ESPN College Gameday NDSU Part 2

[Vegas_Sioux]

the SEC would be an FCS conference if academics mattered.  The aviation angle is advantageous though due to it's uniqueness.  Who else has aviation and d1 football?  Oklahoma and Purdue if I recall?

az st ohio st oklahoma st georgia st south daokota st (they have aeronautical engineering) baylor penn st kansas st auburn

[MafiaMan]

Have they been good since Peyton Manning left?

Tennessee was 11-2 in Peyton's last season. They were humiliated by your Nebraska team in the Orange Bowl. The 1998 team went 13-0 and won the national championship with Tee Martin at QB.

[nd1sufan]

Good point, thanks for mentioning it.  Right now if you are a good athlete and a good FB player and you come to UND, you will have an excellent chance at starting or at least getting lots of playing time.  That is one thing Bubba will have to use early on.

So how does that conversation start? Sure, you could go to NDSU and maybe get a couple of rings, win some FBS games, maybe have ESPN Gameday come to town, but you may have to redshirt and maybe even wait longer to get playing time, or you could come here to UND and play right away, because we have nobody better than . you right now. That is a great strategy,

[gundy1124]

Strategy worked for Auburn and Bo Jackson.

[darell1976]

So how does that conversation start? Sure, you could go to NDSU and maybe get a couple of rings, win some FBS games, maybe have ESPN Gameday come to town, but you may have to redshirt and maybe even wait longer to get playing time, or you could come here to UND and play right away, because we have nobody better than . you right now. That is a great strategy,

You won't win a NC, and FBS game every year, and as for Gameday coming every year, don't expect that. As for playing time, that is more reasonable.

[fightingsioux4life]

So how does that conversation start? Sure, you could go to NDSU and maybe get a couple of rings, win some FBS games, maybe have ESPN Gameday come to town, but you may have to redshirt and maybe even wait longer to get playing time, or you could come here to UND and play right away, because we have nobody better than . you right now. That is a great strategy,

We get it, you think UND football will be bad forever and ever.  Well, you guys thought that back in 1986 and how did that turn out for you?  Some kids will find the idea of being at the ground floor of a rebuilding effort attractive.  Being a part of a class that helped establish a winning tradition at a school that had it and lost it is exciting to some potential recruits.  How fulfilling is it to be on a championship team when you are sitting on the bench for 2 or 3 out of 4 years of eligibility?  Kids dream about making the big plays in the big games on the big stages, not cheering on their teammates on the sidelines or only getting on the field when the outcome has been decided.  So yes, Bubba can use these as tools to get kids to at least consider UND.  But you keep believing what you want, if that makes you feel better.

[darell1976]

We get it, you think UND football will be bad forever and ever.  Well, you guys thought that back in 1986 and how did that turn out for you?  Some kids will find the idea of being at the ground floor of a rebuilding effort attractive.  Being a part of a class that helped establish a winning tradition at a school that had it and lost it is exciting to some potential recruits.  How fulfilling is it to be on a championship team when you are sitting on the bench for 2 or 3 out of 4 years of eligibility?  Kids dream about making the big plays in the big games on the big stages, not cheering on their teammates on the sidelines or only getting on the field when the outcome has been decided.  So yes, Bubba can use these as tools to get kids to at least consider UND.  But you keep believing what you want, if that makes you feel better.

How did UND get any players back in the 90's when NDSU told them come play for us, we have like 7 DII titles where UND has zero. But yet we structured a team to overtake the conference and in 2001 overtook the nation. Sometimes kids play for your school for all sorts of reasons, just saying we have rings, and Gameday may not be enough.  And what will the recruit think if ESPN doesn't come to Fargo, NDSU loses 6 games and fails to make the playoffs and don't win a NC in the recruits 5 years on campus. What do you have left to offer? 

[Hayduke]

You had to be happy with the Pokes this weekend.  Gutty performances like that have been few and far between at War Memorial.

 

I enjoyed that final drive to beat the zoomies.  I think Bohl will have the talent they have peaking this season.  Unfortunately, it's not nearly enough talent to win the MWC, but maybe enough to go to a bowl game...or a "Bohl" game.  

[tjamz]

Between the UND performance and the Weber performance this weekend, I'm hesitant to anoint "bottom feeder" status just yet.

 

Anyone know if the ac can "officially" take recruits to the gameday set or do they need to leave that to the recruits themselves?

