MikePhillips

If they build an on campus stadium, I'm going to dread having to park at the University Mall and walking over with my family I'll just have to decide which poison to take - get towed by Parking Services, or by Stepps towing from the University Mall We can't even fit the students that current ATTEND the campus, on the campus. How are we going to fit another 15,000 cars PLUS a huge stadium on that campus? It's going to be just like attending classes, with the jam packed student lots and empty faculty lots. The one thing USF does NOT get right, is the parking situation. It was terrible in 1996 when I started at USF, it was terrible in 2001 when I graduated. It was terrible in 2008 when I went back for my Masters, and it was terrible in 2011 when I finished. When ya'll are parking at the Adventure Island parking lot, you'll understand what the point I'm trying to make. An OCS will be a purposely engineered disaster

3:30PM games are just brutal here in the Tampa 100 degree heat, thunderstorms on the horizon, no breeze, the heat is just nasty I've got 5 year old daughters (twins) and my wife that I bring to the games, and they simply can't hack that heat Once we get into late October, it's not too bad, but early September? That's almost unbearable. Luckily, I have a list of USF fans without children, who gladly take my tickets and enjoy themselves. But for my family and I, afternoon games this early in September are just miserable.

any team that plays Miami, is a team I'm routing for Canes fans have gotta be the rudest, most inconsiderate people I've EVER met in any sports, period 90% of them don't even know where the University of "Miami" is even located. If you drove them south on US-1 and pointed at it, they wouldn't even know what they were looking at. Ask a "die hard canes fan", what city is the University of Miami actually located. 99% will tell you it's Miami, the 1% who actually went there will know the correct answer, Coral Cables The first time USF played UM in the mid-2000's, we traveled to the Orange Bowl to watch USF play. I had to actually physically escort my wife to the restroom, because I was afraid for her safety because she was wearing a USF shirt. And out of all the times we've played them, they're "fans" have never done anything to change my mind If you didn't actually go to the college you are routing for, don't talk a bunch of smack to people who actually attended the college they are supporting. You went to Miami Dade, or FIU, sit your ass down

dot there is only so much you can learn, practicing against the same guys day in and day out It's why we pay these small teams a half-million plus, to come let us beat on them. It's so we don't lose our opener, and see what problems we have to work on during practice Special teams was decent, defense was fast, just not too aggressive. They seemed to be trying too hard, not to give up the big plays. I know the screen passes just ate us alive But Mack truly stepped it up. That player wanted that win badly

we've been shouting "GREEN & GOLD" at the football games since 1997 But we've never had anything gold. We've had yellow, but no gold I like them

my twin daughters on the jumbotron- Rocking some old school swag for this game-

it's about time I sit in the south end zone, been staring at an empty student for the good part of the past 3 years When I started at USF in 1996, when we didn't have a football team, from 1997 on missing a football game was unheard of

Been in the stands since 1997 USF tends to play better when we are underrated USF tends to play worse when we are overrated The criticism is deserved towards the overall program itself, but this is a new year. College football is extremely transitional, as we have all experienced. Big graduating class, new coach, you can go from amazing to horrible in 1 year Last year, Taggart was throw into the cockpit of a plane that was on fire, and falling out of the sky like a meteor. It takes balls of steel to risk your reputation as a coach, to come to a eviscerated program. This year, what happens in 2014, is the year to judge him on his coaching abilities I've said this many times, and I understand that good players don't always make good coaches, but I was at the game in 1998 when Taggart as a PLAYER whooped our ass as a QB on the field. I saw him play, I still remember it, he was a great quarterback and a great competitor. Let them rip into us, the program deserves it. We completely fell off the radar when Leavitt was fired. But this year, 2014 is going to be different. I think it's going to be an emotional year, and I think we're going to do just fine :-)

I love the idea Kick some ass, then get the names back on the jerseys Playing for one of the worst teams in college football, I wouldn't want my name on the back either Doesn't matter what your name is, when your in the abyss. You could sense the players pulling apart from each other over the past 2 or 3 years, each attempting to mentally distance themselves from what the whole team was doing I think it's great idea, anything to break down this horrific negativity that has haunted this team over the past 3 years, and start fresh, I'm down for Change everything up, we need some new mojo bad!

