Is ULM a Rival?

[MSU_77]

If you would drop down to Division II where you belong, maybe Delta State would be your rival.

[AboveAverage]

_ If you would drop down to Division II where you belong, maybe Delta State would be your rival. _

We would have to step on your head to get there.

[AboveAverage]

_ Given this logic, Tuffguy, would McNeese St. be considered a UL rival if we were in the Sun Belt conference? _

You know if UL fans treated McNeese like a rival maybe the team would to. You know if UL fans treated monroe like a rival maybe the team would to. You know if UL fans treated both like a rival maybe the team would have a winning record.

[Just1More]

_ If that's your need for a rival, maybe McNeese fits your bill.

Eat well and be happy, Cajuns. _

If LSU came to Cajun Field, we might have a larger attendance than the McNeese game. Does that make that a rivalry?

And thanks. I ate quite well today. You be happy too.

[Just1More]

_ In a dream world, we would have LSU scheduled every year, and they would be our rival.....don't see that happenning.


In a perfect world, we would be in the same conference with Tech or Tualne, or be able to schedule one of them every year, and they would be our rival....don't see that happenning.


In order for a school to be your rival, you HAVE to play them every year, and there has to be some animosity built in to the games.

This is where ULM falls short. Most Cajun fans are ambivalent in their opinion of ULM.

We don't hate anybody on our yearly schedule. We have no rivals.

That's fine with me, 'cause there's nothing worse than a manufatured rivalry. _

Bingo. Pay the man.

[NewsCopy]

There has been a lot of discussion here about rivalries. Successful rivalries generally have three (3) characteristics.

1) You hate losing to them.

You hate losing to anyone; you particularly hate losing to someone who is supposed to be below you.

So this is the weakest indication of a rivalry.

2) You get up for beating them.

A rival is someone you aim for all season, even all year, long.

Back in the heyday, we're playing a 'big' school in Blackham (Arkansas '69? Ok State '70?) and during a lull, the fans start yelling "Go to Hell, McNeese, Go to Hell (etc.)"

We don't give a darn about ULM except the week of the game. And then it's more a fear of losing, than a hunger for winning.

3) Your fans interact throughout the year.

This one has a few exceptions-- ND/USC comes to mind-- but by and large, to have a real rivalry, you've got to be able to give the other fans _____ all year long.

This is why overwhelmingly, the great rivalries are geographically close, often in the same state: Bama-Auburn, Ole Miss-MSU, Texas-Texas A&M, USC-UCLA, UGA-Ga Tech; in the old days, Penn State-Pitt. OU-UT fans interact in Dallas, Michigan-OSU fans in Detroit, and Army-Navy alums, all over the world (note that Air Force, located across the country, does not elicit the same heated passions, perhaps because of the distance, or perhaps, the relative newness of AF.)

I can't think of a single ULM acquaintance in Lafayette.

So no, ULM does not make the cut.

[trd1282]

Bustle is 1 for 6 against ULM, we can hardly entertain them at this point, much less claim rivalry. The Middle Tennessee series is a little closer with the Cajuns at 4-2 (Bustle), I like it more because of the loses we have managed to hand each other at homecoming games in the last couple. The North Texas series is starting to even out, but I've still got nightmares from those first three spankings from 2002-2004, So my vote is for Middle. If we beat ULM by something in the neighborhood of 3 touchdowns for the next 2 years in a row, then, maybe.
If anyone wants that rivalry, the way you play that game has to change. I think on that last series before halftime, you have to pound the ball in on 3rd or 4th down going into the locker room...especially when you are a 3 win team on senior day (against your rival). We kicked the ball as if we were protecting something. But I do understand trying the pass a couple times for clock.