Down by Only 4 with 5 Minutes to Play, and Cajun Field Starts Emptying

[RaginFan2]

My 2 cents on that train of thought: Week before last, HUD told the story of one player that was all hot and puffy at the end of the WKU game. One of the assitansts told HUD we need to send him to the locker room and not let him shake hands after the game. Hud's response was that he was going to walk across that field and take his _____ kicking just like everybody else.
From the day Hud was introduced here, he has used the phrase "TOTAL TEAM EFFORT" numerous times. The players, the coaches, the equipment staff, the people selling nachos, the fans, EVERYBODY, is part of the team. You can't leave on your team! Those who left need to go do "Protect the House" stadium runs......... with military backpacks. haha

I hadn't heard about that before. I am SO glad Hud is our guy! That is what we all need to do - we there will be some ups and downs here as, with ALL programs. (How do you think the Alabama players and fans felt Sat. night?) We just need to "man-up" and stick with the team when they fall. Can we point out the errors and whine & complain? Sure. That's what fans do. But let's not bail on OUR team. I know we've all felt that way at times. Man, that was tough sitting through some of those games in the late 90's/early 2000's! But now, especially, with the way these players have bought into the coaches' program and the effort they have put in, it would be a shame to walk out on them. I really love this senior class! They will be missed, but I hope they have instilled the work ethic and leadership skills for the younger players to follow next year and in the years to come. Well done, guys! Now, go out there win 2 more on the road and a bowl game!!!

[USLJim]

I don't consider those who left losers, just frustrated fans who have seen this scenario too many times, we get on a roll only to tumble when we should not have.
Example, Losing to Mickey neese, be the team to lose to WKU and halt there 20 + bleeding, and then losing to them this year, by losing to them this year, there could be a 3 way tie for Sunbelt Champions, or Co-Champions with ASU if we beat them and WKU gets beat by Troy (highly improbable). WKU's football program is on the up just like ours. Their coach has them believing like our guys. Boy do I want a rematch. I wonder why your nickname is bandwagon, like "Jump on the Bandwagon". So loser, no, Losers are USL/UL graduates who support other Universities other than their Alma Mater. I have so called friends who use their kids as an excuse to cheer for lswho. "Oh, my money and my kids go to lswho". That is a pathetic excuse.

SO DON'T CALL ME A LOSER, FRUSTRATED, YEAH BUT NOT LOSER.

GEAUX CAJUNS

[Turbine]

Jim you are not a loser.

I wish I could have been inside for this game, -work- still I saw what I could of the last three and a half minutes from the fence.

I know I wouldn't have left early though, I never do, I hate fighting traffic and the only sure way to avoid traffic is to loiter after the game.

[anhil8tor]

I don't consider those who left losers, just frustrated fans who have seen this scenario too many times, we get on a roll only to tumble when we should not have.
Example, Losing to Mickey neese, be the team to lose to WKU and halt there 20 + bleeding, and then losing to them this year, by losing to them this year, there could be a 3 way tie for Sunbelt Champions, or Co-Champions with ASU if we beat them and WKU gets beat by Troy (highly improbable). WKU's football program is on the up just like ours. Their coach has them believing like our guys. Boy do I want a rematch. I wonder why your nickname is bandwagon, like "Jump on the Bandwagon". So loser, no, Losers are USL/UL graduates who support other Universities other than their Alma Mater. I have so called friends who use their kids as an excuse to cheer for lswho. "Oh, my money and my kids go to lswho". That is a pathetic excuse.

SO DON'T CALL ME A LOSER, FRUSTRATED, YEAH BUT NOT LOSER.

GEAUX CAJUNS

I for one am not buying this. I'm not going to call you a loser but you have to understand something. Coach Hud asked that we stay four quarters. Plain and simple. Those seniors.. win or lose deserved to have one last high five and a good game regardless of the outcome. Suck it up and never leave early again... no matter if we are up by 40 or down by 40... Hud UP!

[moorecajun]

Pity the fool that had a ticket to that game & didn't stay until the very end. They are the real losers in this senario & most likely losers in life as well. They are just to smart to believe long enough to watch their ship sail in. Anyone who has watched this team this year & didn't realize there was still a very legitimate chance, just doesn't understand about life as a winner or what it's like to be assiciated with winners. I am glad I came this year & I am glad I stayed. God bless the the Ragin Cajuns & Coach Mark Hudpseth.

I have noticed a very different style in your posts lately ... starting after you had some issues in your seat location. Not that I had a problem with your posts (sometimes your keyboard got long winded but what are you gonna do) but your posts over the last few weeks have been EXTREMELY positive.

I vote you change your name ... the "bandwagon" no longer applies!

[Bandwagon King]

I for one am not buying this. I'm not going to call you a loser but you have to understand something. Coach Hud asked that we stay four quarters. Plain and simple. Those seniors.. win or lose deserved to have one last high five and a good game regardless of the outcome. Suck it up and never leave early again... no matter if we are up by 40 or down by 40... Hud UP!

