(01-04-2013 12:16 PM)NIUCheerDad Wrote:  

(01-04-2013 11:58 AM)DeKalb57 Wrote:  us a dog on a leash, who probably would have run FROM the Indian.
-Just thinking, reflecting on the event...

I guess you do not know Diesel nor the fact that he is not afraid of anything. He would have ran TO the Indian and the horse. He is not afraid of horses. And I will not list the animals he has killed in my backyard and what he has done to them. Please get your facts together before you posts things you have no idea about.

Diesel > FSU's stupid horse.
There is no better mascot in NCAA sports than Diesel!

(01-04-2013 09:51 PM)PiKappNoleATL Wrote:  

(01-04-2013 09:45 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  This is where you show your ignorance about either DeKalb or Boise. BSU has a much better situation than NIU does. It's not even close. Do some research and you'll realize how much harder it is for us to fill the stands than it is for Boise.

Just as much as your ignorance about the market you are in. BSU has made a better situation than NIU. Are you not near one of the top 5 markets in the country? Tallahassee is not a large market by any means and only has 2-3 daily flights to the airport. Gainesville(UF) is even smaller and worse of a city.

You can't use that Dekalb is smaller than Boise as an excuse. It is ignorant when you look at the location for most successful football programs and Boise State is a perfect example of this.

The reason it is difficult to fill the stands has been the product on the field. Now that NIU has a BCS appearance, there should be NO reason NIU doesn't fill the stands. If they don't, they are not ready or committed to take the next step as a program. Making your excuses just allows people to view you as small time.

but boise does not compete for media and fan attention with Illinois and notre dame. whats biose's media rival? biose is the main school in the region. NIU has the already mentioned ones, and Wisconsin is all of 90 minutes away. Iowa is like 2 hours away, maybe 2.5? those programs being in a big conference draw the attention. biose is the only game in town/state/several states.

(01-04-2013 11:35 PM)calvin12 Wrote:  

(01-04-2013 09:51 PM)PiKappNoleATL Wrote:  

(01-04-2013 09:45 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  This is where you show your ignorance about either DeKalb or Boise. BSU has a much better situation than NIU does. It's not even close. Do some research and you'll realize how much harder it is for us to fill the stands than it is for Boise.

Just as much as your ignorance about the market you are in. BSU has made a better situation than NIU. Are you not near one of the top 5 markets in the country? Tallahassee is not a large market by any means and only has 2-3 daily flights to the airport. Gainesville(UF) is even smaller and worse of a city.

You can't use that Dekalb is smaller than Boise as an excuse. It is ignorant when you look at the location for most successful football programs and Boise State is a perfect example of this.

The reason it is difficult to fill the stands has been the product on the field. Now that NIU has a BCS appearance, there should be NO reason NIU doesn't fill the stands. If they don't, they are not ready or committed to take the next step as a program. Making your excuses just allows people to view you as small time.

but boise does not compete for media and fan attention with Illinois and notre dame. whats biose's media rival? biose is the main school in the region. NIU has the already mentioned ones, and Wisconsin is all of 90 minutes away. Iowa is like 2 hours away, maybe 2.5? those programs being in a big conference draw the attention. biose is the only game in town/state/several states.

More importantly.. the Chicago pro team. There's no Chicago Bears a short drive from Boise. Boise is a much bigger city than DeKalb, and it has much less competition, both pro and college, and more priority from the state for funding. It's considerably different, you'd have to be a complete moron to suggest they are similar.

(01-04-2013 10:05 PM)PiKappNoleATL Wrote:  

(01-04-2013 09:55 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(01-04-2013 09:37 PM)PiKappNoleATL Wrote:  The biggest difference is money for sure. The money comes from a dedicated and enthusiastic fanbase. FSU has only be playing football since 1947 and up until 1979 were not really known for the sport. Once Coach Bowden came, he changed the culture with an attitude to play anyone, anywhere and build up the interest in the team by winning those games on the road. There has to be a dedication from both the Athletic department to put a quality product on the field, and from the boosters or fanbase to support the program. Boise State has no more advantages than NIU, and considering their location, NIU should have an advantage over Boise State. They have built a strong product and now have the dedicated fanbase to support and help grow the program.

Regarding the band, FSU has one of the top music schools in the nation. I have known plenty members of the band and they take pride in being the loudest band in attendance and at away games they are always heard. They practice quite a bit and it isn't just a numbers thing, but most are majoring in music and are quite talented.

