2011 Vermilion & White Spring Game

[CAJUN_LXA685]

I remember watching the games last year, and especially the drilling we took at UGA and looking at our coaches on the sidelines and wondering where is the fire, where is the a.s.s chewing that someone should be getting right now?

Well, I can see more excitment, passion, and fire in this coaching staff, just from the few pictures of the SPRING GAME (Practice? Practice?...we're talking about practice?) than I can ever remember seeing from the previous coaching staff at any time during a regular season game.

[HoustonCajun]

_ Lafayette has one major obstacle to becoming like Baton Rouge...it's a fun city. Festivals galore, a great night life, enough great restaurants to choke a horse, and a cultural heritage that brings people back year after year. Those small towns and Baton Rouge all have in common the fact that there is nothing else to do in those towns than watch football. _

Austin, TX is a fun city with much more to do than Lafayette. But they still get 100,000 for a football game, 16,000 for basketball and 10,000 for baseball. There is no excuse for Lafayette and Acadiana to not support UL more than it does, except for the fact the UL did not even support itself under our former President. That is all changing under Dr. S and Coach Hud. Having too much other stuff to do in Lafayette is a bogus excuse for not showing up on Saturday nights. When we start winning and play a better level of competition than the Sun Belt to excite the average fan, there is no reason within 5 years that we shouldn't have a 50,000 seat stadium and fill it up every game. And, that should not be an extraordinary expectation for UL and Lafayette. It is time to start thinking more big time expectations and stop living in the past.

[zephyr]

_ Ok. it's time for somebody/bodies to pony up. I'm sure someone knows what the average home attendance was last year. I'll wager with anyone who wants to that Hud averages at least 5k per home game more than Bustle did. Hell, make that 6k more. $100 to RCAF & $100 to Ragin Pagin by the loser. _

That's not a fair comparison. Bustle was in the middle of a 3 win season. You make a coaching change and the complexion and enthusiasm of a program will always be more upbeat with better attendance, at least at the beginning. Bustle's teams also led the conference in attendance for several years and I think we did again last year despite our reduction in numbers. Point being, If Hud were to fall a bit at the beginning of the season and we were 2-4 or something to that effect, you will not notice any immediate upward trends in attendance due only to Hud being the coach. I do think that if we give a good showing at OSU for the first game, you will notice a very nice crowd for the Nicholls game which will boost numbers. I hope and wish for a sellout every game but I don't think having Hud as the coach with all other factors being equal will change the numbers drastically until we win.

[scotto_25]

What I STILL don't get is why were people still tailgaiting while the game was going on??? What's the point of coming to the Spring Game and not coming in. There were no other football games on television (i.e. LSU)! This is just confusing to me.

I'm glad that we are changing the tailgating rules this year with having to have a minimum donation to RCAF to reserve a spot. This will smoke a lot of people out, but there is a big waiting list for spots as it is. There's only 14% (roughly 40-45) of the tailgate spots out of 295 or so that contribute to RCAF...wow! Time to pony up or bbq at your house next year. What really boggles my mind is all of those huge RV spots...I'm not calling you out, maybe I am, I know those things aren't cheap, but come on man it's time to donate a little money to the program. With a minimum donation of $150 to RCAF we can generate another $40,000.

[cajunhawk]

_ Austin, TX is a fun city with much more to do than Lafayette. But they still get 100,000 for a football game, 16,000 for basketball and 10,000 for baseball. There is no excuse for Lafayette and Acadiana to not support UL more than it does, except for the fact the UL did not even support itself under our former President. That is all changing under Dr. S and Coach Hud. Having too much other stuff to do in Lafayette is a bogus excuse for not showing up on Saturday nights. When we start winning and play a better level of competition than the Sun Belt to excite the average fan, there is no reason within 5 years that we shouldn't have a 50,000 seat stadium and fill it up every game. And, that should not be an extraordinary expectation for UL and Lafayette. It is time to start thinking more big time expectations and stop living in the past. _

100% correct. I was way off with that. Golf clap to your sir.

[moorecajun]

_ What I STILL don't get is why were people still tailgaiting while the game was going on??? What's the point of coming to the Spring Game and not coming in. There were no other football games on television (i.e. LSU)! This is just confusing to me.

I'm glad that we are changing the tailgating rules this year with having to have a minimum donation to RCAF to reserve a spot. This will smoke a lot of people out, but there is a big waiting list for spots as it is. There's only 14% (roughly 40-45) of the tailgate spots out of 295 or so that contribute to RCAF...wow! Time to pony up or bbq at your house next year. What really boggles my mind is all of those huge RV spots...I'm not calling you out, maybe I am, I know those things aren't cheap, but come on man it's time to donate a little money to the program. With a minimum donation of $150 to RCAF we can generate another $40,000. _

I had not heard about the new tailgating rules but am also very happy to hear that. I have heard there are people out there that have (had) tailgating spots but would be sporting colors/banners that were not belonging to the Cajuns or the Cajuns opponent tha weekend. This is a good way to raise revenues and possibly weed out the non-Cajun fans.

