Fennelly- Defeat Cincy and the City Could Belong to the Bulls

[smazza]

bulls really need to win

if bulls lay an egg it will be wait until next year again

[CousinRicky]

yea he seems bitter about USF's success but the point is valid.  if USF can win on Thursday and with the Bucs fans jumping off the ship (no pun) then USF has a great chance to pick up the football fans who are sick of the Bucs crap (having all this money under the cap and sitting on it)

The people sitting next to us at the USF games have done just that.  Dropped their Bucs tickets, paid the GJ level and now have season tix for da Bulls.

[Matt]

yea he seems bitter about USF's success but the point is valid.  if USF can win on Thursday and with the Bucs fans jumping off the ship (no pun) then USF has a great chance to pick up the football fans who are sick of the Bucs crap (having all this money under the cap and sitting on it)

The people sitting next to us at the USF games have done just that.  Dropped their Bucs tickets, paid the GJ level and now have season tix for da Bulls.

thats great to hear rickey.  i imagine there will be a lot more doing so if USF can have a big year.

[mikebeau]

yea he seems bitter about USF's success but the point is valid.  if USF can win on Thursday and with the Bucs fans jumping off the ship (no pun) then USF has a great chance to pick up the football fans who are sick of the Bucs crap (having all this money under the cap and sitting on it)

The people sitting next to us at the USF games have done just that.  Dropped their Bucs tickets, paid the GJ level and now have season tix for da Bulls.

thats great to hear rickey.  i imagine there will be a lot more doing so if USF can have a big year.

it sure is hard to follow the bucs.  no household names any more like the late 90s.  no money being spent.  and TERRIBLE FOOTBALL

[Cow Pie]

Big game... will be interesting to see if Tampians support the Bulls once we win  ;D

[Mag Pie]

The only thing I do not like is his staccato writing style.  He is trying to sound hip and cool, but he just sounds like a poor writer.

I HATE his writing style.

[Held_AccountaBull]

I read it more as him mocking the Tampa area for not supporting the team.

Until this year, people have come out in droves to support pathetic Bucs football, yet they ignore the Bulls.

USF is marketing the game, but the game is not sold out.  What else can USF do to convince people to go to the game?

USF has risen up the rankings only to flop in BIG EAST play.

What did Fennelly not write that is not true?

The only thing I do not like is his staccato writing style.  He is trying to sound hip and cool, but he just sounds like a poor writer.

huh? before this year the bucs weren't pathetic.

[IncrediBULL]

I read it more as him mocking the Tampa area for not supporting the team.

Until this year, people have come out in droves to support pathetic Bucs football, yet they ignore the Bulls.

USF is marketing the game, but the game is not sold out.  What else can USF do to convince people to go to the game?

USF has risen up the rankings only to flop in BIG EAST play.

What did Fennelly not write that is not true?

The only thing I do not like is his staccato writing style.  He is trying to sound hip and cool, but he just sounds like a poor writer.

huh? before this year the bucs weren't pathetic.

Yes, they were.  After Dungy left, we won a super bowl.  Since then we have split years between 1 post season game per year, and 0 post season games per year.  Last year was especially bad.  And we were $30M under cap last year too, so it was not all Gruden's fault the last two years.  Bucs have not been good since Dungy and the super bowl year. 

Glazers have been skimming money out of the team, to the tune of $100's of Millions, and not reinvesting.  We suck because they are getting rich off of the fans (and all attendees to RJS at any event at taxpayers expense).

[Matt]

i guess that article was just the scaled back online, rough draft, copy.

he has a similar article on the front page of today's sport section that is similar but written a lot  better

[Matt]

here is the new version of his article that was in today's paper

By MARTIN FENNELLY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2009

Updated: 10/12/2009 11:39 pm

TAMPA - This town is up for grabs.

Somebody has to own it, don't they?

Why not USF?

The Bucs are becoming a Halloween mask.

Paper or plastic?

It's the week to forget the 0-5 football team and watch the 5-0 football team. It's the week to watch the winning tenant at Raymond James Stadium.

South Florida is about to play the game of the year at the yard, Thursday night against No. 8 Cincinnati on national TV. It's about time. This town needs football that will make people watch, not wretch.

The Rays just flopped at repeating.

The Lightning? Phone when you're winning.

Back to Coach Jim Leavitt and the Bulls ...

"How could you not be excited about this?" Leavitt said.

Here comes Cincinnati, the current beast of the Big East. Here comes Cincinnati, which has beaten USF three straight times. Here comes Cincinnati, scoring points rapid fire. Here comes Cincinnati, the favorite.

How could you not be excited about this?

Well ...

Naturally, Thursday night's game isn't sold out. That's one reason why South Florida has launched a "Go Green" campaign, blitzing TV and radio stations, holding breakfasts with boosters, at local businesses, hospitals, even at an elementary school, with ticket giveaways galore.

Look out your window. There's a 61 percent chance that Lee Roy Selmon is walking up your driveway with two on the aisle.

The idea, entirely, is to recreate the madness that occurred two years ago when fifth-ranked West Virginia walked into a buzz saw of 67,012 fans and sea of USF players on national TV, easily the most magical home win in USF history.

"I remember the crowd going crazy," USF defensive end George Selvie said. "We filled up Raymond James. The whole of Tampa Bay was behind us."

Asked what the atmosphere will be Thursday, Selvie said, "I don't really know." USF quarterback B.J. Daniels said, "It's going to be crazy."

(Wouldn't you love, just once, if when a player gets asked what the atmosphere will be like, he says "78 percent nitrogen, 20 percent oxygen with some argon and carbon dioxide.")

Per chance to dream ...

This is just the kind of game that can catapult the Bulls into the national spotlight, even more than beating Florida State to light the rocket sled that's now carrying Bobby Bowden to his bowl of porridge.

USF digs the underdog role. And it should. Beginning in 2007, the Bulls are 5-0 against ranked teams, beating West Virginia twice and FSU, Auburn and Kansas once. On the other hand, beginning in 2007, they're 8-9 against non-ranked BCS teams.

And don't look now, but this is around the time in the past two seasons when the wheels fell off. They were 6-0 and ranked No. 2 when they lost three in a row, the third of them to Cincinnati. Last season, they were 5-0 and No. 10 but lost four of their next five, including one to Cincinnati.

Will Thursday be a stairway or a trapdoor?

It's the biggest game in town this season, with the town thrown in. Win and you own it. Win and students storm the field, like after West Virginia. Win it and everybody goes horns up again, the whole of Tampa Bay. Hold onto your nitrogen, folks, it's going to be something.

Wonder if any of the Bucs needs tickets.