WIU vs Youngstown State (9/29/2018)...Homecoming

GV Dad
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leatherneckcountry wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 9:23 am I haven't left a game as ticked off as this game as much as we praised the beer sells for game one it was the complete opposite this game. I'd rather have the drunken idiots in Q lot than have them escorted out by OPS. One girl was passed out the whole 1st half this is why I don't drink cause I would be embarrassed if people saw me acting like that and no they weren't college these people were in there 40's and 50's. I hope they take the beer tent and stick it where the sun don't shine.
My guess would be she showed up that way. They should prob station a few campus campus cops by the beer tent to make sure people slobbering drunk aren't given bracelets to buy more beer. The Q lot was pretty sloppy before the game even started. You get that with late kicks.
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sealhall74 wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 8:56 am
Leatherneck57 wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 8:41 am
ST_Lawson wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 8:19 am

I figured I'd give it a try section by section today if I have time. We can compare numbers to see where we're at. Section A looks like ~82 people though. I see what you mean about going crazy trying to count, although just from estimating what I'm seeing so far...it's pretty sparse.
No offense guys...but who cares? The attendance for Parents Weekend when a top notch program like Montana was in town was pitiful to say the least and Homecoming wasn’t much better!

I played against Youngstown State 4 times during my career and went 1-4. That is a great program we played and beat...just a couple of years ago they played for the National Championship! That was a huge win for us this past weekend whether you guys think so or not. That program is always a tough win!

I blame the students of Western Illinois for this lack of respect and support for our student athletes! Who BTW are some of the best students on campus!

It’s really disappointing especially with a successful program!!
I personally dont care about the numbers that much. I would take 2000 noisy and enthusiastic cowbell-slinging (yes I think I heard a couple on the replay I watched) fans over 5000 sitting on their hands any day of the week. But I also think an AD would really care about the accuracy of numbers when it comes to making decisions like whether adding beer sales is having a positive impact on attendance.
I saw the cowbells too! I have one that has been in our family since the 70s. I wasn't bringing it because it says no noise makers are allowed? I'm all for any noise being made at all!
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GV Dad wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 10:09 am
sealhall74 wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 8:56 am
Leatherneck57 wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 8:41 am

No offense guys...but who cares? The attendance for Parents Weekend when a top notch program like Montana was in town was pitiful to say the least and Homecoming wasn’t much better!

I played against Youngstown State 4 times during my career and went 1-4. That is a great program we played and beat...just a couple of years ago they played for the National Championship! That was a huge win for us this past weekend whether you guys think so or not. That program is always a tough win!

I blame the students of Western Illinois for this lack of respect and support for our student athletes! Who BTW are some of the best students on campus!

It’s really disappointing especially with a successful program!!
I personally dont care about the numbers that much. I would take 2000 noisy and enthusiastic cowbell-slinging (yes I think I heard a couple on the replay I watched) fans over 5000 sitting on their hands any day of the week. But I also think an AD would really care about the accuracy of numbers when it comes to making decisions like whether adding beer sales is having a positive impact on attendance.
I saw the cowbells too! I have one that has been in our family since the 70s. I wasn't bringing it because it says no noise makers are allowed? I'm all for any noise being made at all!
I think there might be some restrictions on their use during playoffs. Some conferences have put a damper on them. I am not aware of any MVFC restrictions but I might be wrong. If we beat the 'Birds on Saturday, I say the game the NDSU game should be designated the "Bring a friend and/or a Cowbell" day.
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GV Dad wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 10:09 am I saw the cowbells too! I have one that has been in our family since the 70s. I wasn't bringing it because it says no noise makers are allowed? I'm all for any noise being made at all!
Artificial noisemakers are banned by the NCAA. That includes things like cowbells, airhorns, vuvuzelas, etc. If I remember correctly, the ban applies specifically to times when plays are being called, which is why the bands are ok, as long as they stop playing when the teams break their huddles. If a ref decides that the noise from something is loud enough to disrupt the playcalling process, then they can issue a warning or a penalty against the home team, but that's up to the ref. Schools themselves may have "stronger" rules about what is and isn't allowed though.
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Some how I received some "thunder sticks" as a promo for a non football related event (probably a race, I don't remember). They were in a rather small package and were to be inflated to be used. I remember thinking how incredibly lame that seemed. When I got home I decided what the heck, I inflated them and they turned rock solid and when hit together made a surprising amount of noise :shock:

