2005 NewOrleans Bowl USM-31 ASU-19

[MiamiCajun32]

Just left the CajunDome having bought 6 tickets to the New Orleans Bowl on the Second level(tickets are $20 + the $3 handling charge each)! I got into my truck and what did Bop tell me and the WHOLE WORLD, but the GRASSY AREA @ Cajun Field has tickets for $10 Bucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Thanks J-Bird for costing me double the ticket money!!!!


DaddyCajun just trying to do my little part in helping the cause Bop and Dan have been talking about!

Tape the game, and get out to the game and show ACADIANA'S Support for Football!!

There are sports fans who back the Saints, UL, LSU, ULM, LA TECH, TULANE, McNEESE, TEXAS A&M, TEXAS that all reside in Acadiana and NEED to get their BUTTS out to the NEW ORLEANS BOWL, its good for Business!!!!!


Daddy Cajun

It would have been awesome if the Cajuns were playing, but on the bright side it will be much more impressive if Lafayette can sell out a bowl game that does not include the home team.

A sold out Cajun Field with standing room only will be so much a better atmosphere for the bowl game than a 20% full or less Superdome.

[DaddyCajun]

It would have been awesome if the Cajuns were playing, but on the bright side it will be much more impressive if Lafayette can sell out a bowl game that does not include the home team.

A sold out Cajun Field with standing room only will be so much a better atmosphere for the bowl game than a 20% full or less Superdome.

Have you or some of your family and friends decided to go to the game? Have you gone out and purchased your tickets yet?


DaddyCajun

[RedCajun]

That sounds like a great deal. I might actually be able to afford that. Does anyone know how the ticket sales are going in general?

[Pirogue]

DaddyCajun just trying to do my little part in helping the cause ...

OH NO it's happened....
DaddyCajun has caught that disease you get online.... the one that makes you write about yourself in the third person...

OH WELL

Here's to a speedy recovery....

[Turbine]

Have you gone out and purchased your tickets yet?

I am pretty sure miamicajun32 resides in Florida.

[MiamiCajun32]

I am pretty sure miamicajun32 resides in Florida.

yes, unfortunately I cannot make it to the game. Hey, next year I will see the cajuns play in my locale twice (FAU and FIU).

[Cajunpride101]

You guys are absolutely right. The success of this bowl in Lafayette has tremendous ramifications including future bowl location and future bowl bids.

Remember if our fans travel well when we are not playing....then we should be able to travel in droves when we are playing. THAT IS WHAT THE BOWL PEOPLE LOOK FOR.

IF WE DO NOT SUCCEED THEN WE HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT OURSELVES.

WE ARE NOT SUPPORTING ARKANSAS STATE OR SOUTHERN MISS ... WE ARE SUPPORTING LAFAYETTE AND THE FUTURE OF UL FOOTBALL.

[Cajunpride101]

Second Wind: Attendance key element for N.O. Bowl
Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

A caller on a local sports-talk radio show this week lamented the fact that the Louisiana Ragin' Cajun football team didn't get a deserved spot in the relocated New Orleans Bowl.

He went on to say he wasn't attending Tuesday's clash at UL's Cajun Field, since he was a long-time Cajun backer and didn't want to support either Arkansas State or Southern Mississippi.

He just doesn't get it, and now there's a fear that many others who claim allegiance to the UL athletic program don't get it, either.

Perhaps they don't understand how important it is to the local university, and specifically the Cajun football program, for fans to buy tickets, come to the game and do everything they can to make this a success.
It's important for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is to show that Lafayette can support a major athletic event. And it is major.

It's the year's first bowl game, meaning a national television audience that's been having three weeks of college football withdrawals will tune in. The New Orleans Bowl annually has one of the higher television ratings among the non-New Year's games because it's first up on the schedule.

Bowl executive director Billy Ferrante said that game attendance would give groups and organizations - not just athletic ones - an indication of how Lafayette stacks up when it comes to hosting events.

There's no guarantee that the Louisiana Superdome and the city of New Orleans will be back in business at this time next year, and the sponsoring Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation may have to find an alternative site once again.

A good showing by local patrons could mean a return for 2006.

The Sun Belt Conference doesn't get a lot of chances to showcase itself to a true national audience. Arkansas State may be a 17-point underdog to the Golden Eagles, but if the Indians can at least make a statement it would reflect well on the conference as a whole.

But more importantly, for the league's sake, the bowl needs good support and good attendance to remain viable. The New Orleans Bowl provides the Sun Belt with a guaranteed postseason spot for its winner, a huge thing for a still-new league.

The NCAA has put attendance requirements on all bowl games, and that organization may not exempt this game even though it's been hurricane-ravaged and relocated. Attendance last year was solid at 27,000-plus, but we live in a what-have-you-drawn-lately world.

The Silicon Valley game, which included Sun Belt member Troy last year, was flushed this year after poor attendance.

That doesn't need to happen here, just for reputation's sake.

Yes, the Sun Belt screwed up when it didn't leave itself some flexibility in determining bowl-game participation. Yes, if the league did its tie-breaker like it does its other sports, breaking stalemates first and then letting bowl-eligibility work itself out, the Cajuns would be playing Tuesday and we wouldn't be having this discussion.

It didn't happen. UL had its chances. Close, but no cigar. Deal with it, and don't let that stop you from supporting this game. There's a more important reason for those wearing Cajun passions on their red-and-white sleeves to turn out.

Suppose UL goes 7-5, 8-4, even 9-3 next year, but doesn't win the Sun Belt title. At that point, the league office starts peddling the Cajuns for a spot in another bowl game.