This is my position also. YOU at least are manning up & admitting your mistake. One would think this a life lesson for folks. You think the devil didn't whisper in my ear & say man, you shouldn't stay for the end of this game. These people surounding you don't even like you & you're sitting here screaming your guts out for their team & they don't have the guts to see it through to the end? I says to the the devil,"SATAN get the HELL out of here because I don't care if there aint but five people left, I'm gonna give this thing all I've got as a fan & that's what I did. That's the kind of people I want to hang out with, party with, & enjoy the wonderful future with.

I aint cuttin anybody who left an inch of slack because nobody on here cut me any slack & all I did was come on here as well as everywhere I could, hooting my mouth off for this team. What other power do I have but to put my wallet where my mouth is & pull like hell? I could have walked off & was told by fans of the other school as well as neutrals, that I was ____ing up a rope trying to reason with small timers. I tell you now, the angels in heaven as well as anyone on Earth that is in ear shot are taking account as to how we as fans react when the chips are down as to whether we deserve championships. Excuse making & not supporting financially, complaining about urinal lines & concession lines, leaving early, showing up late, & loving up on the other teams fans from enemy schools in this conference, & especially treating those that are local folks who happen to have the other brands colors on like they suffer from leprosy, is not the mark of championship fans. Anyone who doesn't like this rant should have thought about the way they treated me this whole season starting in February. This team & its coaching staff carried the UL community to this mark. THIS part of the community needs to learn how to carry this coaches message to the rest of the surrounding area if you want new stadium improvements & the chance to move to whatever conference it is, some think it should be in.

[Bandwagon King]

I have noticed a very different style in your posts lately ... starting after you had some issues in your seat location. Not that I had a problem with your posts (sometimes your keyboard got long winded but what are you gonna do) but your posts over the last few weeks have been EXTREMELY positive.

I vote you change your name ... the "bandwagon" no longer applies!

The fact is I haven't changed at all. The peridigm of the fan base has changed, but still needs to transition past just looking at LSU & blaming them, La Tech, or anyone else for an administration that for years was an embarrassment to the reputation of an institute of higher learning. We have moved beyond that. I understood this two years ago & began to sit up & take notice. When I began to see the fruition of what the administration was doing I made the decision to jump on board. What is life but a bandwagon? You are either going in the right direction or the wrong direction. This program is going in the right direction & I recognized this during the hiring process of this coach. Bob Marlin's accomplishments with an undermanned squad was even further proof of where this program is going.

When I came on board, I wanted to spread the message to as many as would listen. This I felt could help the program here a little & there a little to get to its appointed destination a little quicker maybe. To my utter shock, the people who put up the most resistance were thve very people I was doing my best to help. There has been some changing of opinion as people have come to realize that I'm not the enemy, but there is a whole world of opportunity out there for this program to accomplish. To accomplish this task beyond where it is now will take the total cooperative effort of its bigges suporters. Many of those supporters are on this site. Does anyone think for one minute that there are more than 1% of Tiger fans that are not surprised, thrilled, & tickled to death about what UL accomplished Saturday? Does anyone think that any more than 1 out of a hundred Tiger fans are not pulling for UL to finish this thing up & will have a lot of people at the New Orleans bowl? If you are thinking any other way then it is because as an individual you have driven that person fromn supporting your school.

How do I know this? I have been on the phone with several of those people this weekend & they are HAPPY for you. Can you imagine that? If this thought makes you anything but excited & thrilled inside, then you are certainly NOT a championship fan. A championship fan revels in the knowledge that while their significant counterparts are enjoying the greatest run to a BCS championship they've ever had, they can look over at your team & say hey UL, job well done. This is called respect. That is what any championship fan wishes for their team.

[moorecajun]

I think it has to be understood that some of the fans that left aren't "losers" as some people have stated here. I myself have been going to UL games since I was 3 and I'm 24 now. Last night after the interception and touchdown by ULM was the first time I left a game early. Call me what you want, w/e, but it's not because I'm not a good fan. It's specifically because, and I'm sure this is how a lot of others felt, we witnessed only 1, count it 1, good quarter of football from the Cajuns last night. You can say all you want but that is the absolute truth. We were in the thick of it for all of the 4th quarter but just couldnt produce at all against a VERY poor ULM team. And seeing absolutely nothing happening, piled on with Masson's pick and ULM's td late in the game, I just couldnt take seeing our team get embarassed like that by rednecks at our home.

Yall are acting like we had 2K fans left in the game. There was easily 12K+ still there. Kudos to yall for staying and cheering on the Cajuns, but i just couldnt take possibly seeing a loss like that at home to the HOAX. And I've regretted leaving the game early ever since listening to the finish on the radio. BTW, the whole entire last 30 minutes of the the game coverage/postgame coverage should literally be put up for an award for something.

Listen, screw those fans that left early to go watch the lsu-bama game, but dont call every single person who left the game a "loser". I love this team, sometimes a lot more than I should (girlfriend graduated from LSU so you can imagine...). I just couldnt bear to see our Cajuns getting slapped in the face like that at home by a team that didnt deserve it. I'm sure I'll get some flack from some of you guys but thats fine, cuz i know that my allegiance always has and always will lie with UL no matter what some might think of me.

