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Post by TrueHoyaBlue on Sept 25, 2010 16:23:54 GMT -5
It may sound like hyperbole, but I'm not sure how much it is...
The buzz around the team has actually been growing in the DC area among some alumni who barely follow the basketball team, nevermind football.
Today's game was easily the most fun I've ever had at a GU football game (and I've probably been to 25 or so in the last 13 years). The buzz was there, there was a festive atmosphere, and from my viewpoint in the stands, the student crowd, which I would estimate at about 800+ (600+ in the second half) was standing for much of the game, clogging the aisles, and overflowing home and visitor stands.
And in the second half, the crowd was electric.
There's work to be done, and it's possible that the homecoming tailgate drove the attendance up, but from where I was sitting in the stands, it seemed like most of the students were not those coming from the tailgate, but were rather mostly freshmen, a lot of them sober, and having showed up with signs cheering on their floormates (including a bunch of signs from students on the first floor of new south). And the team, as they exited through a human crush of hundreds of cheering students, seemed as excited about the home crowd as they were about the win. Essentially, there are several hundred freshmen that have never learned they're not supposed to care about Georgetown football.
DFW has been saying for years that football can unite a campus like nothing else. I've never entirely believed that something like that could happen on the Hilltop, but I saw a lot of promise today.
Well done, Hoyas -- now let's get the MSF built!
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The Stig
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 2,844
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Post by The Stig on Sept 25, 2010 16:30:13 GMT -5
We're not a football school now and probably never will be, but the football team just became relevant on campus. That's a huge step forward.
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rosslynhoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 2,595
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Post by rosslynhoya on Sept 25, 2010 16:34:04 GMT -5
Over on the Basketball Board today: 2 posts
On the Football Board thus far today: 66 posts
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theexorcist
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,506 
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Post by theexorcist on Sept 25, 2010 16:48:36 GMT -5
The quasi-student section on the HC side emptied out at halftime.
Not yet.
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Post by LizziebethHoya on Sept 25, 2010 16:50:41 GMT -5
Baby steps. Really, really small baby steps.
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Post by TrueHoyaBlue on Sept 25, 2010 17:14:14 GMT -5
The quasi-student section on the HC side emptied out at halftime. Not yet. Perhaps, but 200 out of 800 students leaving at the half (and at least 50 of those eventually making it back) is a lot different than 75 out of 100 students leaving at the half, and never making it back. |
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Sept 25, 2010 17:24:43 GMT -5
This is an interesting moment in the early tenure of AD Reed. There's huge fall momentum around our sports teams and a great moment to build for the long term with football. Will he be able to persuade the administration to permit GU's alumni to give money to the MSF?
As for on-campus fandom, this football season is currently gift-wrapped for Hoya Blue. If tailgates are not permitted, they should figure out some way to have a HB BBQ and dorm-by-dorm BBQ's. Use the Village B courtyard, Harbin patio, SWQ lawn, Village A rooftops, etc. Even if you only get 75 people at each one, that is good.
No link currently available on GUHoyas, but there is a note that the MSF is under construction. Where are the trucks and cement mixers?
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Post by tomumar on Sept 25, 2010 17:43:58 GMT -5
Please, for me, someone tell the new OC and the DL coach, thank you. Pretty much the same kids that played last year and the results are just a little different. Goes to show just how important coaching is...at every level. Can't be more proud of the kids, the coaches and the effort. BEAT COLGATE!
