Fall Sport Fan Day draws supporters to Cajun Field activities

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The essentials were on hand Sunday for the University of Louisiana's annual Fan Day festivities - athletes, fans, lots of cameras and plenty of items to be autographed. The Ragin' Cajun supporters on hand didn't much care about anything else. Oh, they would have enjoyed the promised ice cream and soft drinks - the former a no-show and the latter locked up and out of reach. But they weren't there for the refreshments. They were there to get an up-close look at what they're hoping will be UL's best football team in at least a decade. "I think the last part of last season should have a positive impact going into this year," said Youngsville's Jeff Hunter. Their non-conference schedule has some games they can win, and I think they can run the conference schedule." All members of the Cajun football squad were on hand on the Cajun Field playing surface, the seniors in the white jerseys and the rest of the squad in red. So were the cheerleaders and the Ragin' Jazz dance team. The members of the UL soccer and volleyball teams were also on hand, both of whom will see live game action before the Cajun footballers. The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

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With increased success comes increased expectations, and University of Louisiana football fans are no exception. That group's setting the bar high for the upcoming 2006 season, and coach Rickey Bustle and the Ragin' Cajun squad will be hard-pressed to live up to the fans' predictions. An extremely unscientific survey of a dozen supporters at UL's Sunday Fan Day activities showed that even a winning record would come below expectations. None of the 12 fans surveyed picked UL to do any worse than 8-4, and three picked a 9-3 finish. "I think they're going to do some big things," said 9-3 picker Louis Falgout during Sunday's gathering. "That running attack is going to be tough to control and is going to give people problems." "The pre-conference schedule has games they can win," said Jeff Hunter, who picked an 8-4 campaign. "I think they can play with even the big teams." The rest of the story Dan McDonald dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com