You make some points and people aren't calling the ones that left "losers"; it is moreso that you just "lost" the chance to see the greatest comeback in Cajun history!

What I do want to note, similar to another post, is that, no the Cajuns were not playing well. But this was the last home game of the year (that shouldn't matter) and the players (specifically the seniors) deserved better. Yes, there were still MANY fans that did stay (watch the replay on CST) but hopefully this is a "history" lesson for the ones that did leave; like the John Lennon song goes; "give (the Cajuns) a chance"!. (I may not have the words exactly correct!

So win or lose, next year let's stay until the end of the game!

[moorecajun]

The fact is I haven't changed at all. The peridigm of the fan base has changed, but still needs to transition past just looking at LSU & blaming them, La Tech, or anyone else for an administration that for years was an embarrassment to the reputation of an institute of higher learning. We have moved beyond that. I understood this two years ago & began to sit up & take notice. When I began to see the fruition of what the administration was doing I made the decision to jump on board. What is life but a bandwagon? You are either going in the right direction or the wrong direction. This program is going in the right direction & I recognized this during the hiring process of this coach. Bob Marlin's accomplishments with an undermanned squad was even further proof of where this program is going.

When I came on board, I wanted to spread the message to as many as would listen. This I felt could help the program here a little & there a little to get to its appointed destination a little quicker maybe. To my utter shock, the people who put up the most resistance were thve very people I was doing my best to help. There has been some changing of opinion as people have come to realize that I'm not the enemy, but there is a whole world of opportunity out there for this program to accomplish. To accomplish this task beyond where it is now will take the total cooperative effort of its bigges suporters. Many of those supporters are on this site. Does anyone think for one minute that there are more than 1% of Tiger fans that are not surprised, thrilled, & tickled to death about what UL accomplished Saturday? Does anyone think that any more than 1 out of a hundred Tiger fans are not pulling for UL to finish this thing up & will have a lot of people at the New Orleans bowl? If you are thinking any other way then it is because as an individual you have driven that person fromn supporting your school.

How do I know this? I have been on the phone with several of those people this weekend & they are HAPPY for you. Can you imagine that? If this thought makes you anything but excited & thrilled inside, then you are certainly NOT a championship fan. A championship fan revels in the knowledge that while their significant counterparts are enjoying the greatest run to a BCS championship they've ever had, they can look over at your team & say hey UL, job well done. This is called respect. That is what any championship fan wishes for their team.

I do know this. A "wagon" should not be big enough to hold the fans this team and coach should be attracting. So let's start up the band "train" and ALL are welcome to jump on board. As the person formerly known as the bandwagon king, we need help from EVERYBODY to get to where we want to go!

Get on board! Now boarding for New Orleans!

[IHateLaState]

Unfortunately it is going to take some time with some people... I too stayed till the end... and was also Po'ed at the obvious evacuation to see that other team play... But the word is out.... Hud is getting in people's heads.... This team didn't quit and I hope those who left are ashamed of themselves... But lets not start class warfare... This will be a process.... This is a special team... and Hud will build off of it...

For those of you who did leave... I stayed till the end... I watched the seniors get what they so very much deserved... i watched several of them laying out on the field in tears... i watched them circle the stadium.... I listened to the band chant "Roll Tide" before they broke up... I was parked on Coliseum Blvd and walked my way over... I live almost in Broussard...I was still home 15 minutes before the kickoff of that other game....

For those who left... make up for it and buy lots and lots of tickets to New Orleans.... and allow yourself just for a moment that realize you have a special team and a special guy leading them RIGHT HERE IN LAFAYETTE..................

Oh and that special guy actually makes sense when he is interviewed..........{Think about it}

[CajunMarineBBK]

Not all of us left for the other game on TV. I had a prior engagement to attend a wedding reception with my lovely bride. I left three min early so I could make my other deal which I promised my wife we would go. It started at six I left a few min before six. That does not make me a looser that makes me a responsible adult who had other obligation and promised my wife we would go. If that makes me a looser in some of your eyes so be it. But in my families eyes I am the winner. I wish I could have stayed I never leave early. I sit on the rail and always high five the guys. But this night it could not be.

[cajunhawk]

In the section I sit in...there is a middle aged couple that has two very young children. The youngest might be 6 months old. The oldest might be close to two years old. They came to all 5 games this year. But they always leave early. They have to. Are they losers? Not in the least. These are good people. Hell they don't even give the people around them any problems for being too loud. If anything these guys are as hardcore a Cajun fan as you can be. Did the majority leave because of the score? More likely than not...they did. But their are people who have better things they can be spending their time on then watching the last 3 minutes of a game that seems out of reach. Hell I should have left with 3 minutes left like my wife asked me to do. My daughter was being watched for us and we don't like to just sling our child on people and take our sweet time while we have fun and ignore our parental duties. That makes me a worse parent than I am a football fan apparently. I would rather say I am an awesome parent and a loser football fan though. In the big picture...football is a really insignificant event. I would hope some people on this board would grasp that.