Attendance Woes

[jpfalcon09]

I would trade losses to teams like Indiana and Mississippi State for MAC Championships any day of the week. Any fan that wouldn't isn't a true fan. Don't get me wrong, those types of wins certainly go a long way and eventually, I think it's everyones dream to become a Boise State. But to realistically say that you would rather have big time wins rather than MAC titles is very short-sighted and dumb, IMO. And for true fans, the Toledo's, Ohio's, Kent's, ect are big time wins. I wanted BG to beat Mississippi State just as much as anyone else, but an hour of fame doesn't mean nearly as much to me as a MAC championship.

Lol. Essentially. If you don't like falcon football for the reasons I do you are wrong?

Mississippi state wins are program builders. Kent wins are allow us to maintain.

Winning MAC championships needs to become the expectation of the program, simple as that. If beating BCS schools is an expectation, then you're going to be disappointed. Additionally, beating BCS programs doesn't really build anything. BG had great success in the early 2000s with big wins which turned into losing seasons three years later. Building programs involves having coaches who care about their players, having an enjoyable college experience, and being competitive within your conference. Anything on top of that is icing on the cake.

[kdog27]

I want MAC championships but it sure would be nice to have some BCS wins along the way. It's all part of the same goal IMO. A MAC champion caliber team should be capable to beat some BCS foes. It sucked to lose but I was pleased to see us play well against MSU because I have a lot more confidence in this team beating Toledo, Ohio, Buffalo and hopefully NIU/Ball State.

[BGSUFanatic7]

I said that wanting those BCS wins INSTEAD of MAC Championships is short-sighted and dumb. That has nothing to do with the fact that those wins are extremely important, as I said. But as also mentioned by others, those BCS wins don't necessarily mean direct success.

[hammb]

Lol. Essentially. If you don't like falcon football for the reasons I do you are wrong?
.

Not wrong, you're just shortsighted and dumb.

Ahhh...Irony.

The most shortsighted and dumb thing I ever read on sports fan message boards are the posts about how to be a "true fan".

I'll root for the team how and when I damned well please and I really couldn't care less if that makes me "shortsighted and dumb".

As to the greater issue of college football I think the BCS is killing the sport. It has created an era where only a handful of games for a handful of teams really truly matter. The gap between the haves and have nots has widened to the point that even fans of the haves don't care unless they're playing another of the haves. And for all the talk about how the regular season of college football still matters, that's only the case if you have yet to lose a game (for those teams with BCS title hopes, anyways).

A playoff scenario where every conference champion gets an automatic bid would change that and put a HUGE emphasis on the conference season. Hell just to this point of discussion, THAT would be the one thing that actually would have me excited about a MAC title. As is I really don't give a rat's behind if we win the MAC and play in lousy bowl A or lose the MAC and play in lousy bowl B. The only difference it really makes to me is that I want to see us win all of our games, especially against Toledo & Miami (who I deem to be our traditional rivals), and against NIU (who I deem to be the overall class of the conference).

There's also something to be said for the saturation of college football on TV, and mostly always in HD. It's the same thing with the NFL. I enjoy going to one game a year to see the Browns, but when we do that we miss ALL the other games that day. Same goes with college football. Going to a game is a full day commitment that means the only football you really get to see is the one game you're attending. There's something to be said for being able to sit at home, eat cheaper food, drink cheaper beer, and get a great HD experience on 3-4 games a day, with the option of switching to countless other HD games if the one you originally started watching isn't compelling...

[hammb]

I said that wanting those BCS wins INSTEAD of MAC Championships is short-sighted and dumb. That has nothing to do with the fact that those wins are extremely important, as I said. But as also mentioned by others, those BCS wins don't necessarily mean direct success.

I have never understood why it is an Either/Or proposition. Winning against BCS teams should in no way prevent us from winning against MAC teams.

Unless you feel that building a team to beat those teams will somehow always fall short of winning within the MAC, which I find impossible to believe.

As I watch the product we have now and compare it to the product of the Brandon years, I think I'm sad to say that I did prefer the early Brandon era. Give me the team that can go in and scare OSU, knock off Purdue, beat up on Mizzou any day over the group that loses all of those games but can maintain that 2 TD lead over Buffalo in the 4th quarter.

