USF Alumni and Fan discussion

[CousinRicky]

I know that this topic comes up here and there and thought we could have an in depth discussion in one place.  Here is a quote from the bowl game thread that pushed me to start this. I'll try to find the person's name and edit this. It was Rocky Style:

"The energy of our stadium is so awful I am not sure how many times I can keep coming back.  Everyone sitting around not caring or clapping or anything while we are down one score to Orlando.  It's the truth.  

People say it's not about standing or sitting, but we have another problem all together.

I need to figure out a unique strategy or the Wisconsin and BYU games because good lord...  "

Our daughter is a USF grad but, other than some of her sorority sisters, seems to have no real tie to the university.  While standing for the singing of the alma mater before the game my wife and I sing although we never attended.  Our daughter did not sing.  Don't recall if our son-in-law sings it but I don't think he does.  There truly seems to be a disconnect between students, current and former, and the school.  

What I'm hoping to hear are stories from those of you who attended and whether there is any connection.  Do other parts of the University (Business College, Education, etc) bring out more of a feeling of community?  It Athletics the outlier or is this a system wide issue?  Is this school too large to foster a feeling of family?  

 

 

Edited November 26, 2018 by CousinRicky

[bullstampede9922]

I don't think a lot know it word for word.  I think if they could get someone to sing it, maybe people would sing along.  Not to get into an OCS smaller stadium discussion, but I think the larger stadium and smaller attendance spreads everyone out.  No one wants to feel like they are the only one singing.  I hate to admit it, but I'm a joiner.  If I hear people around me singing it, I chime in too.  My 9 year old son is the opposite.  He'll clap thru the fight song and yell out the spelling of South Florida no matter who is around us.   

[IBulleve]

10 minutes ago, bullstampede9922 said:

I don't think a lot know it word for word.  I think if they could get someone to sing it, maybe people would sing along.  Not to get into an OCS smaller stadium discussion, but I think the larger stadium and smaller attendance spreads everyone out.  No one wants to feel like they are the only one singing.  I hate to admit it, but I'm a joiner.  If I hear people around me singing it, I chime in too.  My 9 year old son is the opposite.  He'll clap thru the fight song and yell out the spelling of South Florida no matter who is around us.   

Most people are joiners. They need to do more to get the student section going throughout the game. The student section injects life into the atmosphere. 

Instead of having the away side of the yell (whisper) Green, and the home side Gold, they would be better off having the student section yell one and the rest of the crowd yell the other. 

Get the students going, the rest of the crowd will feed off it. 

[MaltLiquorBull]

Hard to say.  I sit with mostly alumni, and our section typically sings the fight song and the alma mater, etc...but I get the feeling our section is more of an outlier.  I don't know what can really be done about the sports connection. 

What I do know is that I live in Pinellas county and I work out at a gym where there are many USF students.  I wear my gear and they all know how big of a fan I am.  But here's the part that baffles me...they are students, but they ask me who we are playing.  Then they ask me if it is home or away.  Students!  They are students at USF and have no idea (or interest) who the next opponent is and if it is at home.  To me, that's sad.  Pretty sure if you don't even know who we are playing and if its at home, you aren't interested in going to the game.  And next you'll ask if they are sports fans.  Oh, yeah, they are.  They can talk your ear off about who UF is playing or who ND is playing.  Kind of disgusts me.  I have no idea what to do except to tell them to get out there and support their own **** school.  So that's what I do.  I invite them to our tailgate, etc.  Whatever I can do to promote USF football.

As far as the crappy atmosphere...yeah, it has been awful lately, but I actually thought Saturday's game was the closest we've had to a college football atmosphere since the Big East days.  The experience was only tainted by the crappy performance and the loss.  But if we could even have Saturdays turnout, tailgate, and excitement (vs. what we get week to week), I'd call that a huge improvement.  My section got loud...we just kept getting insulted by what looked like a "giving up" strategy by our beloved Bulls.  You can't keep up cheering loudly for 4 quarters when your team doesn't take advantage of every possible chance to win.  It's a relationship where the team feeds off the crowd which feeds off the team, etc.  