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Post by 98hoya on Sept 25, 2010 18:04:11 GMT -5
As for on-campus fandom, this football season is currently gift-wrapped for Hoya Blue. If tailgates are not permitted, they should figure out some way to have a HB BBQ and dorm-by-dorm BBQ's. Use the Village B courtyard, Harbin patio, SWQ lawn, Village A rooftops, etc. Even if you only get 75 people at each one, that is good. Agreed - let's strike while the iron is hot. Do the stuff that makes the experience FUN. PS - why not allow tailgating when it was OK today? |
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Post by jerseyhoya34 on Sept 25, 2010 18:08:16 GMT -5
Anyone have insights into whether Gridiron Club fundraises on weekends of home games? Ideally, you could target football alums traveling in for the weekend. Maybe a friday night dinner at $100 each and $250-$300 for families. Do it on Saturday if there is more interest on that night due to travel schedules. Throw an advertisement up on GUHoyas, unless there is some concern that we'll be stepping on the science center toes and detracting from their fundraising.  |
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The Stig
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 2,844
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Post by The Stig on Sept 25, 2010 18:08:23 GMT -5
The quasi-student section on the HC side emptied out at halftime. Not yet. Perhaps, but 200 out of 800 students leaving at the half (and at least 50 of those eventually making it back) is a lot different than 75 out of 100 students leaving at the half, and never making it back. VERY true. Furthermore, I imagine that most of those students who stayed for the 2nd half will be back for the next game, and a lot of those who left will probably give GU football another shot after hearing about what they missed. That's something that never happened in recent years at Georgetown. AD Reed certainly has to harness the momentum and get moving on the MSF, but he also has to make sure these new coaches stay around, especially the new OC. |
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Post by 98hoya on Sept 25, 2010 18:34:51 GMT -5
Please, for me, someone tell the new OC and the DL coach, thank you. Pretty much the same kids that played last year and the results are just a little different. Goes to show just how important coaching is...at every level. Can't be more proud of the kids, the coaches and the effort. BEAT COLGATE! Very True. Assuming based on your name that you're Nick's father, I only wish that guys like him could have taken part in something like this - they certainly worked hard enough and deserved to be part of a program on the rise. Hopefully they'll get some vicarious joy through the current team like the rest of us have. Hoya saxa. |
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RusskyHoya
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
In Soviet Russia, Hoya Blue Bleeds You!
Posts: 4,817
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Post by RusskyHoya on Sept 27, 2010 2:32:56 GMT -5
Well, this thread topic certainly seems tailor-made for me, based on my sig...
Georgetown is not a football school any more than Villanova has become a football school... and they won a freakin' national championship. Like Lizziebeth said, really small baby steps are the order of the day.
But... the excitement was unmistakable, and it was unlike anything I have ever experienced at a Georgetown game before. The 2005 homecoming win over Fordham - first win in 11 tries, albeit over a Rams team that ultimately went 0for on the year - maybe came somewhat close. Of course, that game was 21-3 Fordham and most of the Homecoming Brigade had cleared out by halftime. And getting stomped by scores like 48-6, 34-3 (the MSF grand opening vs. Brown!) and 57-7 had already informed the campus community that it was safe to ignore the team that year.
So yea, this is uncharted territory for at least a generation's worth of Hoyas. I sincerely hope the rumors about ongoing negotiations with a big MSF donor prove accurate, both because this season has already wildly exceeded expectations - striking while the iron is hot is always advisable - and because I can't help but suspect that the financial downturn has hit the football alum community particularly hard. In the recent past, at least, the finance sector has been a primary destination for gridiron grads.
On some level, I think D-IAA opponents are largely interchangeable. Anyone who has devoted enough time to figuring out that Wagner and Marist are in the lower ranks, as opposed to UNH and Richmond, is probably already sufficiently invested to actually follow the team as it is (unless they grew up as fans of a D-IAA team). I'm sure it doesn't hurt that the Keystone State students all have heard of Lafayette, the Bay Staters all know of Holy Cross, etc. But in the average student's mind, the difference between a Wagner and a Colgate is probably negligible. Wins and losses, on the other hand, require no research.
There's a million and a half things that could be improved upon when it comes to this program, many of which DFW has touched upon at some point. But there are precious few substitutes for winning, on any level.
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jgalt
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,380
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Post by jgalt on Sept 27, 2010 20:33:37 GMT -5
But in the average student's mind, the difference between a Wagner and a Colgate is probably negligible. Well ones a power tool and ones a tooth paste |
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