Just wondering . . .

[Turbine]

_ Your not telling me something I don't know. However, the past administration is gone and the program is in the best position its been in for quite some time. If people can't get over it and see what they are doing with the type of student athlete the coaches are bringing in, the improvements that have been made and on in the plans to be made, I don't know what is going to bring them back. This team has been in the conference hunt for the past 4-5 years or so with the exception of 2007 and they need the support of the "fan" _

For some it isn't that they can't get over it, it is that they simply are not paying attention, it's not on their radar. The communication link is broke and missing. It will take a major accomplishment and a media blitz to make them even turn their heads.

I don't think they are right but I do think that is the way it is.

[LFTCajun]

_ Well, I think it was explained pretty well above. You rip attendance to point out there is something fundamentally wrong with why people are not attending the games when the team is undefeated this year at home and in a position to play for a conference championship. Its hard to sit there and rip a team when they underperform, especially the coaches and then ask to get interviews and be welcomed inside the ropes per se. I think there is a fine line between being critical of a team and overstepping your boundaries. _

Not to mention its the team out there fighting in the trenches vs fans sitting on their butts...

[AirBill]

Well, I think it was explained pretty well above. You rip attendance to point out there is something fundamentally wrong with why people are not attending the games when the team is undefeated this year at home and in a position to play for a conference championship. Its hard to sit there and rip a team when they underperform, especially the coaches and then ask to get interviews and be welcomed inside the ropes per se. I think there is a fine line between being critical of a team and overstepping your boundaries.

Hey, that's the job. No one said it was easy. And again, I want to make it clear that I'm not ripping Josh per se. I'm just saying that ripping the attendance is just a very easy target. To me, you don't rip the fans for not showing up; you question why. Every week I read a thread here about how the UL ticket office isn't there when someone tries to buy season tickets. That's a job that should be manned 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., because it's a job that pays for itself. There's no reason why anyone who wants to buy tickets in the middle of a work day shouldn't be able to. That's inexcusable. If you want to put butts in the seats, there are any number of ways of doing that. Fortunately, one of the ways of doing that is being addressed with the RCAF.

Make no mistake: low attendance in a market the size of Lafayette is primarily the result of indifferent marketing for many years by the athletic department.

As for criticizing the team, you're right: you don't take cheap shots in the media and then expect to be welcomed into the locker room with open arms. But it is a trust. Reporters, when you get down to it, speak for the fan. And if a team is not playing up to its potential, you call them out on it. I'll agree that the timing of this is curious, given that the team is 4-2 and 2-0 in conference play. Maybe I shouldn't be looking a gift horse in the mouth. But again, if you're going to rip the fan base and students for being AWOL, perhaps it's time to ask the hard questions about why they're not showing up.

[Just1More]

_ Not to mention its the team out there fighting in the trenches vs fans sitting on their butts... _

Much of the team is on scholarship and many fans are pumping a lot of money into the program. "The fans" that are sitting on their butts in the stands are not the problem. The problem is figuring out how to get more fans' butts in the stands. And hammering on them will not get it done. Hammering on the people paid to get them there... that is the ticket.

First, I don't think it is appropriate to attack the disconnected UL football fans at this point in our history... not one damn bit. Skeptics... they sure ought to be. Second, I think it does the opposite of what the goal is... to get them connected with the program. Airbill was just pointing out an inconsistency that he himself provided the answer... the DA can easily harp on the unattending fan and call them "pathetic"... it panders to the disgruntled attending fan... it panders to the UL haters... and it substantiates the DA's claim that nobody cares about UL football. You have to be careful using inflamatory words directed at the team... any moron knows that.

My constant (and you can count on it being a constant until things are massively going in the right direction) is to point to the prior administration. Many in the current President's administration were there under the old... that is not lost on me. There is but one entity that can improve the direction of everything with UL football... it is the MANAGEMENT. If you don't see fans... the management is to blame. They are not off the hook... the new... the old... the both... until it is ROARING.

