Bob Fournet Dedication Photos

[zephyr]

_ I, too, am thankful to the Fournets for their contribution. I was not negative on the facility, only on the way it was poorly marketed by UL and the media. Even Just1More commented on how this was poorly marketed and that there should have been reference to it being a temporary facility until the new stadium enhancements are completed. I don't see anyone here commenting on his negativity. There are things UL does well and things they do poorly. This one, in my opinion, was handled poorly and that is all I said. Read my follow-up post to this on the 3rd thread:

I didn't call them that, I was reporting what others called them and how it was being referred to. And, I didn't say the facility was bad, I said referring to it as a double-wide trailer facility should have been avoided. The embarassment I referred to was not of the facility itself but of the way in which it was depicted to the public. All of that could easily have been avoided by simply referring the our new recruiting complex instead of the negative connotation of double-wide trailers. Perception to fans does mean a lot and our program simply does not have the best perception for reasons others have already stated and this just adds to it. _

Your post(s) was mentioned because, unfortunately, the thread was hijacked from mentioning the generous contribution of a great UL family to the athletics program into complaining about how Gerald Hebert positioned the improvements and their importance in the newspaper. Honestly, I understand your point to a degree but there comes a place and time for them and this was not the best place and time. J1M's comments may have paralleled yours but if you go back, there are numerous posts on this thread alone from you about the "effect" on recruiting or lack thereof, that these "double wides" will have. While Gerald could have used better words (he's been referring to them for months), its not the end all to our recruiting or our perception. The pictures you refer to were not taken from within and were merely used to poke fun even though you obviously felt they were real. The bottom line is that these WILL be temporary until the renovations are complete. Notice I said complete. As extensive and massive as they will be, it will take several years perhaps to complete the work. That means that these buildings will be put to work for some time for which they will likely be used for other athletes when the football team moves out.

[Hammer58]

_ And who might you be referring to? _

By "clowns" I meant the outsiders on other message boards (can't cite specific posts because I don't go to other boards to read their opinion of UL) who decided to run with the description of these meeting rooms as "FEMA trailers".

(Is that what you were asking about? I'm not sure if I understood your question.)

[Just1More]

_ By "clowns" I meant the outsiders on other message boards (can't cite specific posts because I don't go to other boards to read their opinion of UL) who decided to run with the description of these meeting rooms as "FEMA trailers".

(Is that what you were asking about? I'm not sure if I understood your question.) _

You juggle your balls one time... one time... and they call you a clown.

[HoustonCajun]

_ Your post(s) was mentioned because, unfortunately, the thread was hijacked from mentioning the generous contribution of a great UL family to the athletics program into complaining about how Gerald Hebert positioned the improvements and their importance in the newspaper. Honestly, I understand your point to a degree but there comes a place and time for them and this was not the best place and time. J1M's comments may have paralleled yours but if you go back, there are numerous posts on this thread alone from you about the "effect" on recruiting or lack thereof, that these "doublewides" will have. While Gerald could have used better words (he's been referring to them for months), its not the end all to our recruiting or our perception. The pictures you refer to were not taken from within and were merely used to poke fun even though you obviously felt they were real. The bottom line is that these WILL be temporary until the renovations are complete. Notice I said complete. As extensive and massive as they will be, it will take several years perhaps to complete the work. That means that these buildings will be put to work for some time for which they will likely be used for other athletes when the football team moves out. _

The problem, as I stated, is that this could easily have been avoided just by referring to the new recruiting center and saying that these will greatly help our recruiting and program until such time as all stadium renovations are completed in the next 3-5 years. Instead, the double-wide trailer reference was made and the fake pictures and ridiculing of our program started. If I didn't know that the pictures weren't real, most other people didn't know either. Now we find out that these are temporary until the renovations are complete. I haven't seen inside them and they are probably fantastic. But the perception created nullified that to some extent. Poor marketing created a poor image and that is unfortunate. Everyone seems to agree that this whole thing could have been handled better, yet I am vilified. Internal criticism of UL is sometimes warranted and in this case it is. Yes, I do from time to time make criticisms, but they are constructive and are always intended that way.

[Zeebart21]

_ You juggle your balls one time... one time... and they call you a clown. _

when do they begin calling call you a dog....?

[moorecajun]

Thank you very much to the Bob Fournet family! Your generous contribution to Ragin Cajun athletics will go a long way to improving our facilities!

Bob was a very nice gentleman and he LOVED UL sports, especially baseball. He is missed by UL fans and your generous gift makes him smile from above!

As for the other banter on this thread, point made ad nauseam; now let's move on.

[zephyr]

_ By "clowns" I meant the outsiders on other message boards (can't cite specific posts because I don't go to other boards to read their opinion of UL) who decided to run with the description of these meeting rooms as "FEMA trailers".

(Is that what you were asking about? I'm not sure if I understood your question.) _

Got it.

