14,945

[cajun_lannister]

I'd say the same to casual fans that a car dealership owner would say to them if they wanted to drive a Lexus from his business but were interested in paying him a Chevy's price.

At the end of the day, it's a matter of priorities on how they spend their money. I realize that. I also realize that the casual fan needs to have the vision of what Maggard is building. That's not an easy thing to do, but more fans will eventually see that vision, recognize the value, and pay it ESPECIALLY if Maggard does his part and runs a professional, winning operation.

I loved it when Napier was questioned about attendance and he replied that he's not concerned about it.....that he realizes he's not put the product on the field that warrants the stands full of people. He's not panicked like some of you are here. Neither is Maggard. These guys know what they're doing. Chill, would be my recommendation. Let them do their jobs.

If they can't fix it, nobody will.

To build a strong foundation will take time why not easy people into that start with $5 parking not $10 . Charge $250 for tailgating not 1K after Rcaf small things sacrifice $10 now to make $1000 in 4 years

[Cajunfanatico]

I know our window is closing but we will not get anywhere with 15k people in the seats we just can't sustain grow without a strong & larger fan base.

I now realize that there is a parallel universe.

Seriously Lannister. I've been as kind to Hud as anyone here, giving him praise for accomplishing what he accomplished, and giving him praise for not going all Lotief on us when he was shown the door.

But look at what he left the next guy in the way of a football team. It's as though he thought he could win games by playing only offense, even though he left us with no quarterback. It is nothing short of PHENOMENAL that Napier has this team in contention to win the Belt West and participate in the first-ever Sunbelt Championship Game.

Those of us who are fanatics have been paying attention. Casual fans have not. They've not noticed, or if they have, they've not become convinced enought to become believers. They will IF Napier can do what we believe he can do. I do. Do you? Do you believe that if Napier can take a bunch of misfits who'd quit on their coaching staff last year and whip them into shape to the point that within in a single season's time they can compete for a championship, that he can do much more with his own players that he's evaluated and recruited. I do. Do you?

If you believe he can do much more, then give the man the time he needs to work his magic.

T-Joe has made the committment. He's not going to pull the plug at the end of this season. Quite the contrary, I bet he doubles down. I would.

[CajunVic]

I now realize that there is a parallel universe.

Seriously Lannister. I've been as kind to Hud as anyone here, giving him praise for accomplishing what he accomplished, and giving him praise for not going all Lotief on us when he was shown the door.

But look at what he left the next guy in the way of a football team. It's as though he thought he could win games by playing only offense, even though he left us with no quarterback. It is nothing short of PHENOMENAL that Napier has this team in contention to win the Belt West and participate in the first-ever Sunbelt Championship Game.

Those of us who are fanatics have been paying attention. Casual fans have not. They've not noticed, or if they have, they've not become convinced enought to become believers. They will IF Napier can do what we believe he can do. I do. Do you? Do you believe that if Napier can take a bunch of misfits who'd quit on their coaching staff last year and whip them into shape to the point that within in a single season's time they can compete for a championship, that he can do much more with his own players that he's evaluated and recruited. I do. Do you?

If you believe he can do much more, then give the man the time he needs to work his magic.

T-Joe has made the committment. He's not going to pull the plug at the end of this season. Quite the contrary, I bet he doubles down. I would.

How many times does it need to be said - the problem is not on that end.

[CajunPride]

The prior comments was a great post

[cajun_lannister]

I now realize that there is a parallel universe.

Seriously Lannister. I've been as kind to Hud as anyone here, giving him praise for accomplishing what he accomplished, and giving him praise for not going all Lotief on us when he was shown the door.

But look at what he left the next guy in the way of a football team. It's as though he thought he could win games by playing only offense, even though he left us with no quarterback. It is nothing short of PHENOMENAL that Napier has this team in contention to win the Belt West and participate in the first-ever Sunbelt Championship Game.

Those of us who are fanatics have been paying attention. Casual fans have not. They've not noticed, or if they have, they've not become convinced enought to become believers. They will IF Napier can do what we believe he can do. I do. Do you? Do you believe that if Napier can take a bunch of misfits who'd quit on their coaching staff last year and whip them into shape to the point that within in a single season's time they can compete for a championship, that he can do much more with his own players that he's evaluated and recruited. I do. Do you?

If you believe he can do much more, then give the man the time he needs to work his magic.

T-Joe has made the committment. He's not going to pull the plug at the end of this season. Quite the contrary, I bet he doubles down. I would.