No, NDSU can not take recruits there.  They can tell them where it is, how to get there, what bus to get on, where to stand to be on camera, etc.. but they can not take them there for it.

[tjamz]

How did UND get any players back in the 90's when NDSU told them come play for us, we have like 7 DII titles where UND has zero. But yet we structured a team to overtake the conference and in 2001 overtook the nation. Sometimes kids play for your school for all sorts of reasons, just saying we have rings, and Gameday may not be enough.  And what will the recruit think if ESPN doesn't come to Fargo, NDSU loses 6 games and fails to make the playoffs and don't win a NC in the recruits 5 years on campus. What do you have left to offer? 

Valid points, but something to consider:  D2 cut their scholarship limit pretty drastically around that time making it harder to recruit the top tier (relatively speaking) athletes on the promise of a free education.  What happened to some degree was that the playing field got leveled a bit and a lot of quality athletes opted to attend other schools.  NDSU didn't/couldn't adapt to that.  This ended the Rocky Hager era and brought in Babich.... that took care of most of the rest of the 90's and early 2000's.

Will there be some athletes that want to come to UND/SDSU/UNI/USD/etc...  just to unseat NDSU as the champions?  Absolutely.  And a good salesman (recruiter) should be able to make that sale on occasion.  Not being in the same conference hurts your chances of that happening with semi-local recruits though.

[tjamz]

Next week they play Incarnate Word, why not come during Montana.

Do you want the honest answer?  It's because they are coming because of NDSU, not the other team.  They are coming because Fargo has been a favorite location of theirs.  They are coming because they had great ratings last year here.  They are coming because in Lee Fittings (paraphrased) words, it was one of the BEST gameday locations they've ever broadcast from.  They are coming because of the fans.

[tjamz]

Exactly!  It is about the story - and one that's as old as show business itself!  It's a classic Carny and Rube story you don't get...(and that's whats MOST funny!)  

 

Imagine a sports network trying to CONSTANTLY stay relevant and make people tune in to a marginal "FAN" show because of the ridiculous amounts of money they make - but only if they can put "asses in the seats" so to speak...you would need some kind of gimmick every week and constantly going back to the major college FB powers week after week, year after year, gets stale...hmmm...how do we freshen up the act?

 

I know (some espn wonk says) WE TAKE THE CARNIVAL to smaller towns and venues!   Sure they aren't as important in the world of MAJOR college football but going there is a novelty factor.  Fargo has SHOWN they'll turn out for a college football carnival.   Just like when the real carnival rolls in - ALL THE RUBES in Fargo show up and make a big deal about it.  They buy the cotton candy!  They take a ride on the carousel!  3 darts to win a BIG PRIZE - they're all in!  Meanwhile the carnies are laughing all the way to the bank.   Sure winning a giant stuffed rabbit might make you feel like a big man for a night but in the end - what do you really have?  A GIANT stuffed rabbit:-)    ESPN Gameday is ndsu's SUPERBOWL while the carnies laugh all the way to the bank.   Carnies and rubes...carnies and rubes

And that is why OU fans are bitching about gameday coming to NDSU rather than to them when they play the Vols?  We didn't even have that packed of a Gameday set last year and they still chose to come back. I personally welcome the UND fans to attend.  I'd go to Grand Forks if they ever decided to take the show there.  Just one favor, and I don't mean this as a jab, but please show up for a football show wearing football apparel.  

[tjamz]

Lee Fitting: "I keep getting that question why go back, this isn't a novelty or cute story, people keep equating to that, their three time national champion, won 26 in a row and dominating FBS opponents, you're a big time part of the college football landscape, and that's why we're coming back, it's not cute or Fargo or 1-AA school, we're coming back to show the proper respect that this program and community deserve.”

Fitting: “It's crazy since we were there last year; we being there put NDSU on the college football fans radar and for instance, Fowler and myself talk each week and we mention the Bison once each GameDay who they're playing, what the record is and how many wins in a row, great for the sport, more attention to the FCS we can bring, that's a win for everyone.”

“This is a combination of ‘College GameDay’ meets Wrigley Field meets Champions League soccer intensity,” Fitting said soon after last year’s show concluded. “To see the people on the balconies and hanging out of windows and on the rooftops was something that we never get to experience.”

 

After the broadcast, Fitting called last year’s stop in Fargo one of the best “GameDay” shows ESPN had ever done. He’s hoping that same excitement can be replicated Saturday.