Our mascots are based on traditional Seminole costumes and traditions. The horse is an Appaloosa which is native to america and the Nez Perce Indian tribe. There were wild horses in Florida at one time. The relationship with the Seminoles and FSU began before Bobby Bowden came but he was influential in the Seminole tribe partaking in many aspects of FSU.

If NIU wants to grow the program and develop into a stronger athletic department, it starts with fans showing up. Honestly, there is never an excuse to have just 11,000 in attendance for any home game. Those numbers will not allow for the growth the NIU program probably deserves at this point and should enjoy.

Well, we're playing MAC teams, not Alabama or Clemson or Oklahoma for our home games, and the casual fan is apparently not excited by that. And Boise has NOTHING else going on there for the media to talk about. NIU is a 4th class citizen in its own state, according to the media. We also have to play on weekdays if we want to be on TV.

As I understand it, fans support the home team and not the visiting team. While the opponents can make a difference between a sellout in larger stadiums, do you really feel that NIU is unable to get 17,500 fans into the stadium. The student body alone is double that and I would imagine the fanbase within a 2 hour drive is probably close to 50-75k.

I understand that with the Bears, Cubs, Bulls, and Irish that it is tough to market against those, however, the chances that NIU is playing at home in direct competition with any of those teams is not likely to happen.

I am not trying to criticize in a negative sense, but if NIU wants to be big time, they have to think big time. NIU needs the support that showed up for the Orange Bowl. If they even get half of what showed up (32k is a good estimate), that would be 16k fans right there. NIU made it to the BCS. There should not be the same excuse we are too small or it is too tough to compete for fans, this is exactly the thoughts that NIU was rebelling against in playing that game.

NIU's student population is about 22K not 35K, we get 6-8000 per game. thats 25-30% of the student population at any given game.

(01-04-2013 12:42 PM)HuskieNationSince1978 Wrote:  

(01-04-2013 12:16 PM)NIUCheerDad Wrote:  

(01-04-2013 11:58 AM)DeKalb57 Wrote:  us a dog on a leash, who probably would have run FROM the Indian.
-Just thinking, reflecting on the event...

I guess you do not know Diesel nor the fact that he is not afraid of anything. He would have ran TO the Indian and the horse. He is not afraid of horses. And I will not list the animals he has killed in my backyard and what he has done to them. Please get your facts together before you posts things you have no idea about.

Diesel is awesome!

+1000. Diesel is one of the top five mascots. My son kept saying how stupid the Indian looked sitting on the horse in the end zone. Maybe Diesel could find a fine Huskie lady and create a pack of Huskies! That would be awesome. They could tear up a stuffed animal of the opponents mascot right before every game.

(01-04-2013 10:07 PM)PiKappNoleATL Wrote:  

(01-04-2013 09:59 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(01-04-2013 09:51 PM)PiKappNoleATL Wrote:  

(01-04-2013 09:45 PM)HuskieFan84 Wrote:  This is where you show your ignorance about either DeKalb or Boise. BSU has a much better situation than NIU does. It's not even close. Do some research and you'll realize how much harder it is for us to fill the stands than it is for Boise.

Just as much as your ignorance about the market you are in. BSU has made a better situation than NIU. Are you not near one of the top 5 markets in the country? Tallahassee is not a large market by any means and only has 2-3 daily flights to the airport. Gainesville(UF) is even smaller and worse of a city.

You can't use that Dekalb is smaller than Boise as an excuse. It is ignorant when you look at the location for most successful football programs and Boise State is a perfect example of this.

The reason it is difficult to fill the stands has been the product on the field. Now that NIU has a BCS appearance, there should be NO reason NIU doesn't fill the stands. If they don't, they are not ready or committed to take the next step as a program. Making your excuses just allows people to view you as small time.

It isn't the product on the field. Apparently you're unaware that we were 11-3 each of the 2 years prior to this one. This was our 3rd straight year in the MAC championship game. And we've had the best record in the MAC over the past 10 years. NIU built an endzone facility several years back for athletics and academics. They're building an indoor practice facility and replacing the scoreboard for next year. They're committed, but fans haven't shown up yet in large numbers. They were in 2003-2005.

That was my point...the product on the field for NIU is excellent. For a mid-major it doesn't get any better except for a BCS win. You are completely correct and my point is that now that the athletic department is committed, the other group needs to do its' part....SHOW UP.

My point was that it was excellent the 2 previous years and yet we didn't get any increase in attendance. If anything, it went down. WHY people don't show up is the question, which has been discussed a lot on this board. The serious fans show up no matter what, but casual fans want to see us play more noteworthy opponents.