one ohio sportswriter's ap ballot

[beuycek]

Sept 10, 2013 22:47:50 GMT -5 lz2112 said:

Sept 10, 2013 21:16:51 GMT -5 beuycek said:

Really? Maybe that isn't the record I said before. I would have had them down for a win in two of those three for sure. Oh well.

Yes, if the Canes lose one of those two Golden deserves the ridicule. USF is as poorly coached team as I have seen in my 40+ years.

Folks in Tallahassee are enjoying USF's troubles. It seems when USF beat FSU a few years ago, Bull's fans talked a lot of smack.

I was there and the smack talk really didn't happen at the game. There were an estimated 22K USF fans at Doak that day so I am sure there were more than a few idiots but most Bulls fans I was around that day were respectful of the opponent and the surroundings they were in, even after a big win (at the time). It wasn't until the team got home and the administration decided to put up a billboard proclaiming them a part of the "Big 4" in the state that the smack took off. It's been downhill ever since but the fanbase still seems to think they deserve respect. They aren't quite as neurotic as UCF fans but close...

[canefan]

Yes, USF fans have tended to be a bit obnoxious over the years.

[lz2112]

Sept 10, 2013 22:59:47 GMT -5 beuycek said:

Sept 10, 2013 22:47:50 GMT -5 lz2112 said:

Folks in Tallahassee are enjoying USF's troubles. It seems when USF beat FSU a few years ago, Bull's fans talked a lot of smack.

I was there and the smack talk really didn't happen at the game. There were an estimated 22K USF fans at Doak that day so I am sure there were more than a few idiots but most Bulls fans I was around that day were respectful of the opponent and the surroundings they were in, even after a big win (at the time). It wasn't until the team got home and the administration decided to put up a billboard proclaiming them a part of the "Big 4" in the state that the smack took off. It's been downhill ever since but the fanbase still seems to think they deserve respect. They aren't quite as neurotic as UCF fans but close...

Yeah, it was the billboard that really seemed to get under their skin.

Obviously, I hope the state stays the Big 3 forever, 3 are enough heavyweights in this state.

[canefan]

Sept 10, 2013 22:59:47 GMT -5 beuycek said:

Sept 10, 2013 22:47:50 GMT -5 lz2112 said:

Folks in Tallahassee are enjoying USF's troubles. It seems when USF beat FSU a few years ago, Bull's fans talked a lot of smack.

I was there and the smack talk really didn't happen at the game. There were an estimated 22K USF fans at Doak that day so I am sure there were more than a few idiots but most Bulls fans I was around that day were respectful of the opponent and the surroundings they were in, even after a big win (at the time). It wasn't until the team got home and the administration decided to put up a billboard proclaiming them a part of the "Big 4" in the state that the smack took off. It's been downhill ever since but the fanbase still seems to think they deserve respect. They aren't quite as neurotic as UCF fans but close...

LOL!!! I live about ten miles from the main UCF campus and have actually gone to a couple of UCF games at the new stadium. There is no comparison between them and USF fans. I have a couple of nieces who are Kansas graduates and they told me the KU fans were shocked at the way they were treated when they played USF a few years ago. It wasn't long after that game that USF started their Respect A' Bull program.

[beuycek]

Sept 11, 2013 7:20:41 GMT -5 canefan said:

Sept 10, 2013 22:59:47 GMT -5 beuycek said:

I was there and the smack talk really didn't happen at the game. There were an estimated 22K USF fans at Doak that day so I am sure there were more than a few idiots but most Bulls fans I was around that day were respectful of the opponent and the surroundings they were in, even after a big win (at the time). It wasn't until the team got home and the administration decided to put up a billboard proclaiming them a part of the "Big 4" in the state that the smack took off. It's been downhill ever since but the fanbase still seems to think they deserve respect. They aren't quite as neurotic as UCF fans but close...

LOL!!! I live about ten miles from the main UCF campus and have actually gone to a couple of UCF games at the new stadium. There is no comparison between them and USF fans. I have a couple of nieces who are Kansas graduates and they told me the KU fans were shocked at the way they were treated when they played USF a few years ago. It wasn't long after that game that USF started their Respect A' Bull program.

Fair enough. I am in no way trying to characterize the USF fanbase (of which I am a part of to some degree) as "good" in any way. They aren't and that can be attributed to a number of things I guess but the games against in Tampa against the Knights were awful for me as a parent of a young child. Even after being told they were sitting in sections next to the USF "family sections" where there were numerous children listening to and watching these obnoxious people, the behavior continue until security finally had to intervene. Both games.

Certainly a small sample size and probably not indicative of the larger UCF contingent but those memories still stick with not only me but my daughters as well, and that isn't a good thing. It was awful, kids or no kids.

