Ah, those academic folks . . .

[michibull]

14 minutes ago, Bull Matrix said:

It is kind of building a state of the art movie theater complex when people can just enjoy movies at home…

While I mostly agree with you, especially as I get older, the college atmosphere is special. I see no reason to go to an NFL game, but when you home college team is good, it is a whole other experience being there; ie 07 vs WVU. 

[Brad]

Everything's a drag then unless everything goes to the faculty.

A parking lot is a drag, so too is landscaping.

[SilverBull]

1 hour ago, michibull said:

While I mostly agree with you, especially as I get older, the college atmosphere is special. I see no reason to go to an NFL game, but when you home college team is good, it is a whole other experience being there; ie 07 vs WVU. 

It conjures up strange and mixed feelings for this old codger.  I used to be a mainline junky for college sports, particularly USF football and men's basketball.  Nowadays, while I don't begrudge the freedoms and opportunities the athletes now have, this new era of paid free agents has just taken a lot of the "collegial" spirit and fun out of it for me.  I'll still watch and root for the Bulls but I just don't feel the same connection anymore.  Wish it weren't that way but it is.

[Bull Matrix]

2 hours ago, michibull said:

While I mostly agree with you, especially as I get older, the college atmosphere is special. I see no reason to go to an NFL game, but when you home college team is good, it is a whole other experience being there; ie 07 vs WVU. 

Yes I agree. RJS has been a great stage for USF. Hopefully the OCS will be even a better stage..

[Rizman]

On 5/24/2023 at 9:20 PM, JTrue said:

 

 

3) The OCS will benefit athletics and those who like football. It will not help academics or the school as a whole.

 

Won't help the school as a whole, that I don't agree with. 

[belgianbull]

2 hours ago, michibull said:

While I mostly agree with you, especially as I get older, the college atmosphere is special. I see no reason to go to an NFL game, but when you home college team is good, it is a whole other experience being there; ie 07 vs WVU. 

I agree. I have been a fan and followed many professional teams over the years and there is nothing compared to college sports. The high, joy, and stress that came with the first half of the 2007 season, and then the NCAAT run in basketball has been incomparable. Perhaps the only thing that has come close  in my case is when Belgium made it to semi finals of the World Cup.

I can't wait until we are competitive again. I think NCAAT sweet sixteen, and New Year bowl game is possible within the next 3-5 years. Many teams have done it;  and we can as well.

[CousinRicky]

3 hours ago, Bull Matrix said:

It is kind of building a state of the art movie theater complex when people can just enjoy movies at home…

Or some people (cough - SilverBull - cough) put the movie theater in the home.  (or at least buy a home that has one).

[WoolyBully]

3 hours ago, SilverBull said:

It conjures up strange and mixed feelings for this old codger.  I used to be a mainline junky for college sports, particularly USF football and men's basketball.  Nowadays, while I don't begrudge the freedoms and opportunities the athletes now have, this new era of paid free agents has just taken a lot of the "collegial" spirit and fun out of it for me.  I'll still watch and root for the Bulls but I just don't feel the same connection anymore.  Wish it weren't that way but it is.

Yeah, and how much of that is just natural evolution? Over a quarter of a century ago, I used to get all amped up for tailgating three hours before the game, going to away games, watch parties, the whole nine yards. Then, things - in particular, me - changed. The enthusiasm for putting in the effort to tailgate wanes. Do we want to go to another away game or would we rather head out to Vegas? You'll never get views at the stadium that you get from the home theater (and the amenities are nicer). So, what do we do? We accept the natural progression for what it is. Let someone without grey in their beard do the heavy lifting henceforth. 

A quarter of a century. A generation. A generation past. Now, USF has to develop a new generation of fans, as the OGs start to fade. It happens everywhere. Just look at music. It develops and changes. It has to expand and get an ever-newer audience. 'Classic Rock' exists for a reason. The age group of your target demographic doesn't change, but the product has to develop. How many times do we hear "that country/r&b/rock music today is not what we listened to! I can't stand this new stuff." But that "new stuff" pays the bills. The market for your favorite artist of twenty-five years ago is no longer viable. You can't rely on a past, and ever aging population to maintain their same level of enthusiasm and involvement forever. It's just the nature of things. It's how the machine works.

[Friscobull]

24 minutes ago, WoolyBully said:

Yeah, and how much of that is just natural evolution? Over a quarter of a century ago, I used to get all amped up for tailgating three hours before the game, going to away games, watch parties, the whole nine yards. Then, things - in particular, me - changed. The enthusiasm for putting in the effort to tailgate wanes. Do we want to go to another away game or would we rather head out to Vegas? You'll never get views at the stadium that you get from the home theater (and the amenities are nicer). So, what do we do? We accept the natural progression for what it is. Let someone without grey in their beard do the heavy lifting henceforth. 

A quarter of a century. A generation. A generation past. Now, USF has to develop a new generation of fans, as the OGs start to fade. It happens everywhere. Just look at music. It develops and changes. It has to expand and get an ever-newer audience. 'Classic Rock' exists for a reason. The age group of your target demographic doesn't change, but the product has to develop. How many times do we hear "that country/r&b/rock music today is not what we listened to! I can't stand this new stuff." But that "new stuff" pays the bills. The market for your favorite artist of twenty-five years ago is no longer viable. You can't rely on a past, and ever aging population to maintain their same level of enthusiasm and involvement forever. It's just the nature of things. It's how the machine works.

Great points but I was amped up as recently as 5-6 years ago and the product has sucked while the sport has changed drastically (portal).  It is easy to say that as I have begun growing more hair out of my nose and my ears than my head that it is simply an evolution however I am worried the sport is in decline and will become more regionalized as interest wanes. Silverbull may be a fuddy duddy but I think the old codger is on to something.