(09-25-2021 07:43 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  Let's go Buffalo and Georgia Tech!

Watching how physical Georgia Tech’s defense is playing makes me hopeful for the level our Huskies can play.

Lots of talk about poor attendance. So my question is……what the hell is STF doing to improve this? Is he doing anything?

They should be promoting NIU like crazy in the far west suburbs and surrounding area to Dekalb. No “casual” fan is driving an hour + from Chicago to go to games unless it is homecoming.

So how are they marketing to the local community? These are your fans. They aren’t showing. Why not?

(09-25-2021 07:33 PM)epasnoopy Wrote:  

(09-25-2021 07:14 PM)OldTtimeNIU Wrote:  I like what the D showed in the second half…it gave hope…
The O line also recovered nicely
The big guys on both sides of the l all showed

A win is a win, and this was a much needed one after a heartbreaker loss against Wyoming and a thrashing by Michigan. Good to be on the right side of a win.

Lombardi had 400 yards of offense passing and rushing. Hope we keep up the offensive variety we saw today with him also running the ball. We need Lombardi to stop all the turnovers though.

As concerned about the D as I am, I'm pleased with the D after Maine got TDs on back-to-back drives - including a 99-yard drive . After those 2 TDs the D only gave up 120 yards (over 2 plus quarters). So, I do some hope for the D (although I’m as unhappy with our D coordinator as many here). I don’t know what D adjustments were made at the half (referred to by coach Ham in post-game interviews), but they worked and hopefully we learned.

I agree about Lombardi. He had 282 yards passing (17/24 - a very good completion percentage) and 119 yards rushing. While it’s tough to criticize Lombardi after he accounted for 401 yards of O, his 2 turnovers were unforced. On the pick we lost 3 or 7 points and we were lucky not to give up 3 or 7 points after the fumble in our territory. While it didn’t matter in this game, it’s will matter in future games. Those 2 turnovers were something I wouldn’t be shocked to see from a FR, not a JR with his experience.

In his short post-game radio interview coach Ham twice said about practicing better. Translation – he’s not happy with how the guys practiced this week.

I don’t think practicing better will fix the defense. They are the definition of insanity

(09-25-2021 08:15 PM)JoeNovak Wrote:  Lots of talk about poor attendance. So my question is……what the hell is STF doing to improve this? Is he doing anything?

They should be promoting NIU like crazy in the far west suburbs and surrounding area to Dekalb. No “casual” fan is driving an hour + from Chicago to go to games unless it is homecoming.

So how are they marketing to the local community? These are your fans. They aren’t showing. Why not?

I was talking to a guy who is on the fan advisory board while tailgating today and I was making the same point about Chicago v. the Western suburbs. He said they are trying to improve attendance from the Western suburbs. He didn’t expand and I didn’t ask because a mom of one of our players (from the Western suburbs) overheard us talking about the Western suburb and coach Ham. She said how good and classy our staff were recruiting her son. She also said that when the WMU coach was on the phone pushing her son to decide and he told him he was committing to NIU the WMU coach hung up on him! When I said you're kidding (and what a jerk, etc.) she said nope he hung up on her son. It's good to hear from a mom of one of our players about how good and classy our coaches are and if I was WMU I’d be careful – those things get around!

Amazing weather for the game. NIU finally due for some decent game day weather. I found it interesting in the post game Lombardi said how he is now learning RPO offense and more practice reps will help. He is big and a good athlete. Getting better at this will help this offense in MAC play as this added option will open up other opportunities. Scored his first running touch downs of his college career in this game.
With possible good weather next week I wonder if attendance rises a bit.

(09-25-2021 08:15 PM)JoeNovak Wrote:  Lots of talk about poor attendance. So my question is……what the hell is STF doing to improve this? Is he doing anything?

They should be promoting NIU like crazy in the far west suburbs and surrounding area to Dekalb. No “casual” fan is driving an hour + from Chicago to go to games unless it is homecoming.

So how are they marketing to the local community? These are your fans. They aren’t showing. Why not?

I was up for the Wyoming game, and the lack of any marketing for NIU is noticeable. There is a large UofI sign in the O'Hare concourse, and I saw several billboards for Lewis University on 294 going to the western suburbs.Nothing on 88 either.
I don't know how expensive that sort of thing is, but something should be done to increase the university's presence.

NIU should be marketing the university in general, then football and basketball.

Still think the root of the issue is lack of student interest/marketing for sports. Creating a fan as a student is what leads to them following the team as alumni.

A lot of this is out of anyone's control though--If you were around for Turner, Wolfe, or the 2012 Orange Bowl team you might have caught a lifelong Huskie football itch. The kids there now might just not care, or know much about the program's history.

Hopefully the school's marketing dept does more to get students into the stadium. Wishful thinking though

(09-26-2021 11:39 AM)UniversityPlazaSoftballChamp Wrote:  Still think the root of the issue is lack of student interest/marketing for sports. Creating a fan as a student is what leads to them following the team as alumni.

