This is why, despite a 5-game losing streak, Herd fans will show up on Saturday. We'll always show up. I expect one of the best efforts from the Herd this season. Whether or not that equates to a win is beyond me. As long as we keep our promise to always play for the 75 then that's what's most important in my book.

CBS Sports: They Are Marshall (2020)

I wasn't born when it happened. I learned about the tragedy in 1993 when Troy and Marshall played for the first time. My dad was talking about the upcoming game and he said, its an honor to play Marshall. I asked why and after he told me the story, he said: "Anybody that can pick themselves up and be successful after something like that is honorable. Honorable to those who died and those who will come after."

I was very happy when Marshall joined the SBC. On November 14, I will say "We are Marshall."

BTW, my middle name is Marshall

(11-09-2023 12:36 PM)Trojanbybirth Wrote:  I wasn't born when it happened. I learned about the tragedy in 1993 when Troy and Marshall played for the first time. My dad was talking about the upcoming game and he said, its an honor to play Marshall. I asked why and after he told me the story, he said: "Anybody that can pick themselves up and be successful after something like that is honorable. Honorable to those who died and those who will come after."

I was very happy when Marshall joined the SBC. On November 14, I will say "We are Marshall."

BTW, my middle name is Marshall

That’s a great story. Your dad sounds like a very wise man!

So this weekend we're all Marshall fans too?

I’m a big fan this week.

(11-09-2023 04:10 PM)gdunn Wrote:  So this weekend we're all Marshall fans too?

Kinda need a Georgia Southern win, so I'll vote present. But I definitely recognize how incredible it is that the football program rallied to stay alive and love that this is no longer a regional story or something you only know about if your team happens to be in town around Nov. 14.

There's a guy who strings some freelance stories for me who often does lookaheads from the opponent's POV. I'm sure this week's was tough.

He used to cover the Herd. If I'm recalling the story correctly, he would have been on the flight, but had made plans to drive back to Huntington because he and his wife were visiting friends that lived near ECU after the game.

(11-09-2023 04:28 PM)CC Eagle Wrote:  

(11-09-2023 04:10 PM)gdunn Wrote:  So this weekend we're all Marshall fans too?

Kinda need a Georgia Southern win, so I'll vote present. But I definitely recognize how incredible it is that the football program rallied to stay alive and love that this is no longer a regional story or something you only know about if your team happens to be in town around Nov. 14.

There's a guy who strings some freelance stories for me who often does lookaheads from the opponent's POV. I'm sure this week's was tough.

He used to cover the Herd. If I'm recalling the story correctly, he would have been on the flight, but had made plans to drive back to Huntington because he and his wife were visiting friends that lived near ECU after the game.

That is...I dunno, chilling, I guess. It's crazy trying to reconcile with all the things that might have been.

And slight side question...sorry if everyone else knows this, CC, but do you cover GS sports?

(11-09-2023 04:59 PM)Pounce FTW Wrote:  

(11-09-2023 04:28 PM)CC Eagle Wrote:  

(11-09-2023 04:10 PM)gdunn Wrote:  So this weekend we're all Marshall fans too?

Kinda need a Georgia Southern win, so I'll vote present. But I definitely recognize how incredible it is that the football program rallied to stay alive and love that this is no longer a regional story or something you only know about if your team happens to be in town around Nov. 14.

There's a guy who strings some freelance stories for me who often does lookaheads from the opponent's POV. I'm sure this week's was tough.

He used to cover the Herd. If I'm recalling the story correctly, he would have been on the flight, but had made plans to drive back to Huntington because he and his wife were visiting friends that lived near ECU after the game.

That is...I dunno, chilling, I guess. It's crazy trying to reconcile with all the things that might have been.

And slight side question...sorry if everyone else knows this, CC, but do you cover GS sports?

I'm the sports editor for the Statesboro Herald. I used to be the beat writer for all GS sports, but I moved to the ATL area a couple of years ago. I still write some columns and features while doing all of the behind-the-scenes stuff remotely, but we have another guy who does all the game stories and previews that go into print.

(11-09-2023 05:53 PM)CC Eagle Wrote:  

(11-09-2023 04:59 PM)Pounce FTW Wrote:  

(11-09-2023 04:28 PM)CC Eagle Wrote:  

(11-09-2023 04:10 PM)gdunn Wrote:  So this weekend we're all Marshall fans too?

Kinda need a Georgia Southern win, so I'll vote present. But I definitely recognize how incredible it is that the football program rallied to stay alive and love that this is no longer a regional story or something you only know about if your team happens to be in town around Nov. 14.

There's a guy who strings some freelance stories for me who often does lookaheads from the opponent's POV. I'm sure this week's was tough.

He used to cover the Herd. If I'm recalling the story correctly, he would have been on the flight, but had made plans to drive back to Huntington because he and his wife were visiting friends that lived near ECU after the game.

That is...I dunno, chilling, I guess. It's crazy trying to reconcile with all the things that might have been.

And slight side question...sorry if everyone else knows this, CC, but do you cover GS sports?

I'm the sports editor for the Statesboro Herald. I used to be the beat writer for all GS sports, but I moved to the ATL area a couple of years ago. I still write some columns and features while doing all of the behind-the-scenes stuff remotely, but we have another guy who does all the game stories and previews that go into print.

