What we have lost as a fan base

[BullsOnParadeTG]

Let me premise this with the facts that I am both Alumni and have been holding 6 season tickets for several years now. 

That said every season I get excited about the upcoming season. I get eager to smell burgers on the grill at the tailgate, to hear the fight song played in the stadium, and to throw my horns up.  Back when I was in college (the great years) we did not have this defeatist attitude as a fan base. We went to games because it was fun. If we lost we were still back the next week. I fought to catch any away game I could find on TV because more often than not it was **** near impossible. I was relegated to watching the updates on ESPN.com. Yet I still came back the next week. Yes we had some great wins but every season we had the slide at the end of the season. Yet I still came back. 

Now I read through this board and all I seem to see are people complaining about a lack of an OCS. People hating this coach or that coach. People refusing to go to a game until we have a perfect season or are in a P5 conference. When did we get too big for our britches? When did the fans of a scrappy young football team think we deserve to sit with Alabama every week. We are still climbing. Sometimes that is slow and sometimes it is leaps and bounds. Sometimes we take a step back just to take two more forward. My point is these storied programs didn't make it to the P5 in 20 years. These programs were around for 100 years or more. 

I guess my point is negativity is a cancer. Yes it is ok to be disappointed in a loss. It is fine to disagree with this coach or that coach. All that aside go to the games. Support these kids who are out there playing their heart out. The more full the stadium is the more exciting it is. The more exciting it is the more people will want to be apart of it. 

In conclusion don't wait for the program to be a top tier team before supporting them. Be there now. 

[jjlovecub]

Makes way too much sense. This kind of rationale thinking will never fly on this board sir! But I agree 100%!

[BullsOnParadeTG]

2 minutes ago, jjlovecub said:

Makes way too much sense. This kind of rationale thinking will never fly on this board sir! But I agree 100%!

You are probably right but it had to be said. lol. 

[Bulls On Parade]

  Wasnt that long ago McNeese state gave us big loss and we were in a bad spot for 3+ seasons. 

I now cherish more the good times even if they arent as smooth as I wished they were.

 

 

 

 

[Guest Jonesy Bull]

You make good points, and yes there are a lot of complainers, and people that don't want to support the program for many reasons, mainly we have taken a step back when the Big East fell apart, and haven't done anything spectacular since then.

That said, I think that overall there is more optimism about this team then there was last year (at least from most of the posts that I have read)…...but yes we definitely have more than our share of Debbie Downers. 

The hard core fans will continue to support this team (which are a lot of people on this board).  However, getting the general fans back will be a much tougher task.  Its going to take some high profile wins and publicity to make that happen.

 

[mj796]

I mean I see criticism, but I just don't think I'm reading the same stuff you are. I see mostly optimism?

[NewEnglandBull]

A lot of people on this board spend way too much time on the past. Yes, it was nice but it’s gone. Time to look to the future and enjoy each season, each game, and each snap. It’s not too hard for me to do because when I attended USF the campus was atrocious and there was no sign of football. Thus, I am grateful for what we have. Do I want more? Absolutely! More wins! A championship! A New Year’s Day game! Etc. 

[Gat-Rat Bull]

1 hour ago, Nick Carroll said:

I fought to catch any away game I could find on TV because more often than not it was **** near impossible. I was relegated to watching the updates on ESPN.com.

I once listened to a USF basketball game (while on a work trip) from my hotel phone in the mid-90s because that was the only way to get the game. It was a pay-per-listen thing that I think the athletic department put out there. It was an expensive phone call.  

My point is that you are so right about how good we really have it these days as Bulls fans compared to the "old" days.

[BullyPulpit]

Just now, NewEnglandBull said:

A lot of people on this board spend way too much time on the past. Yes, it was nice but it’s gone. Time to look to the future and enjoy each season, each game, and each snap. It’s not too hard for me to do because when I attended USF the campus was atrocious and there was no sign of football. Thus, I am grateful for what we have. Do I want more? Absolutely! More wins! A championship! A New Year’s Day game! Etc. 

Enjoying the upcoming season and remembering the past aren't mutually exclusive. I have never wavered in my support for the Bulls, but the fact of the matter remains, the stakes are not the same as they were when we were in the Big East. It does feel like we were relegated back to the second tier of football. Even if the Big East was the bottom rung of the Tier 1 ladder, we were there. We had a taste of the good life. We flew first class for a few years and now we are flying coach. I still love the journey, but the flight there isn't as nice and the potential destinations aren't equal. I scoffed at the SEC Network commercials with the southern chick saying "In the SEC, it just means more," but the fact of the matter is that it does. When we were in the Big East, it just meant more. That isn't to say we can't enjoy what we have now, but we don't have to forget what we once had. 

[SquishaBull]

When football first started, our version of the highlight reel was seeing our score from the game scroll across the bottom of the screen. We have come far and I certainly won’t forget it.