http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/...s_fans.php

Some excellent points.

(07-20-2013 06:31 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/...s_fans.php

Some excellent points.

I'm curious as to what caused the article. Rice readership of the Press can't be so large that the article would drive a lot of readers to the site. Perhaps he's just not a Rice fan ?

I wonder if any of our resident attorneys know him ?

Royal has written a lot on Rice and for the most part I enjoy his POV. His criticisms in this article are pretty spot on and his questions are good. In general the Reck is a quiet home field though we did get criticism from the NC State fans for being too loud and obnoxious.

I think Royal is spot on. Throughout the whole article I kept nodding in agreement.

IMO, what we lack is an organic cheerleader (like the Rally Club before they went downhill). Especially from a student perspective, most students will join in cheers/chants if there is another student leading them to it, and it just doesn't seem like someone has been willing to step up and do that. And I assume that if we can get the whole student section to cheer, that it would creep it's way into the ticket holders

(07-20-2013 08:42 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  I think Royal is spot on. Throughout the whole article I kept nodding in agreement.

IMO, what we lack is an organic cheerleader (like the Rally Club before they went downhill). Especially from a student perspective, most students will join in cheers/chants if there is another student leading them to it, and it just doesn't seem like someone has been willing to step up and do that. And I assume that if we can get the whole student section to cheer, that it would creep it's way into the ticket holders

Agree.
I think the article made some valid points.

We take pride in being different, and in being few, but sometimes these traits can work against us.

I don't know about "too smart," but over the years I've often been frustrated by the Rice fans' unwillingness to make noise and cheer at Rice Stadium. I've never seen so many fans show up to games to sit on their hands. It's almost as if cheering is seen as uncivilized by Rice fans, like they're "above it," not "too smart" for it. Many times I've been looked at crazily and in disbelief for cheering like I do, but it only feels natural. Most fans don't even wear blue. It's a big problem. Where's the school spirit?

(07-20-2013 08:42 AM)RiceLad15 Wrote:  I think Royal is spot on. Throughout the whole article I kept nodding in agreement.

IMO, what we lack is an organic cheerleader (like the Rally Club before they went downhill). Especially from a student perspective, most students will join in cheers/chants if there is another student leading them to it, and it just doesn't seem like someone has been willing to step up and do that. And I assume that if we can get the whole student section to cheer, that it would creep it's way into the ticket holders

So what is needed to reestablish the Rally Club?

I like the smart assy stuff Rice does, I do think the MOB has run its course though, if they would add more brass and play better along with the message, i would like it better!

Similar stories could be told about virtually every school, so while there are some unhappy truths in here, I take the conclusion with a grain of salt.

Are UT fans too entitled, not supporting teams unless they're in the top 10 (remember how much trouble they had selling out the B12 Conference Championship game at Reliant against Colorado? I ended up with tickets to that game and literally couldn't give them away.

In could go on but you get the point.

I have nothing against Rick Mello, but I have a problem hiring someone from a failed administration. If someone could point to an area where we have done well, and that Mello was responsible for that area... or that Mello had ideas that might have worked but Greenie wouldn't let him do them... okay... Use the coaching analogy. If we had a great offense but couldn't win games, you understand considering promoting the OC when the HC is fired... but not if the offense wasn't any better than the rest of the team. I honestly don't know if Mello was that guy or not but am more than willing to listen.

In general, he answered his own question. We are smart asses because we too often aren't winning and are otherwise entertaining ourselves with humor that only we generally get. As far as I'm concerned, this just shows why having high quality athletics is important. We don't have to win all the time... but we can't let being entertaining losers define us. This is the price of decades of spotty success.

I'm not sure what the point of this article is. Yes, our fans are quiet. Yes, there aren't many of them. (I think the latter reinforces the former.) Is the author trying to make a case that Rice should do ... something?

The article comes across to me as rather mean-spirited as well as pointless. Mean-spiritedness is, ironically, one of the author's criticisms of Rice fans.

I'm also wondering what people consider the excellent points.

A big problem right now is the atmosphere at Rice Stadium. It's dead. Without turning this into a debate about HRS, the stadium is too big and too empty. Some interactive cheers/chants that encourage the fans to participate would help, as would some fireworks after a touchdown. Use the big screen to every advantage. Anything to excite to crowd would help, but I think the emptiness of the stadium really drains the energy.

He makes good points but I think he overstates the "Rice fans think they're so smart and cool" thing. Student support is not what is used to be. The students on campus now haven't experienced much success in football, and only 1 decent year in basketball before the debacle. The product hasn't been good, that can lead to a smart-ass fan attitude in both students and non-student fans. A new AD with vision and a good football season can go a long way.

What we need is that guy that wore a grass skirt and no shirt. Where is he?

Ugh, this article is beneath me. I've got better things to do, like unicycle to the Chem Lab and finish my IPA homebrew.

(07-20-2013 03:20 PM)Rice81 Wrote:  What we need is that guy that wore a grass skirt and no shirt. Where is he?

Kirk!! He was my favorite intramural ref (and a good dude in general). I loved how he talked trash to players during our IM football games. "Huh, shoulda caught that, man." "How much were you drinking last night?" or "This other team royally sucks, dude." He was the best at Autry games, back when we used to taunt Kurt Thomas, Bo Outlaw, and other SWC thugs.

(07-20-2013 03:28 PM)smackdaddy Wrote:  

(07-20-2013 03:20 PM)Rice81 Wrote:  What we need is that guy that wore a grass skirt and no shirt. Where is he?

Kirk!! He was my favorite intramural ref (and a good dude in general). I loved how he talked trash to players during our IM football games. "Huh, shoulda caught that, man." "How much were you drinking last night?" or "This other team royally sucks, dude." He was the best at Autry games, back when we used to taunt Kurt Thomas, Bo Outlaw, and other SWC thugs.

The last time I saw him he was on top of the visitors dugout at Cameron Field, wearing a grass skirt and beating a drum. Could the present student body produce anothrr Kirk?

Does this guy sit by me at Reckling?

its like he's in my head.

Also I wanted to comment "since when is hide and seek considered witty" ? on the Houston Press site, but I couldn't figure out how to post via Twitter, so there goes the whole "Rice fan are smart" theory

(07-20-2013 08:29 AM)Tiki Owl Wrote:  Royal has written a lot on Rice and for the most part I enjoy his POV. His criticisms in this article are pretty spot on and his questions are good. In general the Reck is a quiet home field though we did get criticism from the NC State fans for being too loud and obnoxious.

Of course, in Raleigh for the Supers, we had only the most ardent of Rice fans/supporters (as opposed to the average ticketholder) and all of us were sitting together in the same section. Plus, we were making a conscious and concerted effort counter the home crowd and be heard (by both our players and the ESPN mics).