I think Clawson is a better overall football coach than Brandon was...he makes great adjustments every week, even if the initial gameplans aren't always stellar. And he's been committed to putting the best athletes he can get on BOTH sides of the ball, while Brandon always sacrificed his defense completely for the benefit of his offense. He's also cleaned up the program and kept kids in line so we aren't worrying about suspensions and losing scholarships every year. But the Xs & Os stuff? Brandon's offense was light years better in scheme and execution than Clawson's has been, and that is what allowed us to compete with those big teams.

[mscarn]

I think Clawson is a better overall football coach than Brandon was...he makes great adjustments every week, even if the initial gameplans aren't always stellar. And he's been committed to putting the best athletes he can get on BOTH sides of the ball, while Brandon always sacrificed his defense completely for the benefit of his offense. He's also cleaned up the program and kept kids in line so we aren't worrying about suspensions and losing scholarships every year. But the Xs & Os stuff? Brandon's offense was light years better in scheme and execution than Clawson's has been, and that is what allowed us to compete with those big teams.

That's where I'm at as well. Clawson is terrific at 90% of the things that make a college football program successful. Nevertheless, our lack of creativity on offense has severely stifled the growth of the program.

There are schemes and systems that have been proven to put up huge offensive numbers. Besides Baylor and Oregon, we saw one of them with our very own eyes in Indiana and their turbo-charged spread offense. For some reason we choose not to incorporate any of that. Clawson even commented that Indiana's poor defensive statistics are a result of being on the field too often due to the tempo of the offense and their quick strike ability, so it's clearly a conscious choice on our part in the interest of helping the defense.

I'm perfectly willing to ignore the lack of production in the passing game if strong running and defense leads to division championships, conference championships and bowl wins. So far it has not.

[BGSUFanatic7]

I said that wanting those BCS wins INSTEAD of MAC Championships is short-sighted and dumb. That has nothing to do with the fact that those wins are extremely important, as I said. But as also mentioned by others, those BCS wins don't necessarily mean direct success.

I have never understood why it is an Either/Or proposition. Winning against BCS teams should in no way prevent us from winning against MAC teams.

Unless you feel that building a team to beat those teams will somehow always fall short of winning within the MAC, which I find impossible to believe.

As I watch the product we have now and compare it to the product of the Brandon years, I think I'm sad to say that I did prefer the early Brandon era. Give me the team that can go in and scare OSU, knock off Purdue, beat up on Mizzou any day over the group that loses all of those games but can maintain that 2 TD lead over Buffalo in the 4th quarter.


I think Clawson is a better overall football coach than Brandon was...he makes great adjustments every week, even if the initial gameplans aren't always stellar. And he's been committed to putting the best athletes he can get on BOTH sides of the ball, while Brandon always sacrificed his defense completely for the benefit of his offense. He's also cleaned up the program and kept kids in line so we aren't worrying about suspensions and losing scholarships every year. But the Xs & Os stuff? Brandon's offense was light years better in scheme and execution than Clawson's has been, and that is what allowed us to compete with those big teams.

I agree. It shouldn't be an either/or proposition. But there were people on this thread that said they would rather win those big games than MAC championships. And that doesn't make sense to me.

[kdog27]

Lol. Essentially. If you don't like falcon football for the reasons I do you are wrong?
.

Not wrong, you're just shortsighted and dumb.

Ahhh...Irony.

The most shortsighted and dumb thing I ever read on sports fan message boards are the posts about how to be a "true fan".

I'll root for the team how and when I damned well please and I really couldn't care less if that makes me "shortsighted and dumb".

As to the greater issue of college football I think the BCS is killing the sport. It has created an era where only a handful of games for a handful of teams really truly matter. The gap between the haves and have nots has widened to the point that even fans of the haves don't care unless they're playing another of the haves. And for all the talk about how the regular season of college football still matters, that's only the case if you have yet to lose a game (for those teams with BCS title hopes, anyways).

A playoff scenario where every conference champion gets an automatic bid would change that and put a HUGE emphasis on the conference season. Hell just to this point of discussion, THAT would be the one thing that actually would have me excited about a MAC title. As is I really don't give a rat's behind if we win the MAC and play in lousy bowl A or lose the MAC and play in lousy bowl B. The only difference it really makes to me is that I want to see us win all of our games, especially against Toledo & Miami (who I deem to be our traditional rivals), and against NIU (who I deem to be the overall class of the conference).

