Some Outside Praise for Bearcat Nation

[GoUC11]

I'm vacationing down here in the Florida Panhandle and was wearing UC attire much of the week as I usually do. A few people asked me questions about UC, had comments regarding our fan base, football program, and in general high praise.

The first one was from a 'Bama fan. Saw me wearing my bUCKeye STATE shirt and stopped me and said he loved it. We talked a little more and in more words or less said it was a shame Ohio State lacked the (stuff) to face us year in and year out. He said the perception of Ohio State has really taken a hit and lots of folks who know football outside of the SEC are hesitant to call them the 'power' school of Ohio. In general he said the SEC fans who are knowledgable have a respectable opinion of UC and throw out the Sugar Bowl performance due to the BK departure and the hectic situation that resulted from it.

Second one was from a New Orleans resident who had really high praise for our fan base. He remembers us coming out in full force in La. and said it was on the level of any SEC team in the national championship and by far one of the best fan bases NO has had in years. He couldn't say enough nice stuff about us and that the Sugar Bowl would probably take us again if we were truly eligible (Big East Champs). Again, this is from a local business owner and not a public official, but to make that great of a impression to last more than 2 years after it says something).

The final one was a Clemson supporter and we talked about the rumored Big 12 moves of Clemson and Florida State. He said he wasn't really in favor of moving to the Big 12 (horrible geographic fit) and would rather the ACC get stronger. He said the ACC would be foolish to add UConn or Rutgers but should expand their geographic footprint and add UC and Louisville. He said time spent on ND is pointless as they will never commit to a conference in football which is the only thing that truly matters.

Those are the three that stick out, but many people have asked about our program and have been very complimentary about us.

Thought I'd share that with the board as we have many that bash our fan base. The key is getting the 'bowlers' to become season ticketers.

[BearCatMarcher]

That's refreshing.

[coach]

I hear similar talk when i travel as well. unfortunately, espn seems to have more to do with college conferences than common sense.

[vince8290]

Good stuff. I really liked your post. When I was at the Sugar Bowl talking to some Florida fans, they had no idea that then Florida coach Urban Meyer was a UC grad. No idea.

[DMoney1080]

Originally Posted by vince8290

Good stuff. I really liked your post. When I was at the Sugar Bowl talking to some Florida fans, they had no idea that then Florida coach Urban Meyer was a UC grad. No idea.

Ask OSU fans - they don't know either? If fact, some have argued with me over this. Funny - how awful and assuming some fan bases are.....

[FBBBUCfan]

Thanks, GOUC11. Those are refreshing words to hear, especially after all the hating on the BE that Espin has been doing of late.

We know we're good - now it's up to us to go get more people packing the stands to prove to the outside world we believe it.

[Bearcat85]

Originally Posted by DMoney1080

Ask OSU fans - they don't know either? If fact, some have argued with me over this. Funny - how awful and assuming some fan bases are.....

It doesn't help that Urban pretty much tries to hide the fact.

[Bearcat Chris]

Great post GoUC11!!! Regarding Urban Meyer, I think he still has a chip on his shoulder due to the fact he played sparingly while here, and played when the team was horrible, under Dave Currey.

B.C.

[Colonel]

I dont know. Playing and coaching are two different things. Sometimes there can be crossover.

John Gruden was a mediocre barely playing QB for UD. Seems to have had an awesome coaching career.

[Deaf_Bearcat]

Great to hear this. I was also vacationing in Florida panhandle (Santa Rosa Beach, Florida near Destin, fL) and got some comments from them also. Also met a couple of other Bearcats fans around the area. It's good to have a number of Bearcats fans in Florida panhandle (like myself and GoUC11).

[CaptainProbasco]

For what it's worth, here in West Lafayette, most people I've met have a realistic respect for UC, both academically and athletically. I've heard opinions that academically we're equal to Oregon and above Oklahoma, even in my field (which is an average field for UC).

And despite the generally inflated opinion Purdue fans have about their own athletics (it's ALWAYS the ref's fault when they lose), they genuinely regard our future matchups as quality OOC games, I think comparable with an average Big 10 game. They NEVER would have been concerned about playing us 10 years ago (we were 1-11 against B1G schools when we were in C-USA). But these days, we're a respected opponent.

This is huge, because we recruit directly against Purdue in football and basketball. If even the older folks who live inside the Purdue bubble respect us now, imagine what the high schoolers in Indy think?

[cmm27]

Apparantly the high school kids in Indiana like what they see with football, as they keep committing to the team.

[subflea]

Originally Posted by Bearcat Chris

Great post GoUC11!!! Regarding Urban Meyer, I think he still has a chip on his shoulder due to the fact he played sparingly while here, and played when the team was horrible, under Dave Currey.

B.C.

It was more the playing conditions when he was here than his own playing time.