1) Meeting Andre Waters in 1997, he was (and is) one of my all favorite NFL players of all time. RIP he was an awesome man 2) Meeting Jennifer Capriati at a tennis match on campus. Her brother played for USF in the late 1990's. and one day I just went in between classes to watch a couple matches, and there she was. Took every ounce of courage I had as a 19 year old to shake her hand. She was incredibly sweet and I felt like a million dollars when I walked away. I actually wanted to watch more tennis, but I was afraid I'd keep babbling at her and make an ass out of myself. For weeks I was like "holy sh**, I met Jennifer Capriati!!!!!" Sorry, I had a HUGE crush on her when I was in middle school playing tennis LOLOL Seeing that smile she has in person just stopped my heart. I can't explain how polite, classy, and sweet she was in person. News stories about her, yada yada, gossip about her, yada yada.... All I can say is meeting her in person was awesome. Enough Jennifer Capriati, my wife might walk in at any moment. My biggest regret was not kissing the back of her hand when she extended it to shake mine.... damnit! LOL 3) Visiting the Argos campus pool for the first time in the summer of 1996. I've never seen so many gorgeous girls laying out in the sun, in all my life. This was DEFINITELY where I parked my car LOL

For me, the "best days" were when the program was just getting started. From 1996 when they were putting it together (that's when I got to USF), through 2001 If ya'll remember the south end zone, on the west side, the big sheets with spraypainted messages on them that we would drape over the end zone, that was me in the late 1990's LOL You never saw alumni or students disrespecting their fellow student athletes, we supported them, and we backed them through hell and back. The insane wins we pulled off in the mid 2000's were awesome, don't get me wrong. I lived in Fontana with many of the players. When I met my soon-to-be wife, and brought her with me to her first USF game in the fall of 1999, I asked a bunch of the players in the Fontana cafeteria to come over and say hi to us, and they did! Charlie Jackson, Anthony McKenzie, Bernard Brown, Sean Hay, Leon Matthews (even though he was my roomate), and a couple others walked over to her before and after the game, reached up from the field and shook her hand. She said the same thing about all them - "I was so scared to shake their hand because I thought they would squeeze the hell out of it! But they all held my hand like perfect gentlemen!" It doesn't get any more magical than that. She still talks about it, and even though she graduated from FIU, she's a HUGE USF football fan :-)

I got there in 1996, lived in Beta from 1996 to 1998. I lived on the ground floor (004) aka "The Lake" Every time it rained, the ground floor would end up having about 2 inches of standing water. Nothing like some mold for your allergies eh? Summer of 1996 I lived in the Village for my first semester, then moved into Beta. I was taking a friend's son on a tour of USF, I can't believe they filled in the pool that was behind Beta. That pool is gone, it's just flat grass now I'd tell ya though, I'd trade all 4 years of high school, for 10 more minutes in Beta. I loved it there, had a blast

What's that old anectdote? "When a reporter asked a janitor what he does for a living, the janitor replied - 'I helped put a shuttle into space' " Whether you took a snap or not, you're part of the system that helped win the superbowl. And just because you didn't take a snap in the big game, doesn't mean he didn't work hard to prepare for the opportunity. Don't judge, or discount the man's efforts and contribution simply by his playing time on the field during the game. Congrats to BJ!!!!!

the most important thing, is the enthusiasm, the competitiveness, and the work ethic when you're in the dumps, it's easy to become sarcastic and bitter towards your teammates and coaches. That whole "Yea, as if THAT is going to help us" attitude that players will give each other when someone else comes in trying to put in work It's a cancer, it's contagious, and it can easily ruin any cohesiveness and progress the team might make together What I'm more concerned with, is the ATTITUDE of the players. As we read in the post from Lynch about the "meal program at USF", I could sense the bitterness and resentment some of the players had towards the University and the program. The positive attitude of the players is what grew this program from 1997 to where it got to 5+ years ago. We that back

always "thought"? Our guys ARE smaller than our foes Our opponents look like elephants, our guys look like telephone poles. I can see it from the end zone. They're legs are bigger, shoulders are wider, arms are bigger, for the past 2 years it looked like the JV squad playing against varsity. These are high schoolers trying to cut because spring break is coming up. They need protein, fats, carbs, veggies. Load these athletes up! If they are underfed, they won't get any gains from the gym