There's also something to be said for the saturation of college football on TV, and mostly always in HD. It's the same thing with the NFL. I enjoy going to one game a year to see the Browns, but when we do that we miss ALL the other games that day. Same goes with college football. Going to a game is a full day commitment that means the only football you really get to see is the one game you're attending. There's something to be said for being able to sit at home, eat cheaper food, drink cheaper beer, and get a great HD experience on 3-4 games a day, with the option of switching to countless other HD games if the one you originally started watching isn't compelling...

you realize I was making fun of the person who said that right?

[Falco_peregrinusana]

As someone who went to BGSU in the early 1990s, I had a chance to see success in the form of two MAC titles and the ONLY bowl bid each year that the conference would recieve. I do not remember the crowds being much better. I also remember NEVER seeing Bowling Green on TV.
I have to say that going to the games now is a better experience than before. I think the school can only do so much to enhance the gameday experience. I also enjoy the fact that every game is on TV in one form or another; it makes it much easier to follow your team. I don't know exactly how to fix the problem with attendance... most non-power teams have it. Success will help in part, but it takes a local culture change to affect attendance for the long haul. Kids need to grow up as little falcons and develop a bond with the school at a young age. It is difficult creating a culture that competes with Michigan or Ohio State for loyalty, and it can't be done overnight...

[BGorDeath]

ESPN has killed college football for everyone except for a handful of schools.

[hammb]

Lol. Essentially. If you don't like falcon football for the reasons I do you are wrong?
.

Not wrong, you're just shortsighted and dumb.

Ahhh...Irony.

The most shortsighted and dumb thing I ever read on sports fan message boards are the posts about how to be a "true fan".

I'll root for the team how and when I damned well please and I really couldn't care less if that makes me "shortsighted and dumb".

As to the greater issue of college football I think the BCS is killing the sport. It has created an era where only a handful of games for a handful of teams really truly matter. The gap between the haves and have nots has widened to the point that even fans of the haves don't care unless they're playing another of the haves. And for all the talk about how the regular season of college football still matters, that's only the case if you have yet to lose a game (for those teams with BCS title hopes, anyways).

A playoff scenario where every conference champion gets an automatic bid would change that and put a HUGE emphasis on the conference season. Hell just to this point of discussion, THAT would be the one thing that actually would have me excited about a MAC title. As is I really don't give a rat's behind if we win the MAC and play in lousy bowl A or lose the MAC and play in lousy bowl B. The only difference it really makes to me is that I want to see us win all of our games, especially against Toledo & Miami (who I deem to be our traditional rivals), and against NIU (who I deem to be the overall class of the conference).

There's also something to be said for the saturation of college football on TV, and mostly always in HD. It's the same thing with the NFL. I enjoy going to one game a year to see the Browns, but when we do that we miss ALL the other games that day. Same goes with college football. Going to a game is a full day commitment that means the only football you really get to see is the one game you're attending. There's something to be said for being able to sit at home, eat cheaper food, drink cheaper beer, and get a great HD experience on 3-4 games a day, with the option of switching to countless other HD games if the one you originally started watching isn't compelling...

you realize I was making fun of the person who said that right?

Absolutely I do. I should have quoted the original poster, but liked the fact that you had already pulled out the best quote for me

[BGFalconfromCincy]

Winning MAC championships needs to become the expectation of the program.

Everyone likes bringing up that they want us to be the next Boise State, and while I understand that, who wouldn't want that to happen, it isn't going to happen overnight, and it isn't going to happen without conference titles. Boise State's breakout year was 2006 when they beat Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. 2006 was the fifth year in a row that Boise won the WAC championship. Now I realize the WAC back in those years is probably no where close to where the MAC currently is when it comes to competitiveness, I feel its just something that needs to be remembered. In that stretch Boise also went undefeated in conference play four of the five years. Before becoming a national power Boise became the power of their conference, that's whats BG has to do if it wants to be a Boise State. We haven't won a MAC title since 1992 and we'll never have a chance to become a Boise State if that remains the year of our most recent MAC title

[jpfalcon09]

Just saw on Twitter that Toledo only sold 200 tickets of their 900 allotted, so some rivalry we have going on here.

[Flipper]

Last year, those bastages sold myself and a number of other BG fans seats that were actually allocated to the band. We had nowhere to sit...but when you're motivated, you make space.

[zete]

Last year's 37-0 loss at Virginia Tech was as disgraceful as an loss we have suffered in the last ten years in my estimation.