The primary concern - maybe the only concern - for every non-BCS bowl is how well fans travel to support their team. Let's say the Motor City Bowl is looking to fill an open slot, much like this year when it took Memphis, and is considering UL.

How long do you think that consideration lasts when they look at this year's New Orleans Bowl attendance, and sees that local fans didn't support this game in the Cajuns' home stadium? That they wouldn't drive across town?

Solve that problem before it happens. Show up Tuesday. It really does mean something if you do.


Originally published December 15, 2005

[ShowDog]

Second Wind: Attendance key element for N.O. Bowl
Dan McDonald
dmcdonald@theadvertiser.com

A caller on a local sports-talk radio show this week lamented the fact that the Louisiana Ragin' Cajun football team didn't get a deserved spot in the relocated New Orleans Bowl.

He went on to say he wasn't attending Tuesday's clash at UL's Cajun Field, since he was a long-time Cajun backer and didn't want to support either Arkansas State or Southern Mississippi.

He just doesn't get it, and now there's a fear that many others who claim allegiance to the UL athletic program don't get it, either.

Perhaps they don't understand how important it is to the local university, and specifically the Cajun football program, for fans to buy tickets, come to the game and do everything they can to make this a success.
It's important for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is to show that Lafayette can support a major athletic event. And it is major.

It's the year's first bowl game, meaning a national television audience that's been having three weeks of college football withdrawals will tune in. The New Orleans Bowl annually has one of the higher television ratings among the non-New Year's games because it's first up on the schedule.

Bowl executive director Billy Ferrante said that game attendance would give groups and organizations - not just athletic ones - an indication of how Lafayette stacks up when it comes to hosting events.

There's no guarantee that the Louisiana Superdome and the city of New Orleans will be back in business at this time next year, and the sponsoring Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation may have to find an alternative site once again.

A good showing by local patrons could mean a return for 2006.

The Sun Belt Conference doesn't get a lot of chances to showcase itself to a true national audience. Arkansas State may be a 17-point underdog to the Golden Eagles, but if the Indians can at least make a statement it would reflect well on the conference as a whole.

But more importantly, for the league's sake, the bowl needs good support and good attendance to remain viable. The New Orleans Bowl provides the Sun Belt with a guaranteed postseason spot for its winner, a huge thing for a still-new league.

The NCAA has put attendance requirements on all bowl games, and that organization may not exempt this game even though it's been hurricane-ravaged and relocated. Attendance last year was solid at 27,000-plus, but we live in a what-have-you-drawn-lately world.

The Silicon Valley game, which included Sun Belt member Troy last year, was flushed this year after poor attendance.

That doesn't need to happen here, just for reputation's sake.

Yes, the Sun Belt screwed up when it didn't leave itself some flexibility in determining bowl-game participation. Yes, if the league did its tie-breaker like it does its other sports, breaking stalemates first and then letting bowl-eligibility work itself out, the Cajuns would be playing Tuesday and we wouldn't be having this discussion.

It didn't happen. UL had its chances. Close, but no cigar. Deal with it, and don't let that stop you from supporting this game. There's a more important reason for those wearing Cajun passions on their red-and-white sleeves to turn out.

Suppose UL goes 7-5, 8-4, even 9-3 next year, but doesn't win the Sun Belt title. At that point, the league office starts peddling the Cajuns for a spot in another bowl game.

The primary concern - maybe the only concern - for every non-BCS bowl is how well fans travel to support their team. Let's say the Motor City Bowl is looking to fill an open slot, much like this year when it took Memphis, and is considering UL.

How long do you think that consideration lasts when they look at this year's New Orleans Bowl attendance, and sees that local fans didn't support this game in the Cajuns' home stadium? That they wouldn't drive across town?

Solve that problem before it happens. Show up Tuesday. It really does mean something if you do.


Originally published December 15, 2005

Well thought out post.

[Cajun Express]

Yesterday I had an opportunity to be near Lafayette, so I went to the Cajun Dome to pay for my baseball tickets. Mrs. Express had additional items that she felt could only be found at the Acadiana Mall. I decided to cut though the stadium parking lot thus avoiding some congestion at Johnson. To my great surprise I found ASU in a huddle on our sacred practice field. After the huddle they kind of did what can only be described as a dance.

Visions of the pain caused by our basketball teams victory dance on Diddle invaded my mind. What else could I do? Like any good Hilltopper I too became too enraged to contain myself and flung a H20 bottle towards the offending team. Unfortunately it was empty and went only 5 feet. Coming to my senses I picked up the bottle, but felt I had scored a great moral victory in preserving our field as sacred.

[RaginFan2]

Yesterday I had an opportunity to be near Lafayette, so I went to the Cajun Dome to pay for my baseball tickets. Mrs. Express had additional items that she felt could only be found at the Acadiana Mall. I decided to cut though the stadium parking lot thus avoiding some congestion at Johnson. To my great surprise I found ASU in a huddle on our sacred practice field. After the huddle they kind of did what can only be described as a dance.

Visions of the pain caused by our basketball teams victory dance on Diddle invaded my mind. What else could I do? Like any good Hilltopper I too became too enraged to contain myself and flung a H20 bottle towards the offending team. Unfortunately it was empty and went only 5 feet. Coming to my senses I picked up the bottle, but felt I had scored a great moral victory in preserving our field as sacred.

Good job, Express! I "feel your pain"! "Sacred" practice field???

[locoguano]

Thats what happens when you blow a huge lead to a team.. they take your spot... WIN.. its as simple as that..