1-A to compete for a national championship.

It only makes sense. If I were a major college fan/coach, and my team won the NC, I wouldn't feel right knowing that half of the D1-A schools weren't given a chance. I guess it would make the title feel less all-encompassing to me.

Schadenfreude · Post by **Schadenfreude** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 8:23 am

SoonerBird wrote:We will delete Iowa State and add BGSU,

Who gets to replace Baylor?

BGSUfanatUT · Post by **BGSUfanatUT** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 8:35 am

smurf turf Boise State!

Scott D. · Post by **Scott D.** » Tue Sep 07, 2004 11:56 am

Schadenfreude wrote:
SoonerBird wrote:We will delete Iowa State and add BGSU,
Who gets to replace Baylor?

Well, every conference needs it's mandatory cupcake, so SMU

Big-time Division I

Big-time Division I

Re: Big-time Division I