Oh cool! Didn't realize that. Seems like a nice way to get to stay connected to the school, although I know it's still a job that you can't go into in full fan mode.

Having a front row seat for the stories over the years is an interesting experience..from the one whose mother asked him to come home and not get on the plane because she had a dream, to the ones who were injured and couldn't make the trip, freshmen...I have likened it to stories about people who were supposed to be in the Twin Towers but something kept them away...

For the fans coming to town, we will gladly talk to you about the history, the fountain is easy to find, the cemetery is just up the road a bit... If you have the chance, I'd suggest googling the Fountain Ceremony (Not sure if it's actually on Tuesday this year) but it's something to be present for, or at least grab some tissues and watch the live stream! The first thing I do when I talk to visiting fans is to say "So have you seen the movie..?" Sure they took some liberties, but it still gets the point across.. As I always tell people, I was at one of the ceremonies during my undergrad, the guest speaker said "It is now... o'clock...(x) years ago, you just lost 75 of your closest friends...And for those hoping to see some big hype video before the game, sorry to disappoint, but this week is just different.. in SO many ways...#wewillneverforget

(11-10-2023 12:27 AM)Pounce FTW Wrote:  

(11-09-2023 05:53 PM)CC Eagle Wrote:  

(11-09-2023 04:59 PM)Pounce FTW Wrote:  

(11-09-2023 04:28 PM)CC Eagle Wrote:  

(11-09-2023 04:10 PM)gdunn Wrote:  So this weekend we're all Marshall fans too?

Kinda need a Georgia Southern win, so I'll vote present. But I definitely recognize how incredible it is that the football program rallied to stay alive and love that this is no longer a regional story or something you only know about if your team happens to be in town around Nov. 14.

There's a guy who strings some freelance stories for me who often does lookaheads from the opponent's POV. I'm sure this week's was tough.

He used to cover the Herd. If I'm recalling the story correctly, he would have been on the flight, but had made plans to drive back to Huntington because he and his wife were visiting friends that lived near ECU after the game.

That is...I dunno, chilling, I guess. It's crazy trying to reconcile with all the things that might have been.

And slight side question...sorry if everyone else knows this, CC, but do you cover GS sports?

I'm the sports editor for the Statesboro Herald. I used to be the beat writer for all GS sports, but I moved to the ATL area a couple of years ago. I still write some columns and features while doing all of the behind-the-scenes stuff remotely, but we have another guy who does all the game stories and previews that go into print.

Oh cool! Didn't realize that. Seems like a nice way to get to stay connected to the school, although I know it's still a job that you can't go into in full fan mode.

*Inserts random comment about Ben Moore*

But yeah. It's a fun job. At first it seems like it will be tough to focus only on the objective stats/storylines, but the tight deadlines for game stories make it pretty easy to be impartial. For games like last week or the meltdown at JMU, it would take 3x as long to try and craft a story that sugar coats how badly GS played. Same goes for using too much flowery language or trying to throw out veiled shots after big wins.

That's what the Monday morning columns are for.

It's also nice when the job allows me to get access to other sporting events. Covering The Masters is the most otherworldly thing I've ever done and talking my way into the press box for Braves/Falcons games when my teams are in town beats the hell out of paying for parking and stupid overpricing for seats and fees on secondary market.

But to get back to the original point of this thread, I wish I could have made the trip this week. It would have been a great opportunity to put a new angle on the story while writing for GS fans. I know we're proud of rising to national championships so quickly after restarting the program, but it's a good reference point to use while looking at a Marshall team that was right there fighting us for SoCon and national titles in the 90s after literally rising from the ashes just before we pulled our program out of storage to knock off 40 years of dust.

(11-10-2023 01:06 AM)Herdfan1 Wrote:  Having a front row seat for the stories over the years is an interesting experience..from the one whose mother asked him to come home and not get on the plane because she had a dream, to the ones who were injured and couldn't make the trip, freshmen...I have likened it to stories about people who were supposed to be in the Twin Towers but something kept them away...

For the fans coming to town, we will gladly talk to you about the history, the fountain is easy to find, the cemetery is just up the road a bit... If you have the chance, I'd suggest googling the Fountain Ceremony (Not sure if it's actually on Tuesday this year) but it's something to be present for, or at least grab some tissues and watch the live stream! The first thing I do when I talk to visiting fans is to say "So have you seen the movie..?" Sure they took some liberties, but it still gets the point across.. As I always tell people, I was at one of the ceremonies during my undergrad, the guest speaker said "It is now... o'clock...(x) years ago, you just lost 75 of your closest friends...And for those hoping to see some big hype video before the game, sorry to disappoint, but this week is just different.. in SO many ways...#wewillneverforget

HF1 - ALWAYS on the date!! Just like Veterans Day & July 4th. The spring fountain ceremony (turning the water back on) coincides with the beginning of spring football practice……

Wichita State had a plane crash that same year with fewer fatalities and had to get waiver to play freshmen in order to finish the year.

Post-crash they had better years than Marshall did but never united and community never embraced in a similar way. They don't play football any more.

Would have been easy to give up in the lean years.