2012 New Orleans Bowl

[Boomer]

Agree that our admin needs to strike while the iron is hot. This is the big test for them.

On the other hand how can any conference look at that crowd and make a decision asked on membership based on phony " market size"? News flash for CUSA, Big East and all others, despite what Toolame has been telling you that is what over 48,000 actual fans in the stands looks like.

-----Hammer ---great idea-----have the UTEP or really any Tulane game stands' photos blown up and one from yesterday of the CAjun nation in NO---Big headlines Tulane in the Dome and on the other side Louisiana in the dome put the dates and games etc>>!!!!

[Boomer]

a regular season home game, not a bowl game 2 hours away at an indoor stadium in the biggest party city in the country..... I love what the Cajun fans have done with this bowl, but where are they from September through November??

--Well the obvious solution is to get a large domed stadium and create a French Quarter in Lafayette!!!! LOL

[Syracajun5644]

Hope you all are recovering from New Orleans. If you weren't here in Lafayette and didn't catch our Bowl Special from New Orleans on Friday, here is a link:

http://www.katc.com/ragin-cajuns-all-access/

[CajunEXPRESS]

a regular season home game, not a bowl game 2 hours away at an indoor stadium in the biggest party city in the country..... I love what the Cajun fans have done with this bowl, but where are they from September through November??

A school played here, closer in time and distance than UL. It has a better history and higher accomplishments than UL, and brought nowhere near the fans. University of Southern Mississippi is less than a hundred miles from the Mercedes Super Dome, and has numerous big wins against teams like number one FSU.

This year was an uphill battle for attendance for lots of reasons, or excuses if you prefer. I have zero doubt with a good start next year we will shatter Cajun game and season attendance records. Our weak attendance record of this year out draws about just about every school in C USA, so we would be at least as good as 3/4 of the teams currently in or going to C USA.

[cajunfan96]

Last year instead of making hay after our N O bowl victory we sat in our asses and patted ourselves on the back about how great we were. Consequently, when the first round of alignment changes came, we were stunned. (Duh!!!). Second round came a month or so ago, more people stunned! Really? This is it. Our last shot. Make it count. The last two years were no fluke! Make it count or there may not be a third year.. Z

Right on Z! We have won the National championship to the "ole USL establishment" We must raise the bar!

[Turbine]

Thanks

[cajun67]

Lot of time spent on Lawson's TD catch. Noise was amazing during last ECU series. Could tell it make difference for QB and their team.

[levetsj]

http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-footb...-more-neutral/

Should Locations of Bowl Games Be Kept More Neutral?
by Mike Atkinson

The UL Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns defeated the East Carolina Pirates 34-43 today in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

Offense was on display as both schools set a bowl record for first half points scored, and both finished with high yardage totals.

UL Lafayette jumped out to an early lead, but ECU ended up making this a great game, down to the final play.

The thing about this game that caught my attention the most though, was the crowd.

The game was played in New Orleans, LA, in front of 48,828 fans.

The crowd quickly became a factor for ECU. Especially late in the game, ECU had to burn time outs because of crowd noise and had trouble getting a few snaps off.

When calls went against the Cajuns the crowd booed, and throughout the game there was a crowd reaction in favor of the Cajuns.

As the camera panned around the stadium, there was red all over the crowd. Any ideas why?

Well, UL Lafayette is located in Lafayette, LA, 141 miles from the Mercedes-Benz Dome, where the game was played. According to MapQuest, this is roughly a two and a half hour trip.

ECU on the other hand, is 949 miles from the stadium, roughly a 15 hour trip. For players, flight is an option. However, when fan bases travel, not many offer flights to see the team play.

It doesn't take a genius to realize why there were more Ragin' Cajun fans at this game. Essentially, this was a home game for them.

This is not the only bowl game throughout the years where location could have favored one team.

In 2008, the Ohio State Buckeyes played the LSU Tigers for a national championship in the Louisiana Superdome.

The stadium had the word "Louisiana" in it. There's no way a game as big as a national championship should be played in a "neutral" site, where one team has a clear distance advantage.

I'd even say smaller bowls, like the New Orleans Bowl should be kept more neutral. Part of the fun of bowl games is being able to travel to a stadium where no one has a clear-cut advantage.

The worst part about this is that sometimes, the lower ranked team can get a free home-field advantage just because of the bowl it landed in.

It would be hard to find a way to fix this problem, but something needs to be done. Right?

Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeAtkinsonRS or visit his Rant Sports Author Page.

[Just1More]

This guy is a knucklehead. There are too many other variables in play. Why didn't he mention the programs that have good proximation to their bowl site and don't bring fans? Programs have the right to refuse bowls if they so choose... for a multitude of reasons... including their dislike of travel for fans. It's great when teams are both evenly matched in talent and fan attendance... but you cannot manufacture perfect region mapped bowl pairings. There is a bowl committee priority to get fans. But, there are many other factors to consider. I cannot tolerate oversimplification of complex arguments by simple minds.

[AirBill]

Doesn't work on the iPad...