[Just1More]

If we didn't intend to eliminate our lackluster past, we should not have hired Hudspeth. Some are trying to filter the buzz from Hudspeth and our new athletics attitude... and state that the outcome is the only thing that matters. THAT is absolutely untrue. The hype is the force that changes outcomes. Just because we are living in the hype stage of "Hud's UL football" does not mean we are not already on the success curve.

Winning games are a result of many, many, many things. Those that want to put a filter or an "expectations limiter" on the buildup to the show... are not doing Hud a service. Anyone that plays the "let's just wait and see" card is not part of the Hud system. Go meet the guy and definitely share "your" philosophy with him. You will end up walking away with Hud's philosophy on football greatness as your new one. You'll be embarrassed you shared yours. And be very sure about this... the hype matters.

[CajunsHat]

Ummm. Im pretty sure the size of Austin and lafayette vary a lot...but I an optimistic that our fan base will grow a lot soon.

igeaux.mobi

[HoustonCajun]

_ Ummm. Im pretty sure the size of Austin and lafayette vary a lot...but I an optimistic that our fan base will grow a lot soon.

igeaux.mobi _

Certainly the sizes vary, but there is a lot more to do in Austin than in Lafayette. UT gets 100% support regardless of anything else going on in Austin or the greater Austin area. Lafayette is not an entertainment mecca. People hunt and fish all over the country and all communities have their fairs and festivals. When small towns like Oxford, MS or Auburn, Alabama or Waco, TX can support a university and fill up stadiums, there is absolutely no reason Lafayette, LA cannot do the same. And, the fact that we are 50 miles from BR should have nothing to do with it either. Just look around the country and see how many major universities are less than 100 miles apart with both thriving on a major level. It is time for UL to step out of its cocoon. What is now starting to happen is not an overnight success, but rather the first stage in a major metamorphasis of our university, both athletically as well as academically.

[CajunsHat]

Yea but those other states don't have retards talking down to us when we don't root for the other team down the road. Some peope in this state think it is our "civic duty" to root for the school in the east, and the retards follow across the basin in masses to fulfill their Louisiana "civic duty"
I don't think there is this kind of hippocracy anywhere else in the state... I love Louisiana and will NEVER cheer for lsu


igeaux.mobi

[CajunsHat]

On a side note...something I just thought of about spring game. I don't remember many, if any at all, dropped passes. Everyone seemed to catch the balk if it hit their hands or was close. Passes wide/high/short were missed but, im glad to see "sure passes" were caught! Very frustrating last year to see so many passes hitting recievers/backs that just slip through hands or drop on the run.

igeaux.mobi

[MetryCajun]

_ Certainly the sizes vary, but there is a lot more to do in Austin than in Lafayette. UT gets 100% support regardless of anything else going on in Austin or the greater Austin area. Lafayette is not an entertainment mecca. People hunt and fish all over the country and all communities have their fairs and festivals. When small towns like Oxford, MS or Auburn, Alabama or Waco, TX can support a university and fill up stadiums, there is absolutely no reason Lafayette, LA cannot do the same. And, the fact that we are 50 miles from BR should have nothing to do with it either. Just look around the country and see how many major universities are less than 100 miles apart with both thriving on a major level. It is time for UL to step out of its cocoon. What is now starting to happen is not an overnight success, but rather the first stage in a major metamorphasis of our university, both athletically as well as academically. _

Are we really comparing UT, AU and Ole Miss to UL? I'm willing to bet if UT was forced to play in the SBC, their 100% support would evaporate quickly. I also bet if UT had one winning season in 15 years their staduim would be half full.

[CajunJack55]

_ On a side note...something I just thought of about spring game. I don't remember many, if any at all, dropped passes.
igeaux.mobi _

That was the biggest thing my friends and I noticed while watching the spring game. Someone call Jay lol.

[snote]

Spring football standings:

Cajuns 1 - 0

[HoustonCajun]

_ Are we really comparing UT, AU and Ole Miss to UL? I'm willing to bet if UT was forced to play in the SBC, their 100% support would evaporate quickly. I also bet if UT had one winning season in 15 years their staduim would be half full. _

I am not talking about the past, I'm talking about the future. And, our future could possibly involve another conference affiliation depending on our success and on further conference reallignment. Not every BCS school had 90,000+ seat stadiums and matching attendance. A lot of BCS schools and upper level mid-majors have stadiums between 45,000 - 50,000. That could be UL in 5 years. I am not focusing on what was, but on what could be? There is no reason Lafayette and Acadiana cannot support such a winning program.