[mscott59]

Sept 11, 2013 7:37:49 GMT -5 beuycek said:

Sept 11, 2013 7:20:41 GMT -5 canefan said:

LOL!!! I live about ten miles from the main UCF campus and have actually gone to a couple of UCF games at the new stadium. There is no comparison between them and USF fans. I have a couple of nieces who are Kansas graduates and they told me the KU fans were shocked at the way they were treated when they played USF a few years ago. It wasn't long after that game that USF started their Respect A' Bull program.

Fair enough. I am in no way trying to characterize the USF fanbase (of which I am a part of to some degree) as "good" in any way. They aren't and that can be attributed to a number of things I guess but the games against in Tampa against the Knights were awful for me as a parent of a young child. Even after being told they were sitting in sections next to the USF "family sections" where there were numerous children listening to and watching these obnoxious people, the behavior continue until security finally had to intervene. Both games.

Certainly a small sample size and probably not indicative of the larger UCF contingent but those memories still stick with not only me but my daughters as well, and that isn't a good thing. It was awful, kids or no kids.

when ucf came to Columbus last year, I had a chance to talk w/a number of their fans before, during, and after the game, and fwiw they could not have been cooler. tough to generalize about any fan base, but those who follow their teams on the road, I've found, are usually of higher quality than those who attend only home games. again, that's in general. there's just too many to not find exceptions. I've been to beaver stadium in state college for 8 osu-psu games, beginning w/a 63-14 butt kicking we absorbed in '94. bucks then won a thriller in '95, lost a thriller in '97. you could not find fans, of all ages, more accommodating. but the '05 night game was a nightmare. the most uncomfortable I've ever been in any venue. it was ugly. '07 was nearly as bad, ditto for '09. but last year? another night game? the atmosphere reverted back to what it was in the 90s. even one psu fan, there with his nephew, who accidentally backed into my suv in the pasture, uh, parking lot, after the game, and waited there a half hour until we got there to tell me he was sorry and share his insurance info. such is the variety of life.

mark scott
tosu 81

[beuycek]

Sept 11, 2013 7:53:53 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

Sept 11, 2013 7:37:49 GMT -5 beuycek said:

Fair enough. I am in no way trying to characterize the USF fanbase (of which I am a part of to some degree) as "good" in any way. They aren't and that can be attributed to a number of things I guess but the games against in Tampa against the Knights were awful for me as a parent of a young child. Even after being told they were sitting in sections next to the USF "family sections" where there were numerous children listening to and watching these obnoxious people, the behavior continue until security finally had to intervene. Both games.

Certainly a small sample size and probably not indicative of the larger UCF contingent but those memories still stick with not only me but my daughters as well, and that isn't a good thing. It was awful, kids or no kids.

when ucf came to Columbus last year, I had a chance to talk w/a number of their fans before, during, and after the game, and fwiw they could not have been cooler. tough to generalize about any fan base, but those who follow their teams on the road, I've found, are usually of higher quality than those who attend only home games. again, that's in general. there's just too many to not find exceptions. I've been to beaver stadium in state college for 8 osu-psu games, beginning w/a 63-14 butt kicking we absorbed in '94. bucks then won a thriller in '95, lost a thriller in '97. you could not find fans, of all ages, more accommodating. but the '05 night game was a nightmare. the most uncomfortable I've ever been in any venue. it was ugly. '07 was nearly as bad, ditto for '09. but last year? another night game? the atmosphere reverted back to what it was in the 90s. even one psu fan, there with his nephew, who accidentally backed into my suv in the pasture, uh, parking lot, after the game, and waited there a half hour until we got there to tell me he was sorry and share his insurance info. such is the variety of life.

mark scott
tosu 81

I agree with the comment about those that travel vs. those that don't. As mentioned, those USF fans that made the trek to Tallahassee were a great group. At least those I encountered before, during and after the game. A far different experience than what we saw at home games, that's for sure. Darrell has been to a USF game in Tampa and can attest to how bad it is. And it's not like they are putting 50k or 60k people in ththat place so the number of bad seeds is off the charts for how small the crowds are.

As for UCF fans that travel, the games in Tampa were an hour drive for most of them so we probably got the worst of their worst, too but it just left a very sour taste in my mouth, much in the same way many USF fans do. The number of grown adults acting like fools in close proximity to a large number of children was amazing to me.

But you are right, with as many fans as each team has, it is hard not to experience bad ones. Lord knows I saw some bads one in Columbus for the Texas game where, by comparison, the OSU fans that travel to Florida for the bowl games are generally very good.

Just luck of the draw, so to speak.

