The thrill is gone....

[chapelbull]

50 minutes ago, CousinRicky said:

And there you have the argument against us ever being Nat'l Champs. We were great in one big win games.  Champions don't lose 3 games to middle of the pack BE teams.

Of course, but the point was we held our destiny.  So yes we "could" have won a championship.

[Mission9]

51 minutes ago, CousinRicky said:

And there you have the argument against us ever being Nat'l Champs. We were great in one big win games.  Champions don't lose 3 games to middle of the pack BE teams.

No, they don't,  I think though most knew that there were several issues which would eventually show up.  The team played with a lot of emotion early on.  This is negated when the other team is pumped up to play you.  We knew there was a depth issue.  We also knew that one of the issues with Leavitt's USF teams were that they had  problems against teams which played good defense, ran between the tackles, and threw over the middle to the TE or big receivers, while minimizing mistakes.  

Even with the doubts, the fact that they "could" win was what got people to show up who did not care before. 

[BobbyBpchiefs]

Man what a depressing thread! Michael Kelly sure has his work cut out for him. This website is full of the biggest USF fans we have and even some of them are talking about not being excited and not wanting to go to games. I'll never judge another person on how they spend their hard earned money. I still have my season tickets and this year I'll start to bring my twin 1-year olds to some games (a select few that arent too hot or too late) The rest I'll go to with some old friends.

I definitely agree that the games don't have the same feel as they used to. I hate the stupid DJ thing. Playing Tulane and Tulsa doesnt feel the same as playing West Virginia, Louisville, or even Rutgers. But we're in the AAC for now and we have to deal with it and make the most of it.

The only way to drum up excitement for the program is by winning conference championships and going to big bowls. Imagine how we'd all feel if we won the last two AAC titles (like we should have) and played in two NY6 games? The program would be buzzing! Ask anyone who was at that game in Orlando last year and they'll tell you. The atmosphere there was amazing! It felt like big time college football. That's what special seasons like that do for programs. 10-2 and finishing second in conference is not good enough. Not with the conference we're in....But 12-0 or 11-1 with a conference title and a NY6 bowl vs Auburn or Oklahoma or Ohio State? Have a few years like that and the juice will be back for sure. But it sucks because it's a very fine line and it's all on the coaches and the team. It's 100% out of our hands. It's their job to get us excited for the program and not the other way around.

I guess what I'm trying to say with this long rant is that there is still a possibility of creating excitement about USF that we all felt in the 07-09 years. Yea we're in a lesser conference and it sucks, but dominate it...Win some conference titles, play in some New Years Day bowls, and see where we go from there.

When it comes to building excitement around the program, close is not good enough. We've have seen that these last two years.

[puc86]

20 minutes ago, cophbulls said:

Honestly, I do like the AAC, and it has nothing to do with you. I love the type of cities, the geography, southern(ish), I would trade UConn and Temple for two more southern cities if it didn't mean losing an almost guaranteed national champion shot each year. I love that Wichita St now brings their kick-ass baseball team to the conference. I love that I can go up to Annapolis in fall and wallow in the history of the academy. I love the idea of Bourbon Street coming to Tampa. I love the fact I get so frustrated because we can't beat UConn in women's basketball. I love the steady constant yearly football game against Cincinnati cause I'll never forget Warsteiner beer on tap that one year. I love the fact that the USF-UCF game last year was considered by many to be the game of the year. I love to hate UCF and I love that UCF loves to hate us.  I love the potential of this league and I love watching inter-conference play. I' hope the AAC will get the recognition it deserves but I know that is unlikely so I will be very sorry when the teams we face now will run to the money instead of maintaining this nice cohesive unit we have. But you know what, thats ok, at minimum I have this year, and if nothing changes, ill have next year. 

I may not understand any of those reasons, outside of UCONN’s women’s basketball, but I am glad you like it. 

[puc86]

7 minutes ago, Bobby said:

Man what a depressing thread! Michael Kelly sure has his work cut out for him. This website is full of the biggest USF fans we have and even some of them are talking about not being excited and not wanting to go to games. I'll never judge another person on how they spend their hard earned money. I still have my season tickets and this year I'll start to bring my twin 1-year olds to some games (a select few that arent too hot or too late) The rest I'll go to with some old friends.

I definitely agree that the games don't have the same feel as they used to. I hate the stupid DJ thing. Playing Tulane and Tulsa doesnt feel the same as playing West Virginia, Louisville, or even Rutgers. But we're in the AAC for now and we have to deal with it and make the most of it.

The only way to drum up excitement for the program is by winning conference championships and going to big bowls. Imagine how we'd all feel if we won the last two AAC titles (like we should have) and played in two NY6 games? The program would be buzzing! Ask anyone who was at that game in Orlando last year and they'll tell you. The atmosphere there was amazing! It felt like big time college football. That's what special seasons like that do for programs. 10-2 and finishing second in conference is not good enough. Not with the conference we're in....But 12-0 or 11-1 with a conference title and a NY6 bowl vs Auburn or Oklahoma or Ohio State? Have a few years like that and the juice will be back for sure. But it sucks because it's a very fine line and it's all on the coaches and the team. It's 100% out of our hands. It's their job to get us excited for the program and not the other way around.

