(11-25-2014 12:29 PM)SlyFox Wrote: I'm an old due who remembers our games back in the '80s when it actually did feel like we had a rivalry developing. Sadly we have lingered in the Big South wilderness for decades and missed out on opportunities against you guys in recent years. As a result, some of the supposed cockiness of LU fans heading into this game is clearly misunderstood. I don't know any FlameFans who are expecting anything short of an all out brawl to if we are to find a way to win.
I have nothing but respect for your program. I interviewed Coach Withers a few times during his stint in Austin and have a great deal of respect for him. I know his Longhorn players loved him. And yes, I know it is tough to believe based on this forum that someone called a Longhorn could share something not filled with hate. HaHa You guys have senior contributors practically everywhere but at QB and we all know how strong that position is for you. I'm just glad most fo those guys will be gone when you come to Lynchburg on 9/26/15.
Despite our obvious differences, we actually have some strong similarities. We are two of the few remaining FCS schools willing to invest in our athletic programs. We both have rabid fanbases who yearn for a bigger stage. We both are in the same conversations for every FBS expansion possibility. Personally I would love to be in the same conference with you guys somewhere down the line in the FBS realm. Most Liberty fans express similar sentiments.
OK, I'm going to bite. There's of course a tendency to develop stereotypical images of opponents and rivals. We have well entrenched images that we enjoy using to talk smack to and about The Ticks, Waste Management, all those AARP members who root for Delaware, and of course just thinking about ODU makes it hard for me to type. Here's the thing we've picked up on you guys. As has been noted a few times, this is your first trip to the playoffs. But I've had a fair amount of interaction with your fans and been exposed to your media a time or two. And I've always been surprised at how it can come across like you guys are the three time defending national champs, not that school in North Dakota. I recall listening to your announcers the last time we played, and all I can say is that they sounded very sincere in that they were shocked, shocked I tell you, that you weren't rolling over us for 500 yards just like we were Presbyterian. I mean we were nationally ranked and had one of the best defenses in the CAA, but apparently that wasn't relevant to the analysis. It sounded a lot more that there was grudging admission that our D must be playing out of its collective mind, and that was the only possible explanation.
So for me, that's the only thing I like to pick on you about. OK, there's one more. I haven't been to your stadium since JMU was last there, and maybe you've upgraded since then, but I thought the flames that shoot off when the team comes out were kind of cute. We'd been to Blacksburg the prior year (and got a pretty good result . . . , don't ask about the rest of that season). I said that I was pretty sure that our guys who'd come out to see 65000 crazed Hokies jumping up and down to Enter Sandman weren't all that worried. Probably intimidates the heck out of Gardner Webb though. My advice? If you're going to do this, catch a couple of Kiss shows and see how it's done.
OK, I'm finished. Everything else you say is true. Even if we don't like it (not that this is a given) and got there from different directions, we have similar facilities, fan base sizes and a lot of things that suggest we should be something like conference rivals one day. I mean have you ever been to a football game at Villanova? Hope you don't get to find out soon, unless you want to be gracious and come root for us. But to call their facilities a step down from yours would be kind.
Hope all the Flames have safe travels, spend lots of money up here, and have the best day you can have on a day when your season ends. And I'll take for granted that the feeling is mutual.
