The Book: 2007 Football

[Sonsissymia]

_ Preachin' to the choir, brother.

I just want this week to be over, so I don't have to hear all the whining anymore from folks who are living in 1970. _

i certainly understand how a rivalry can't be abided with a lower tier school. but every year when the other ul game comes up, this board's denizens scoff at the notion that a rivalry exists there, with the position seemingly being to the effect that the local ul has left the other in the dust, hence only one true 'louisiana.' what i would like to hear from the forumites is what teams ARE considered rivals to the cajuns. i'd think the 'other' ul would be a natural football rival, despite the fact monroe wins almost all the games, but that notion has no traction here. tell me--who is/are the cajuns rival/rivals on the football field?

[Hammer58]

_ i certainly understand how a rivalry can't be abided with a lower tier school. but every year when the other ul game comes up, this board's denizens scoff at the notion that a rivalry exists there, with the position seemingly being to the effect that the local ul has left the other in the dust, hence only one true 'louisiana.' what i would like to hear from the forumites is what teams ARE considered rivals to the cajuns. i'd think the 'other' ul would be a natural football rival, despite the fact monroe wins almost all the games, but that notion has no traction here. tell me--who is/are the cajuns rival/rivals on the football field? _

LaTech was our natural, oldest rival and it included not just football but basketball. Plus football is played inthe same division. Unfortunately due to conflicts created by being in different conferences now the football series is on hiatus but hopefully just for the short term. Baseball has been added to the mix and has taken on a new twist now that Tech has our former top assistant, Coach Sim, as their head coach.

[CajunRed]

I think the worst whining of all came this afternoon from " 3 1/2 puppies". He is NOT a UL fan... has NEVER BEEN a UL fan, yet he just can't help himself calling and critizing EVERY little thing UL does or doesn't do. Hey... 3 1/2 puppies... buy a season ticket to ANY of UL's sports programs... then maybe we'll take you seriously when you call in and whine like a child!

Thanks, Jay, for putting him in his place for a change!

[Hammer58]

_ Yes 2008 vs. Southern _

Is it 2008? I thought Jay said 2009; but I could be mistaken.

[ATXCajun]

_ Battle of the Bands ?? _

I don't know about that, but it will be a real treat to have their band visit Cajun Field. I guess maybe our drumline could hang with them.

[Just1More]

_ i certainly understand how a rivalry can't be abided with a lower tier school. but every year when the other ul game comes up, this board's denizens scoff at the notion that a rivalry exists there, with the position seemingly being to the effect that the local ul has left the other in the dust, hence only one true 'louisiana.' what i would like to hear from the forumites is what teams ARE considered rivals to the cajuns. i'd think the 'other' ul would be a natural football rival, despite the fact monroe wins almost all the games, but that notion has no traction here. tell me--who is/are the cajuns rival/rivals on the football field? _

My preference would be back to LaTech, personally. I was also hoping that Southern Miss would develop into a rival over the years, but conference affiliations have thwarted that. We will have to play them (Tech and USM) in order to get that going.

I do not think we should maintain or reconstitute old rivalries that are D1AA. It is not a "lower tier" thing. It is the D1AA thing. There is nothing wrong with playing several instate D1AA schools when/if a mutual opportunity for scheduling works out. It should not be a goal, but a fallback position in scheduling.

ULM may develop into a rivalry, but it hasn't. It just hasn't taken on that status. You create a rival naturally. You don't go in making arguments as to why one is or is not. I'm pretty sure that is true all over the country. You generally know it when it happens. There may be a Sunbelt rival brewing, but I just don't think that has happened yet for UL. I think we "feel" about the same way about all of them right now. I don't see what difference it makes.

I do share the opinion that I can't wait to get this McNeese game over and done. Way too much hype on this board. It is the next game... that is the only thing that matters to me.

[leeman]

I think most rivalry's come from a team that is within a "reasonable distance" so that fans from both teams can enjoy the tailgaiting experience, ect. In the sunbelt, unfortunately we have no one close enough to do that. So, without the "personal contact" with the opposing school, it's hard to get a rivalry going. maybe if the oil boom comes back to lafayette and everyone has a private jet we can all go to other schools and raise some hell .. lol...

[Cowboy Up]

Attendance 28,578

DaddyCajun

For a game that really "does not mean that much to Ragin Cajun fans", I am not going to argue. Personally, I hope that Troy brings as many fans to Cajun Field as it is the start of the Sun Belt Conference season. Troy means more to the program than McNeese in terms of getting to the ultimate goal of the New Orleans Bowl. But, just for grins, I decided to plug some arbitrary numbers:

28,578 fans @ avg. ticket price $20.00 = $571,560
28,578 fans @ $5.00 per avg. concession = $142,890
TOTAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $714,450
(minus) McNeese's Estimated Share. . . . . . . $150,000
TOTAL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .($564,450)

Maybe these numbers aren't even close but they are, indeed, food for thought. I would, however, challenge any OTHER 1-AA program in the state of Louisiana to generate such potential income to a game that does not really matter in the grand scheme of things. In the end, this is all good for UL's football program and I would hope that you could draw this for all of your Sun Belt conference home games. This is what nostalgia, tradition, and history can do for a payday!

And, I did not even estimate how many times this money would "turn" on one Saturday in the Lafayette Metroplex. Intriguing to say the least.

[VObserver]

LaTech. Over 100 years of tradition playing them. And with modern transportation, practically in our back yard. It is imperative that we re-establish the home and home with the Puppies. Helps them AND us.

[RaisingCajun08]

I wonder what the average income is for a UL home game over the past few years. I would guess that anything over $500,000 is way above average.