As for me and my tailgate crew, we are gluttons for punishment and will show up and cheer and support and even get dirty looks for standing up and (God forbid) yelling DEFENSE!!!! so loudly when we are on defense.  

 

 

 

 

[Outlaw]

We need football that makes people want to cheer again. We dont have any explosive or exciting offense. Our defense lacks the turnovers and big play ability it has had in the past. If you want the crowd to get in the game; Coach Strong and Gilbert need to give them a team that brings energy and tenacity . Look at the Lightning, before Vinik took over the team they were a joke.Now they have the best product and crowd in Tampa and the NHL.

Edited November 26, 2018 by TheGreatOutlaw

[HyperBullee]

Some friends and I have talked about this numerous times. There’s no consistency between the cheerleaders/sun dolls, band and PA crew. The lack of synergy has caused confusion in the stands.

Tradition has fallen to the wayside at the games. Students, and many in the crowd for that matter, don’t know the chants, songs or when/what to yell/cheer most of time. 

Even when we were terrible in ‘13 and ‘14 (I was a student 2013-2017),  I recall the student section knew most of the chants and there being more synergy. I can’t put a finger on what has happened since leading to the change but there is definitely a disconnect.

[zarnozdabull]

Singing the fight song after a score wasn’t even the norm at our peak in 2007.

You re re-watch those games and you can’t even hear the S-O-U-T-H part or nothing.

People don’t know the words and don’t care.

But I think it has to do with the youth of our football program. 

Every year just a few diehards graduate, those who memorize the fight song and alma mater and still come back to the games. 

We just gotta wait for a few more generations of bulls fans to go through.

I was in section 306 for the UCF game and was the only one singing but no Fs were given.

[WoolyBully]

We talk a lot about what alumni should do. We talk about the tens of thousands of alumni who reside within a stone’s throw of RayJ, yet are nowhere to be found. If these alumni did – what some think we are s’posed to do – the stadium would fill week after week. Nevertheless, we do not. Why is that?

Ties to the university. But what does that really translate to? Anyone attending prior to the advent of football attached, most likely, to the Tres Grande. I had a lot of FSU (and NCSU) gear prior to ’97. I was also, one of the ‘non-traditional’ students that USF had plenty of back in the way back when: those outside the 18-21 demographic, for whom attendance was not so much ‘an experience’ as much as it was check-a-box, get-thru-this, now gimme my diploma. I think college can only be ‘family’ if you go there looking for family. I went there to get the necessary education for employment. So anything past our business agreement is icing on the cake. Moreover, I think, for many alumni, that is indeed the case.

There is only so much juice in the ‘it’s your school! You’re a part of it!” grape. You cannot realistically expect tens of thousands of people to altruistically support something, which, to them, is of marginal value. Not everyone has the same emotional attachment to the alma mater, as do others. A disconnect? I would say so. But there's little that can be done about that over the course of two decades.

 Remember, sports fans, love is a spectrum. Where you are today might not be where you are ten years down the road. In addition, the ‘college experience’ might not be the same for everyone. Sometimes it is the high-water mark…sometimes it is just something to complete. USF might be just that. Even with students. At this point, it's easy to see why the Big Three might garner more interest, even on Fowler Av-uh-noo. Right, Dave? 

[BDYZR]

JUST MY OPINION - 

In sports, and I've said this before, when a USF team gets to THAT game, we choke. Or in some cases, 2007 comes to mind, we choke after THAT game. USF has never been able to sustain any momentum in any sport. Until we do these are the conversations that will be had year in and year out.

[MaltLiquorBull]

1 minute ago, BDYZR said:

JUST MY OPINION - 

In sports, and I've said this before, when a USF team gets to THAT game, we choke. Or in some cases, 2007 comes to mind, we choke after THAT game. USF has never been able to sustain any momentum in any sport. Until we do these are the conversations that will be had year in and year out.

This is very true.  When we finally get people hyped to come out for the "big game," we fail to deliver the win.