Some fans want to shake their heads and shed a tear with the current administration. I want to see them ask our disconnected fans' forgiveness. I want to see them beg Acadiana for some support. I want to hear them provide the new charter they've created that will not allow anything but a monster UL football program to be built. THAT is the only way you will get the monied people back on board without constraint... and THAT is the only way you will see the masses showing up for something THEY consider special. It's THAT damn simple. But, I love all of you. Geaux Cajuns!

[zephyr]

_ Much of the team is on scholarship and many fans are pumping a lot of money into the program. "The fans" that are sitting on their butts in the stands are not the problem. The problem is figuring out how to get more fans' butts in the stands. And hammering on them will not get it done. Hammering on the people paid to get them there... that is the ticket.

First, I don't think it is appropriate to attack the disconnected UL football fans at this point in our history... not one damn bit. Skeptics... they sure ought to be. Second, I think it does the opposite of what the goal is... to get them connected with the program. Airbill was just pointing out an inconsistency that he himself provided the answer... the DA can easily harp on the unattending fan and call them "pathetic"... it panders to the disgruntled attending fan... it panders to the UL haters... and it substantiates the DA's claim that nobody cares about UL football. You have to be careful using inflamatory words directed at the team... any moron knows that.

My constant (and you can count on it being a constant until things are massively going in the right direction) is to point to the prior administration. Many in the current President's administration were there under the old... that is not lost on me. There is but one entity that can improve the direction of everything with UL football... it is the MANAGEMENT. If you don't see fans... the management is to blame. They are not off the hook... the new... the old... the both... until it is ROARING.

Some fans want to shake their heads and shed a tear with the current administration. I want to see them ask our disconnected fans' forgiveness. I want to see them beg Acadiana for some support. I want to hear them provide the new charter they've created that will not allow anything but a monster UL football program to be built. THAT is the only way you will get the monied people back on board without constraint... and THAT is the only way you will see the masses showing up for something THEY consider special. It's THAT damn simple. But, I love all of you. Geaux Cajuns! _

Whatever.

[zephyr]

_ Hey, that's the job. No one said it was easy. And again, I want to make it clear that I'm not ripping Josh per se. I'm just saying that ripping the attendance is just a very easy target. To me, you don't rip the fans for not showing up; you question why. Every week I read a thread here about how the UL ticket office isn't there when someone tries to buy season tickets. That's a job that should be manned 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., because it's a job that pays for itself. There's no reason why anyone who wants to buy tickets in the middle of a work day shouldn't be able to. That's inexcusable. If you want to put butts in the seats, there are any number of ways of doing that. Fortunately, one of the ways of doing that is being addressed with the RCAF.

Make no mistake: low attendance in a market the size of Lafayette is primarily the result of indifferent marketing for many years by the athletic department.

As for criticizing the team, you're right: you don't take cheap shots in the media and then expect to be welcomed into the locker room with open arms. But it is a trust. Reporters, when you get down to it, speak for the fan. And if a team is not playing up to its potential, you call them out on it. I'll agree that the timing of this is curious, given that the team is 4-2 and 2-0 in conference play. Maybe I shouldn't be looking a gift horse in the mouth. But again, if you're going to rip the fan base and students for being AWOL, perhaps it's time to ask the hard questions about why they're not showing up. _

Actually, its not the media's job to criticize. It is their job to report the facts and provide information on the various sports teams to the public but they are not in a position to criticize the coaches and players.

[AirBill]

Actually, its not the media's job to criticize. It is their job to report the facts and provide information on the various sports teams to the public but they are not in a position to criticize the coaches and players.

I absolutely agree with you: the media must report the facts truthfully, COMPLETELY and without prejudice. But, if you are going to report the facts, sometimes those facts are unpleasant. If The Advertiser is going to call out the fan base for poor attendance, the least it can do is take more than a superficial look at why these numbers are historically poor.