[mscott59]

Sept 11, 2013 9:01:53 GMT -5 beuycek said:

Sept 11, 2013 7:53:53 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

when ucf came to Columbus last year, I had a chance to talk w/a number of their fans before, during, and after the game, and fwiw they could not have been cooler. tough to generalize about any fan base, but those who follow their teams on the road, I've found, are usually of higher quality than those who attend only home games. again, that's in general. there's just too many to not find exceptions. I've been to beaver stadium in state college for 8 osu-psu games, beginning w/a 63-14 butt kicking we absorbed in '94. bucks then won a thriller in '95, lost a thriller in '97. you could not find fans, of all ages, more accommodating. but the '05 night game was a nightmare. the most uncomfortable I've ever been in any venue. it was ugly. '07 was nearly as bad, ditto for '09. but last year? another night game? the atmosphere reverted back to what it was in the 90s. even one psu fan, there with his nephew, who accidentally backed into my suv in the pasture, uh, parking lot, after the game, and waited there a half hour until we got there to tell me he was sorry and share his insurance info. such is the variety of life.

mark scott
tosu 81

I agree with the comment about those that travel vs. those that don't. As mentioned, those USF fans that made the trek to Tallahassee were a great group. At least those I encountered before, during and after the game. A far different experience than what we saw at home games, that's for sure. Darrell has been to a USF game in Tampa and can attest to how bad it is. And it's not like they are putting 50k or 60k people in ththat place so the number of bad seeds is off the charts for how small the crowds are.

As for UCF fans that travel, the games in Tampa were an hour drive for most of them so we probably got the worst of their worst, too but it just left a very sour taste in my mouth, much in the same way many USF fans do. The number of grown adults acting like fools in close proximity to a large number of children was amazing to me.

But you are right, with as many fans as each team has, it is hard not to experience bad ones. Lord knows I saw some bads one in Columbus for the Texas game where, by comparison, the OSU fans that travel to Florida for the bowl games are generally very good.

Just luck of the draw, so to speak.

osu-texas '05. great game day atmosphere, but you're right in terms of, at least what I witnessed, were absolute idiots down there to party and didn't give a crap about the game or how it reflected on osu. one of my sisters and her husband joined us for the game, and as we walked from the Fawcett center lot toward the stadium, we saw 3 separate incidents. the third one, some drunk guy ran up behind a texas fan, grabbed his cowboy hat and treated it like a Frisbee. I, and my sister, the other osu grad in the family, both lost it at the same time. we lambasted the idiot, she got the hat back, while I tried to keep the 'horn from retaliating, which in that scenario would have been a no win situation for him and his two friends. it was embarrassing. it's a football game, not some kind of border war. jeez.

mark scott
tosu 81

[canefan]

Sept 11, 2013 7:53:53 GMT -5 mscott59 said:

Sept 11, 2013 7:37:49 GMT -5 beuycek said:

Fair enough. I am in no way trying to characterize the USF fanbase (of which I am a part of to some degree) as "good" in any way. They aren't and that can be attributed to a number of things I guess but the games against in Tampa against the Knights were awful for me as a parent of a young child. Even after being told they were sitting in sections next to the USF "family sections" where there were numerous children listening to and watching these obnoxious people, the behavior continue until security finally had to intervene. Both games.

Certainly a small sample size and probably not indicative of the larger UCF contingent but those memories still stick with not only me but my daughters as well, and that isn't a good thing. It was awful, kids or no kids.

when ucf came to Columbus last year, I had a chance to talk w/a number of their fans before, during, and after the game, and fwiw they could not have been cooler. tough to generalize about any fan base, but those who follow their teams on the road, I've found, are usually of higher quality than those who attend only home games. again, that's in general. there's just too many to not find exceptions. I've been to beaver stadium in state college for 8 osu-psu games, beginning w/a 63-14 butt kicking we absorbed in '94. bucks then won a thriller in '95, lost a thriller in '97. you could not find fans, of all ages, more accommodating. but the '05 night game was a nightmare. the most uncomfortable I've ever been in any venue. it was ugly. '07 was nearly as bad, ditto for '09. but last year? another night game? the atmosphere reverted back to what it was in the 90s. even one psu fan, there with his nephew, who accidentally backed into my suv in the pasture, uh, parking lot, after the game, and waited there a half hour until we got there to tell me he was sorry and share his insurance info. such is the variety of life.

mark scott
tosu 81

Good point on traveling fans. Miami has some of the worst fans at home and throw in a game when they drink all day and it can be brutal. But when we traveled to Kansas State last year the fans there were all just amazed that we didn't have horns and tails. They kept telling us they had been warned about Miami fans and just couldn't believe every fan they meet, other than me of course, were just wonderful folks.