batting .500 is what I'm hoping for If we can bat .500 next year, that would be a HUGE step in the right direction. An ideal season? Not really, but an incredible step forward considering the free fall the program has been in If we can just those 1 or 2 early wins, it'll set a HUGE amount of momentum rolling into the season. I sit in the front row in the end zone, I can see the players eyes, I can see their faces. These guys want this more than we do. They are frustrated more than you can ever imagine. I can see it from my seats They have to get that pressure off them early. Get those 1 or 2 early wins, get the spotlight off them being the worst team in college football, and just cruise into a .500 season. Win half, lose half, I'd be exstatic with that. With a .500 season, we'd be in GREAT shape going into 2015

dot

I think the next rung on the ladder is to just try to bat .500 next year. If we can win 5 games, and lose 5 games, that's going to be signifcant towards the future Taggart is the right guy for this job. I saw him put it on USF in 1998 as a quarterback on the field, and I love how he's instituting some traditions at the school inside the program. It's pretty hard to make chicken soup out of chicken poo, and that's what he had to work with last year. While I do place some of the responsibility on his shoulders, we can all agree that this program has been in shambles since Leavitt left. And with the "Holtz New Era", the program has been gutted to the bone Bat .500 next year, if we can bat .500 next year, that's going to be a HUGE turning point considering how far we've fallen. USF tends to do it's best when it's not at the top, and not at the bottom. We have NEVER done well in the spotlight, and that was when we were actually doing good. Having the spotlight on you when you're in the dumps is even worse. Our players last year looked like high school players on the field in regards to their size. The opposing players at the same height, looked like they had 20lbs of muscle on us position vs position. They looked skinny, underfed, undeveloped compared to our opponents. I have faith, all programs go through the suck. Taggart will pull us out of it

I just wish they'd let alumni and students buy a pair I'm a professional paintball player, even helped get the USF Paintball Club off the ground I'd love a pair of Under Armor cleats to represent my alma matter. Let us buy some UA!!!

oh my GOD Dear Potential Students of USF (and any college) The police have UNDERCOVER officers on campus, not every police officer on campus sits in a squad car. The patrol the campus, they patrol the dorm halls, they patrol all areas of the campus. They are plain clothed, they're job is to find things like this, and report them.... so the REAL police officers can show up and make the arrests. The easiest way to get arrested, is to smoke something that you can easily smell from a block away. Especially in an area that is 100% searchable at ANY time without a warrant (student housing) When you sign papers to move into on-campus housing, you give the school and any authorized person, access to search your dorm room at ANY time, for ANY reason. If you want to smoke pot, do it off campus!!!! Just looking out

I will also add that not having a goal, or an ideal position, or a company in mind, makes job hunting 100 times harder. "What kind of work are you looking for?" "Anything, I just graduated and I'm flat broke..." That's a horrible way to look for work. The more specific you are, the easier things get. 1) Decide what kind of career you are interested in 2) Find a company that offers the careers you are interested in 3) Do some sound research on the company, and find out what kind of positions they have 4) Find out if anyone you know, might know anyone who works at that company 5) Network in and try to land the interview The biggest problem with recent graduates, is that many of them can't tell you what they want to do, or where they want to do it. You gotta get specific, things get MUCH easier once you target a specific career, then target a specific company.