“North Dakota State is alive on the college football map,” Fitting said. “They have won three national titles in a row. If Alabama won three titles in a row and we went back, no one would be saying anything.”

[Oxbow6]

Pettiness aside by a number of UND supporters here...this is really big deal for the landscape of FCS FB, NDSU and Fargo.

[MafiaMan]

Pettiness aside by a number of UND supporters here...this is really big deal for the landscape of FCS FB, NDSU and Fargo.

Burn the heretic! He's a witch!

[Oxbow6]

Burn the heretic! He's a witch!

Just not in the "Hey look at UND FB now...we barely beat RM but we could have hung 30 on 'em" crowd.

3 consecutive FCS NCs >>>>>>>> 3 point win over a crappy FCS FB team.

[Shawn-O]

Burn the heretic! He's a witch!

Why? He's obviously a fan of UND football and cares about the future success of the program.

[MafiaMan]

Why? He's obviously a fan of UND football and cares about the future success of the program.

I know Oxbow6 is a big fan. I should have used my sarcasm alert because I was being facetious.

Had I made that same comment, though, you would be asking what color Bison jersey will I wear on the drive to Fargo this coming Saturday morning. ?

[MafiaMan]

Just not in the "Hey look at UND FB now...we barely beat RM but we could have hung 30 on 'em" crowd.

3 consecutive FCS NCs >>>>>>>> 3 point win over a crappy FCS FB team.

You're preaching to the choir, Oxbow6, you know that.

[jdub27]

Do you want the honest answer?  It's because they are coming because of NDSU, not the other team.  They are coming because Fargo has been a favorite location of theirs.  They are coming because they had great ratings last year here.  They are coming because in Lee Fittings (paraphrased) words, it was one of the BEST gameday locations they've ever broadcast from.  They are coming because of the fans.

While all of these are true, you left out that South Carolina absolutely flopped at against A&M and there is no highly ranked match-ups.  Everything you stated would completely be overridden in a heartbeat if that was the case.  And don't claim sour grapes, the article in the Forum spells out the exact same thing.  Fargo has been a nice fallback for them for the second year in a row when there hasn't been a big time game.

[MafiaMan]

While all of these are true, you left out that South Carolina absolutely flopped at A&M and there is no highly ranked match-ups...

One slight correction...South Carolina was throttled by Texas A&M at HOME two weeks ago. Even more reason to remove them from the discussion of where to host the show this weekend.

[jdub27]

One slight correction...South Carolina was throttled by Texas A&M at HOME two weeks ago. Even more reason to remove them from the discussion of where to host the show this weekend.

You are correct.  I meant to type against and not at.

 

On a separate note, the Quote feature finally works on IE for me!!

[MafiaMan]

You are correct.  I meant to type against and not at.

 

On a separate note, the Quote feature finally works on IE for me!!

 

Me too!  Yay bacon! 

 

I think ESPN has worked hard to expand on Game Day's appeal.  I get it, Ohio State vs Michigan (and other rivalries) are big games EVERY year so the novelty of having the Game Day set at some of those locations (Alabama vs LSU is another example) gets rather stale.  Can you imagine the hoopla if Game Day ever took its set to someplace like Dickinson State or Carroll College? 

[DI IN FARGO]

We get it, you think UND football will be bad forever and ever.  Well, you guys thought that back in 1986 and how did that turn out for you?  Some kids will find the idea of being at the ground floor of a rebuilding effort attractive.  Being a part of a class that helped establish a winning tradition at a school that had it and lost it is exciting to some potential recruits.  How fulfilling is it to be on a championship team when you are sitting on the bench for 2 or 3 out of 4 years of eligibility?  Kids dream about making the big plays in the big games on the big stages, not cheering on their teammates on the sidelines or only getting on the field when the outcome has been decided.  So yes, Bubba can use these as tools to get kids to at least consider UND.  But you keep believing what you want, if that makes you feel better.

 

The part that is the funniest about this is you believe this to be true.  "The big stages"  Thanks for the morning chuckle now I have to go get something to clean up the coffee I spit out laughing when I read this.  

[DI IN FARGO]

You'll know you've gotten to "The Big Stages" when ESPN Gameday comes to town in consecutive years.  I don't see that happening at the Tin Shed or Elforko Grande!  Carry on with the delusional posting though it's great comedy.