Are Thunder sticks banned?
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RedNeck wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 12:49 pm Are Thunder sticks banned?
Technically, yes, but like with many things, the officials will often look the other way.
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Upon further review, (Scott's photo....and video images from ESPNfor the West side I would say that sadly attendance was probably under 5000. IDK what the answer is, Western is competitive, Can't do much better opponent wise than a Montana, Youngstown State, NDSUs coming in. These are/were household name teams and are/were National Champions. So it's not the competition.

The apathy level from the students regarding all sports is certainly part of the problem. Maybe, people don't feel like it's relativity big time football (for us D-I 63 scholly fella's) because our facilities don't reflect that. Some people would argue perception is reality.
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RedNeck wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 1:05 pm Upon further review, (Scott's photo....and video images from ESPNfor the West side I would say that sadly attendance was probably under 5000. IDK what the answer is, Western is competitive, Can't do much better opponent wise than a Montana, Youngstown State, NDSUs coming in. These are/were household name teams and are/were National Champions. So it's not the competition.

The apathy level from the students regarding all sports is certainly part of the problem. Maybe, people don't feel like it's relativity big time football (for us D-I 63 scholly fella's) because our facilities don't reflect that. Some people would argue perception is reality.
While Montana, YSU, and NDSU are "big names" for those of us who know and pay attention to FCS football, unfortunately for many students, if it's not P5 team, it's not really "DI". I would bet that the vast majority of students in the stands for our game against Montana have no idea that they're one of the most dominant programs of the last 25 years, have played in 7 championship games and won 2, or that they average more people at their home games than most of the G5 programs. To many, there's no difference between Montana or Youngstown State and any number of DII teams out there. We know the difference, but they don't. I've lost track of how many times I've seen twitter messages come through saying stuff like "why doesn't Western play a real team like Nebraska, Michigan, or Notre Dame".
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I agree with everything you say ST_Lawson with regards to perception.

We could spend 3 times as much money and be a G-5 a Central Michigan or a North Texas. Sure we would be FBS but 95% of the people other than those on this board, some that follow football closely or parents and friends of players on the team wouldn't know the difference.

I may be mistaken but I believe Utah playing in Huskie stadium is the first time a P-5 has played in DeKalb.

I just think the NCAA should recognize the P-5 as their own category the rest can either qualify for the next level or go D-II.

BTW these are the ramblings of someone who knows next to nothing about the politics of the NCAA Monstrosity.
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RedNeck wrote: Tue Oct 02, 2018 7:57 pm I just think the NCAA should recognize the P-5 as their own category the rest can either qualify for the next level or go D-II.
It's been rumored and hinted at for a while now, but nobody has pulled the trigger. What I usually see mentioned is the P5 leaving the NCAA and forming their own organization or using their power to force the NCAA to reclassify them as a "higher" division and giving them more freedom to control their own operations (like paying players, for example). You'd essentially have the top programs become "Semi-pro" football teams that are loosely affiliated with their "host" schools.

Then you'd see the upper level of FCS probably merge with much of the G5. Schools like James Madison, NDSU, and Montana already draw more fans and have more support than most G5 schools. With a significant reorganization of conferences, there'd be a home for some of the teams in the far north or northwest. You could imagine some combination of Mountain West members plus teams like NDSU, SDSU, Montana, Montana State, maybe Idaho, being essentially a new conference, just as an example. NDSU has already said that if there's a major reorganization of that type, they want to be solidly in the 2nd level category, below the current P5.

Still remains to be seen if the P5 will ever actually decide to do it or if they're just using the threat to get what they want.
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