Online job ads are a joke, the jobs that make it to online ads like that, are the absolute WORST jobs in those companies, that no one else in the company wants. Whatever the job listing advertises, cut the pay in the half, and double the time it'll take to earn half of what they are advertising. Waste of time The #1 best way to get hired, is to network. You need to first seek out a position that you think you qualify for, then start networking through all your contacts, friends, family, parents and relatives of friends, facebook contacts, etc to see if anyone knows anyone who works at that company. Then, contact that person and see if they can put you in touch with the correct person. Don't ask for a reference, just the name of the person you need to contact to get the position. Send your resume, with a cover letter stating- "Hello, I contacted (insert your contact at the company)for the position of (insert position here) at (insert company name). He/She said that you would be the best person to contact about setting up an interview. Attached is my resume etc etc" Professional courtesy goes a LONG way when you are looking for work. Sending thank you cards to ANYONE who puts forth any effort towards assisting you, makes a great impression. My first job as a Territory Manager I got in 2001 right after college, because out of 8 people they hired for the job, I was the ONLY person to send a "Thank You" card for the interview, I was polite and professional to the receptionist (I also remembered her name), and I asked for the job. They told me "You were the only person who physically asked for the job at the end of the interview. In a sales organization, you have to ask for the sale to get it. You were the only person to do this out of 8 candidates" Sure, if you have the time, apply online for online job ads. At a worse case scenario, you'll get some interview practice which can come in handy. But be EXTREMELY careful about those jobs. Take a good look around at the office environment. If everyone looks strung out on caffeine, exhausted, overweight and stressed out, if you take the position, that'll be you in about 2 months. If no one makes eye contact with you, no one smiles at you, everyone looks buried in their desk, run like hell out of there Good luck!

I'll take losing seasons over what we had in 1996 when I first got to USF any day of the week When I got to USF in 1996, the ONLY place you could find a USF shirt was at the bookstore, which was back near the loading docks behind the post office, where the current Parking Services building is as now. Sports Authority on Fowler didn't have any USF Shirts. You couldn't find any USF merchandise in the University Mall, no hats, shirts, nothing. WalMart on Fletcher didn't have any USF merchandise In 1996 prior to USF Football, there wasn't much difference between USF and HCC, other than USF had 4 year programs. Both were considered "commuter" campuses. Win or Lose, we've benefited significantly from the hard push in athletics programs. You have to remember, for 40 years this school emphasized research, not athletics

I personally would have no problem with Grothe as a QB coach He is a RUTHLESS competitor, he fought, clawed and scratched for every inch USF got on offense when he was the QB. From the first snap till the day we ran him so hard that he got injured, he did anything and everything, UP TO sacrificing his own health and competitive future, to win games. All of you that are saying "But he doesn't have any coaching experience....", don't you think he's at least earned a shot at the position? Yea, anyone of you remember when we upset Auburn? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cLVBAW5Pq4 Give him a chance for God's sakes, he worked his ass of for this program and he has earned a shot. Unreal, you people on this forum as so pessimistic, that you don't want to give THE ALL TIME GREATEST OFFENSIVE PLAYER IN USF HISTORY a single chance at a coaching job at USF? wtf are you people serious?!!??!?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jumwNy3rCZM Give him a job, we need his passion for USF Football now more than ever

One of the things I noticed when I lived on campus in 1996, was how shielded the athletes were from the general student population. I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with several girls who were on the USF Softball Team from 1996 to 1998, Monica Triner (Big Mo!!!!), Andi Michaels, Lea Mishlan, etc As we were practicing for slow-pitch intramurals, we'd talk to the women on the USF Softball Team. And you know what that relationship made us do? Come watch the games! Many of the guys and girls who were playing IM softball, would come watch the USF Softball team, simply because we were able to get to know them personally through interaction. I understand USF wants to shield their athletes from the students and segregate them, but damnit at this point, the athletes need to see who they are fighting for, and who they are representing on the field. The students need to see who they are cheering for, and look into the faces of the people they are ripping apart online and on social media. The reason why USF Football means so much to me, was because I got to live with the original players in Fontana Hall. Bernard Brown, Jason Butler, Charlie Jackson, Vassay Marc, Bill Gramatica, Jay Mize, Chavez, the list goes on and on. This worked in the late 1990's, no reason it wouldn't work now. We need MORE fan days, more interaction, more social gatherings, more connection between our student athletes and alumni and fellow students. We as alumni and fans need to see the faces, and shake the hands of the athletes we support. The athletes need to see the faces and shake the hands of the people who support them to see who they are fighting for. I never DREAMED I'd EVER be reading the kind of negativity and disrespect I'm reading from USF Students and Alumni, towards other student athletes. Pretty hypocritical how we judge their performance on the playing field, yet.... what was your GPA again at USF? How long did you take you to graduate? And what are you doing for a living now? I think the key to USF's success, is going to be the reconnection of the athletes with the fans and supporters.