fightingsioux4life

I was at the game on Saturday and Belmore did not play well at all. But when Belmore was ripping apart Mesa State and Central Washington a few weeks ago, I didn't hear all of this talk about how bad of a quarterback he is. I remember Kelby Klosterman as a sophmore starter and he struggled at times. But it was also very obvious that he was a great athlete and was going to develop into a great quarterback, which he did when he led us to a National Title as a junior. I personally think Belmore has played better as a sophmore filling in for a senior starter than Bowenkamp did when he filled in for an injured Klosterman in 2002. I think some people are overreacting to what happened in Sioux Falls on Saturday. We still have the #1 defense in the nation (probably the best this program has ever had), two solid running backs, a good O-Line, and two sophmore quarterbacks who will get better with time. We made a lot of mistakes on Saturday (penalties, turnovers) that are correctable. Also, we were playing a better-than-usual Augustana team on their home field (where we have always struggled). St. Cloud is a good team, but so far they haven't beaten anybody good (except for maybe Western Washington). I don't think they'll hang 40+ points on our defense and I think our offense can score on their "D". I think it will be a great game on Saturday and I think the coaching staff will have this team ready to perform.

I think if Digger Anderson doesn't get First-Team All-American Honors this year, something is wrong. He was one of the few bright spots last year and is already the best linebacker on the team as a sophmore. He'll go down as one of the best linebackers to ever play for the Sioux, and that's saying a lot considering how many great ones have played here. Every week, Digger makes a play that makes a difference in the game (i.e. stopping Rob Malone on 4th and inches in overtime). I remember Mark Callahan, one of our best D-Linemen ever, getting 2nd and 3rd teamed to death when it came to All-American honors. I hope that doesn't happen to Digger. He's as good as they come.

If people don't come to the game, you lose money on ticket sales and concessions. After all, how can people spend their hard-earned money on $2.00 cups of coffee and $4.00 hot dogs if they watch it on TV? Seriously though, we need a much better showing by the fans next Saturday. Granted, it's Thanksgiving weekend, but there have to be some people who would love to top off their Thanksgiving celebrations with another Sioux win. I maintain that it shouldn't be televised unless ticket sales reach or exceed 10,000. Or only televise it outside the Greater Grand Forks area so that local fans have no choice but to get their butts off the couch and go. It's the playoffs, we need everyone we can get.

I was at the game yesterday and couldn't believe all the empty seats at the Alerus Center. This is a first-round playoff game, not another laugher against UM-Crookston. There is absolutely no excuse for a 13,500 seat arena to have that many empty seats in it. And I don't want to hear a word about the freaking hunting season, either! At least the people that were there were into it, but when you are one of only 16 teams in D-II still playing, you deserve more than a half-full house. I think we shouldn't televise ANY playoff games unless ticket sales reach 10,000+. That might solve some of our attendance problems. Any other thoughts?

Ever since the revival of the Sioux program in the mid to late 1990's, certain members of the general public have tried to take away student seats so they can have them for themselves. I was a freshman during Gino's final, pathetic year as head coach. We won 11 games that year (7 at home). The crowd was only about half-full most nights, but I also remember that the general public section of the Old Ralph was a lot emptier than the student section. After Blais took over and the program took off, tickets became hard to come by and season tickets were soon gone. Suddenly, people in the Grand Forks area who wouldn't give the team the time of day before suddenly wanted tickets, but couldn't get them because they waited too long to commit to the program. Instead of getting on the waiting list and waiting their turn, certain individuals around here decided to take out their frustrations on the student body, who for the most part had stuck with their team through both thick and thin. They would criticize students for not filling up the student section during a long holiday weekend or one of those infernal Saturday-Sunday afternoon weekends that Wanless loved so much. These were times where a lot of students either wanted to go home and spend some time with their families or had jobs they had to work. But the anti-student crowd insisted that the students didn't "appreciate" their seats and that they should lose them. Now we have a brand-new arena, but the same tired old bullcrap. REA, Inc. had better realize that the student section is still the heart and soul of the crowd at home games. The crazy and creative signs and cheers, the distractions that they give our opponents (especially the Gophers!!! ) and the overall energy and dedication that they commit to our team all make Sioux home games well worth the money. I am now a season-ticket holder and a Fighting Sioux Club member and I am 110% behind our student body on this. If we have to rearrange the seating to solve this problem, that's fine. Just make sure that the students can still have the effect that they are supposed to have on the game. Ralph Engelstad built this arena to benefit the program and keep it on top. If we start ruining our home ice advantage by minimizing the students, REA will become what Gopher fans said it was before our sweep this weekend, "Marriucci West". It will become another boring, tame corporate playpen that will not intimidate anyone. I for one do not want to be a part of something like that. I encourage all season-ticket holders and Fighting Sioux Club members to let REA, Inc. and the Athletic Department know that you want the students to continue to have a strong impact during our home games and that you appreciate their energy, enthusiasm, creativity and devotion to our team. I plan on doing so myself. GO SIOUX!!! WE'RE ON OUR WAY BACK!!!