I guess what I'm trying to say with this long rant is that there is still a possibility of creating excitement about USF that we all felt in the 07-09 years. Yea we're in a lesser conference and it sucks, but dominate it...Win some conference titles, play in some New Years Day bowls, and see where we go from there.

When it comes to building excitement around the program, close is not good enough. We've have seen that these last two years.

Welcome to the board and way to come out the gate strong. A few wins in New Year’s Day bowls would do everyone’s heart some good. I don’t know that winning AAC championships will really stoke excitement to most fans or casuals but certainly if it gets us to a New Years Bowl and we win against a name brand school,  that’s a shot in the arm we have needed for a long time.

[chapelbull]

I think you strive to win conference championships because that's what teams do.  So yes, I think winning AAC championships will help excite and energize the fan base.  

[Orlando Bull]

1 hour ago, CousinRicky said:

And there you have the argument against us ever being Nat'l Champs. We were great in one big win games.  Champions don't lose 3 games to middle of the pack BE teams.

Every year, exactly one (1) team wins the championship. Of course we didn't complete our season to make it happen in 2007. Of course we weren't the best team in the country then. My point is that in any given year when we were in the BE and the BE was producing multiple top-20 teams, we could honestly open the season with a dream in tact. The fact remains (at least in my mind) that if we had won out in 2007, we absolutely would have been in the top-2 and playing for a championship. I'm not saying any more than that. The door was open to us then.

Conversely, UCF went undefeated last year and did not even scratch the top-4.

Your reasoning, I'm sorry to say, is why Leavitt was really fired. Im not saying you had anything to do with that, but, we got so good, so fast that many of our fans actually were angry about losing those 3 games in 2007 and blamed Leavitt for not having his fledgling 10-year old football program ready to be the premier program in the NCAA. How dare he step on the field with 2 and 3 star recruits and not be able to win week in and week out! I know there was slap-gate, but, as I recall, there were many murmurings of plateaus and such. He was recruiting well and needed more time. But, the "fans" and "boosters" wanted a miracle. Who knows what would have been in the long run, but, I know that it was too soon to expect that much and we have paid the price for it. Hopefully we're on the way back up, but, the top of our mountain isn't as high as it used to be.

[usf97]

You can say this thread is all kinds of different issues but I think it boils down to this. 

The NCAA football product was already really good. In the 80's, 90's, 00's the product continued to improve. Many griped over the way the champion was selected but it worked. You could have 2 or 3 champs or whatever and it kept people excited. Even if you were 84' BYU you still legitimately had a chance at a championship even with all the powers that be working against you. 

However, since the implementation of the playoffs and the so-called Power 5, the NCAA damaged the product due to their greed, IMHO. 

Sure ratings are still solid and the schools are making money hand over fist. That said, the overall product just isn't the same. Attendance is down. Many rivalries are gone. More team are irrelevant, thus I am less likely to watch them when my team isn't affected. 

It doesn't mean that no one will still support it but it just isn't as good. USF is just one by-product of this. 

So for example: 

• Notre Dame games with all the ACC teams is just not the same, instead of all the old rivalries.  
• Mizzou, TAMU are now completely irrelevant in the SEC. 
• The Red-River shootout is gone. 
• Every former BE team was damaged in regards to football. Obviously, UConn, UC and USF. You can make a case SU had no change but clearly, Pitt, WVU and Rutgers fell off the map. To a lesser degree UL.
• The Backyard Brawl is dead. Nebraska-OU rivalry is dead. 
• Maryland and Nebraska is irrelevant in the Big 10.  
• Schools like TCU, Utah, BYU and Boise State were relevant under the previous system. No longer. 
• The PAC-12 and Big 12 as a whole are no longer once what they were.

Basically, all of these changes were about greed and they just assumed all the fans wouldn't care what they did. Maybe it will work out, personally, I think it just created more apathy among some very large fan bases and in doing so may have irreparably damaged the sport. 

That said, I do think the AAC has been a positive by product of all the changes. If you leave out all the issues with the AAC Bowl Access or postseason and just look at the regular season, the product is pretty good. There are individual schools like Memphis, Houston, UCF....maybe SMU that are in better places than before conference realignment but they are the exception. 

 

[Bull Dozer]

On 8/4/2018 at 8:46 AM, George Jenkins said:

Cry me a river. USF makes this being a sports fan thing seem easy. Try being a Dolphins fan.

 

I have this shirt and exist in the football purgatory known as Miami Dolphins fandom/  

[puc86]

9 minutes ago, chapelbull said:

I think you strive to win conference championships because that's what teams do.  So yes, I think winning AAC championships will help excite and energize the fan base.  

I honestly believe the big bowl game against a household name would do much more in that regard. Outside of last season I couldn’t tell you who won any AAC championships and I have my doubts many people could. The market has proven that there is little interest in AAC football and I doubt championship some how change that.