2007 Football preview and offseason fan talk

[ulforlife]

_ Certainly there is truth in your statement. In the grand scheme of things, conference championships are what truly matters and a conference championship and a New Orleans Bowl berth is something that is long overdue for the Cajuns. The same is true for McNeese except we still have a chance to get an at-large berth in the FCS playoffs and a win over 1-A UL just enhances that chance.

However, I would hardly call this game "amounting to a hill beans." It will certainly be a money maker for McNeese with very low out-of-pocket expenses for travel and lodging. And further, if Cajun Field fills up which I think would be a stretch, 30,000 fans at $20 a ticket still comes out to $600,000 and that is not even close to the economic impact that added fans will bring to the Hub City for that particular evening.

But I understand about looking at the big picture. Both schools have to. I just think somebody made a wise decision that will financially impact both schools. And I said before, LSU won't play the Louisiana 1-AA schools but they will give $450,000 to out-of-state Appalachian State; so, I tip my hat to UL. _

in no way did i mean to disrespect the mcneese football program. in fact, i think this is a great game for our schedule. i would rather play mcneese than a northwestern state, mcneese will bring a larger fanbase. the way i see it, a sold out crowd and a winning record heading into the Troy game will be just great.

[DestinCajun]

_ (Sorry for the delay, I was out of town)


If it turns out that the McNeese game is seen as one of the more "exciting" games we have at home, then it seems our fans are not buying into our Sun Belt competition.

Based on you remark, it seems like you would prefer we play in the Southland Conference. Maybe we'll set new attendance records?

I was at our homecoming game last season when the Cajuns went in at 4-2 and we had a fantastic crowd for Middle Tennessee. Too bad we got our clock cleaned because had we won it and been sitting at 5-2, I honestly believe local fan interest would have increased for the remaining homes games. Instead, the season and our fans went in a different direction.

[ShowDog]

_ Based on you remark, it seems like you would prefer we play in the Southland Conference. Maybe we'll set new attendance records?

I was at our homecoming game last season when the Cajuns went in at 4-2 and we had a fantastic crowd for Middle Tennessee. Too bad we got our clock cleaned because had we won it and been sitting at 5-2, I honestly believe local fan interest would have increased for the remaining homes games. Instead, the season and our fans went in a different direction. _

As the famous "Jim Mora" once said: "coulda, shoulda, woulda"

[shof]

_
No disrespect to anyone but playing McNeese is like playing Northwestern St. and Nichols St. _

Yes, and no. In the grand scheme of things a win or loss against McNeese is no different than it would be vs NSU or Nichols. But neither of those schools were ever the natural rival that "USL/McNeese" was back in the day. So in this sense, its a bigger deal for many older alumni and fans who supported our program 15-20+ years ago. I know I'll be there and looking forward to kicking some Coyboy butt!

[shof]

If it turns out that the McNeese game is seen as one of the more "exciting" games we have at home, then it seems our fans are not buying into our Sun Belt competition.

I'm looking forward to a GREAT Ragin Cajun Year! Geaux UL! _

Its tough to compare "rivalry games" when one has been played maybe 50+ times and the others less than 10. I don't think anyone is dissing the SBC games; just that many (most) of them haven't had the time to develop into natural rivalries yet. That's why so many of us still enjoy the opportunity to play LaTech too. We've been at it for almost a century!

[ULGrad@HOU]

_ Based on you remark, it seems like you would prefer we play in the Southland Conference. Maybe we'll set new attendance records?

I was at our homecoming game last season when the Cajuns went in at 4-2 and we had a fantastic crowd for Middle Tennessee. Too bad we got our clock cleaned because had we won it and been sitting at 5-2, I honestly believe local fan interest would have increased for the remaining homes games. Instead, the season and our fans went in a different direction. _

Maybe I stated it wrong. Just the opposite. I don't like playing the Div I-AA games at all. Maybe the $$$ will make this game worth it for our program if it is a big crowd. I prefer the home games like Okla State, Texas A&M, UH, or other better known football programs. I've attended all those I just mentioned. I also was there last year for the Homecoming, and agree that was the attendance killer for the year.

[RaginDave]

I bought my first preseason college football magazine today, this is a ritual I do every year at this time. I usually buy multiple ones, and while Phil Steele is my favorite, CBS Sportsline magazine, which I had not previously known about has us at #96 out of the 119 D-1A college football teams. They also predict us to win the SBC and play SMU in the New Orleans Bowl.

Lets hope that they are accurate!!!

Geaux Cajuns!!!!!

[DaddyCajun]

Yes it is time for me to go get my copy of Phil Steele. Time to do some research!!

DaddyCajun

[DaddyCajun]

Now that is a way to sell Season tickets, have a preseason Tailgaiting party and all you need is to have purchased your season tickets!

Well how about a fee to drive in to tailgate, say $10 per car load, or $5 per person. Donate the money to Recruiting! Have available seating areas at Cajun Field marked off for purchase! Live bands including the Pride of Acadiana!
Play highlights on the big score board all day attracting fans to the stadium and have coaches and players on the field next to the ticket purchasing tables.


DaddyCajun

[Cajun Express]

_ Now that is a way to sell Season tickets, have a preseason Tailgaiting party and all you need is to have purchased your season tickets!

Well how about a fee to drive in to tailgate, say $10 per car load, or $5 per person. Donate the money to Recruiting! Have available seating areas at Cajun Field marked off for purchase! Live bands including the Pride of Acadiana!
Play highlights on the big score board all day attracting fans to the stadium and have coaches and players on the field next to the ticket purchasing tables.


DaddyCajun _

We do not have enough parking at Cajun Field for people who simply want to get there a little while before the game starts. It is an absolute insult to a good fan who wants to attend a game and has to park at Blackham and hike almost a mile to the stadium while there are hundreds of parking spots taken up by people who have no tickets to the game, but like a good party.

The last thing a coach needs to be doing on game day is PR work, I would not want to be the coach who was glad handing people after any loss.

We should demand up until about 1.5 hours before the game that when you drive up you have a ticket for each person in your vehicle in order to enter.
Same thing for RV, if you do not have an RV permit you don't get in, period, drive to Blackham. For the whinny B it chy groups, there are multiple ticket outlets that they can access if getting in is important to them.