Im not pulling my funding but Im tapped out and most diehards are

we need more people to carry the load is what I'm getting at

[Cajunfanatico]

To build a strong foundation will take time why not easy people into that start with $5 parking not $10 . Charge $250 for tailgating not 1K after Rcaf small things sacrifice $10 now to make $1000 in 4 years

I have no idea of the dollars & cents decisions that Maggard has to make as he reviews his plan. All I can assume from looking at what he's doing, and the way he's doing it, is that he believes the product he plans to offer the public will warrant the price he's asking, and he appears to believe it will happen sooner, rather than later. I actually think that's a positive.

When I think it's time to sound the alarm bells, I'll have no problem doing so. To be sure, what's taking place here before our eyes is not for the feint of heart but I say it again, thank god we've got qualified, professionals, making the decisions.

[Cajunfanatico]

How many times does it need to be said - the problem is not on that end.

But the solution to the problem is ALWAYS on that end.

If there's not a complete commitment from the top down, then it will NEVER happen......not at the level we fanatics are demanding it happen. We fanatics are convinced of what we have here. Casual fans are not on board yet. I believe they will be, and will be in plenty of time that there's no need to panic now.

[Cajunfanatico]

Im not pulling my funding but Im tapped out and most diehards are

we need more people to carry the load is what I'm getting at

Understood.

Here's something that you can do that might help you cope with the situation.

Do what a buddy of mine and I did when we were students and we believed we had the right ideas on how to move things forward. We tromped down to the office of Dr. Terry Don Phillips, the man gave us about 20 minutes of his valuable time, and after speaking to him, we had a better understanding of the complexities of what it was he was dealing with. We weren't necessarily happy with what he told us, but we understood better.

Obviously I've not forgotten that meeting to this day, and honestly, at the time I didn't realize how busy the man was or where he was headed in his career.

You and others have posted plenty of ideas here. Instead of hoping that Maggard sees them, try to schedule a personal meeting with the man. He'll appreciate your concerns, I guarantee it, and he'll address them. I'm betting that after such a meeting you'll come away with much clearer picture about our future and you'll be an even better ambassador for the program.

Give it a try and report back to us here.

[cajun_lannister]

There needs to be more open dialogue between fans and admin not just from me.

We are all pulling the same wagon it's a lot easier when we are all going in the same direction.

[billbeck451]

I was impressed with the game day experience. This was the first game of the year for us 3 he drive and a senior has cut into free time. Our day began at 5.30 on the road to get to campus before 9 for campus open house for my daughter and her friend. The university did a great job and her friend loved campus. The area under the baseball stadium is great and having a baseball scrimmage was a plus. Band by the oak was great and all of the in game promotions made for fun watching. Only minus was it was COLD

[Oiler]

G5 football has about as much relevance as FCS football does these days. Nobody anywhere cares. Other than a few diehards that post here on RP, no one in Acadiana gives a rat's rear end about who wins the Sun Belt Conference football championship (or any other G5 conference championship). This situation worsens more every single day as the chasm between the P5 and the G5 grows ever and ever larger. This is no accident. Killing off any and all threats of competition from uppity G5 programs is what the P5 schools intended to do from the day the P5 entity was created.

UL needs to prepare for average crowds of 15K in the future, and that's only if we do everything right AND we're winning. I hate to break it to all the sunshine pumpers posting on RP, but the time to make our move in football was 30 years ago. It's true that had we handled things differently back then we'd be in a totally different position today than we currently find ourselves., but we all know how we totally chit that opportunity away.

I've come to accept the fact that the only sports where we (and every other G5 conference member) can actually compete on a national level today are baseball, softball, and in a smaller way, men's and women's basketball. I think the day is approaching that we'll have to reconsider how we allocate our limited resources when it comes to athletics.

[Turbine]

I don't disagree with the part you discuss. The problem is they skinned the sheep even before there was a semblance of a herd. Now, even those that were on board or frustrated, many were already tuned out and now those that were left are dropping like flies. It's not about the $10 to park. It's about the whole package on the back of a dumpster fire. A few different things happen this year and possibly that could have been the right track. They didn't and its headed downhill faster than anyone can catch-up with. Something different needs to happen.

Every idea implemented was necessary.

You know a Bactrian Camel can carry 1000 pounds and run 40 mph. But not at the same time.

They also will refuse to carry the 1000 pounds if you put all the weight on their backs at the same time. It's capabilities will only be met with proper pace and timing of implementing the load.

There is also the the delicate balance of avoiding 'the feather' that broke the camels back.

Every move this admin is making is necessary, they might need to work on there load balance implementation.

jmo