[zephyr]

_ The problem, as I stated, is that this could easily have been avoided just by referring to the new recruiting center and saying that these will greatly help our recruiting and program until such time as all stadium renovations are completed in the next 3-5 years. Instead, the double-wide trailer reference was made and the fake pictures and ridiculing of our program started. If I didn't know that the pictures weren't real, most other people didn't know either. Now we find out that these are temporary until the renovations are complete. I haven't seen inside them and they are probably fantastic. But the perception created nullified that to some extent. Poor marketing created a poor image and that is unfortunate. Everyone seems to agree that this whole thing could have been handled better, yet I am vilified. Internal criticism of UL is sometimes warranted and in this case it is. Yes, I do from time to time make criticisms, but they are constructive and are always intended that way. _

I think we've hijacked the thread enough so I'll make one last point. You haven't been vilified. However, the timing of the criticisms and the thread for which they were placed was a bit of a disrespect to some (including myself) here towards the Fournet family after they paid good money for naming rights. I don't necessarily disagree with your concerns, there likely would have been a better thread and time for the comments. You also have to admit that you often go off on variable tangents in regard to the naming issue. Nobody here likes where we stand there but its fruitless to continue on with it to people who agree with you but would rather direct our time towards other topics perhaps. The naming issue is negative enough but once it begins, there is often blame directed at one of two parties and that is the university or the SBC for not promoting our preferred name rather than the legal name we currently own. This is why many people choose not to post because you get in arguments on how the administration is now screwing something else up rather than looking at the numerous upgrades they are currently making to not only athletics, but the university itself. I guess what I'm saying is it just gets old sometimes.

[Boomer]

_ I think we've hijacked the thread enough so I'll make one last point. You haven't been vilified. However, the timing of the criticisms and the thread for which they were placed was a bit of a disrespect to some (including myself) here towards the Fournet family after they paid good money for naming rights. I don't necessarily disagree with your concerns, there likely would have been a better thread and time for the comments. You also have to admit that you often go off on variable tangents in regard to the naming issue. Nobody here likes where we stand there but its fruitless to continue on with it to people who agree with you but would rather direct our time towards other topics perhaps. The naming issue is negative enough but once it begins, there is often blame directed at one of two parties and that is the university or the SBC for not promoting our preferred name rather than the legal name we currently own. This is why many people choose not to post because you get in arguments on how the administration is now screwing something else up rather than looking at the numerous upgrades they are currently making to not only athletics, but the university itself. I guess what I'm saying is it just gets old sometimes. _

Well --I was there and the program was great and the donation was just so kind by his family----The best part of all is that ---- yes---this a temporary fix that will be carried out in completion upon the naming of the Fournet recruiting wing of our new complex---Looking forward to the day soon!!!!!!

[HoustonCajun]

_ I think we've hijacked the thread enough so I'll make one last point. You haven't been vilified. However, the timing of the criticisms and the thread for which they were placed was a bit of a disrespect to some (including myself) here towards the Fournet family after they paid good money for naming rights. I don't necessarily disagree with your concerns, there likely would have been a better thread and time for the comments. You also have to admit that you often go off on variable tangents in regard to the naming issue. Nobody here likes where we stand there but its fruitless to continue on with it to people who agree with you but would rather direct our time towards other topics perhaps. The naming issue is negative enough but once it begins, there is often blame directed at one of two parties and that is the university or the SBC for not promoting our preferred name rather than the legal name we currently own. This is why many people choose not to post because you get in arguments on how the administration is now screwing something else up rather than looking at the numerous upgrades they are currently making to not only athletics, but the university itself. I guess what I'm saying is it just gets old sometimes. _

Fair enough. I agree in retrospect that the timing was not the best. Certainly, no disrespect was meant to the Fournet family who gratiously donated to UL athletics. I will tone down my comments on the name issue as they have no impact on what UL ultimately does anyway.

[zephyr]

_ Fair enough. I agree in retrospect that the timing was not the best. Certainly, no disrespect was meant to the Fournet family who gratiously donated to UL athletics. I will tone down my comments on the name issue as they have no impact on what UL ultimately does anyway. _

With that said, I hope you are willing to return to form when the LSU'ers come down to "put us in our place" in the overall landscape of where this meaningless university compares to their titanic symbol of superiority!!!! LOL

[Phant]

Guys, not to ruffle feathers, but this improvement is a monumental step in the right direction. Previously, recruits had to walk up a path (muddy and slippery in rain), eat under a small white tent on an uneven grass slope with tilted tables and cheap foldout chairs that were so cramped that you could literally not walk between them with people in chairs.

This is the new handshake of UL Football, that used to make you feel all the warmness of walking down a back alley between buildings in an abandoned industrial complex. This is a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE, improvement.

Keep in mind that this improvement has finally removed one of the obstacles that the coaching staff has had to recruit around for many years now.

_ Double-wide trailers for a 1A program doesn't sound very good. Check out this quote from one of the recruits in the camp this past weekend:

“I really didn’t know what to expect when I came in,” stated Chase. “Coach Brown had told me that Louisiana was an up and coming program with good facilities, but we had heard a few things about the program and didn’t know what to expect. My mom was a little concerned that the school would be a little ran down, but I think she was pleasantly surprised by what she had seen Sunday."

Perception means a lot. Our Louisiana-Lafayette name and double-wide trailers for recruiting hurt that perception. How about someone posting pictures of the area, both inside and out, so we can see what the finished product looks like. It is apparently nicer than it sounds, although I'm not sure I would want to publicize a great new area of double-wide trailers for recruiting. How about just calling it the new Recruiting Zone and leave off any reference to double-wides? _