A lot of this is out of anyone's control though--If you were around for Turner, Wolfe, or the 2012 Orange Bowl team you might have caught a lifelong Huskie football itch. The kids there now might just not care, or know much about the program's history.

Hopefully the school's marketing dept does more to get students into the stadium. Wishful thinking though

Good take. If you had fun as a student, you'll remember that as a working stiff. Like me.

(09-26-2021 12:45 PM)HawaiiToNIU Wrote:  

(09-26-2021 11:39 AM)UniversityPlazaSoftballChamp Wrote:  Still think the root of the issue is lack of student interest/marketing for sports. Creating a fan as a student is what leads to them following the team as alumni.

A lot of this is out of anyone's control though--If you were around for Turner, Wolfe, or the 2012 Orange Bowl team you might have caught a lifelong Huskie football itch. The kids there now might just not care, or know much about the program's history.

Hopefully the school's marketing dept does more to get students into the stadium. Wishful thinking though

Good take. If you had fun as a student, you'll remember that as a working stiff. Like me.

I think there's some merit to this.

But, just to highlight my own mental illness apparently, I was at NIU from 93 to 99 (no...I didn't become a doctor...so, shut up) and apart from LeShon Johnson, there was absolutely nothing to develop my irrational fandom.

Okay, TJ Lux was the LeShon Johnson of the basketball program, so each of them had one star and somehow, it hooked me.

You were also in the Fieldhouse, which had a very unique and special atmosphere (even for women's hoops and v-ball). When the Convo opened in 2002, it was the shiny new "big-time" thing. Somewhat antiseptic. You know what happened to MBB. And WBB. And V-ball.

The bigshots forgot it's the teams and fans who make the place, not the place that makes the teams and fans.

(09-26-2021 04:30 PM)pvk75 Wrote:  You were also in the Fieldhouse, which had a very unique and special atmosphere (even for women's hoops and v-ball). When the Convo opened in 2002, it was the shiny new "big-time" thing. Somewhat antiseptic. You know what happened to MBB. And WBB. And V-ball.

The bigshots forgot it's the teams and fans who make the place, not the place that makes the teams and fans.

they likely didn't forget this

(09-26-2021 04:30 PM)pvk75 Wrote:  You were also in the Fieldhouse, which had a very unique and special atmosphere (even for women's hoops and v-ball). When the Convo opened in 2002, it was the shiny new "big-time" thing. Somewhat antiseptic. You know what happened to MBB. And WBB. And V-ball.
The bigshots forgot it's the teams and fans who make the place, not the place that makes the teams and fans.

Could not have said it better.

(09-26-2021 04:30 PM)pvk75 Wrote:  You were also in the Fieldhouse, which had a very unique and special atmosphere (even for women's hoops and v-ball). When the Convo opened in 2002, it was the shiny new "big-time" thing. Somewhat antiseptic. You know what happened to MBB. And WBB. And V-ball.

The bigshots forgot it's the teams and fans who make the place, not the place that makes the teams and fans.

To be fair, I never really liked the Fieldhouse. Probably because I grew up in Southern Illinois and went to a number of games (as well as high school state tournament games) in the SIU Arena so the Fieldhouse always felt second class to me. Tbh, I couldn't have been happier when they built the Convo.

And it's not like teams don't move out of old places and into newer ones that lack that old feel all the time. The Convo would be fine if students showed up. They don't. That's the problem.

And it's not the success of the program. NIU has never had any kind of sustained success in men's basketball and it was all I wanted to do (go to football and basketball games) when I went there. When I enrolled, I couldn't have told you who any of the coaches were (either sport) and first heard of LeShon at my first game.

But that's where I wanted to be. Seemed like it was the thing to do but also what I wanted to do.

I can remember the odd game where we'd get some grainy highlights on SportsCenter (probably because LeShon ran for like 400 yards and scored 5 TDs). It was the biggest thing any of us could talk about.

Also, I don't think there was a person employed at ESPN would could correctly pronounce "DeKalb" and it always confused me. I think it was even mispronounced in one of the early NCAA football games by EA Sports.

Anyway, I hold no longing for or fond memories of the Fieldhouse. So, that's not it for me. And, Huskie Stadium has barely changed. Well...that's not true. When I started, there were no East Side grandstand. Just some portable bleachers where some visiting fans would sit (but not all). The students all sat in the northern section of the West grandstand and threw marshmellows at each other.

(09-26-2021 06:00 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(09-26-2021 04:30 PM)pvk75 Wrote:  You were also in the Fieldhouse, which had a very unique and special atmosphere (even for women's hoops and v-ball). When the Convo opened in 2002, it was the shiny new "big-time" thing. Somewhat antiseptic. You know what happened to MBB. And WBB. And V-ball.

The bigshots forgot it's the teams and fans who make the place, not the place that makes the teams and fans.

To be fair, I never really liked the Fieldhouse. Probably because I grew up in Southern Illinois and went to a number of games (as well as high school state tournament games) in the SIU Arena so the Fieldhouse always felt second class to me. Tbh, I couldn't have been happier when they built the Convo.

And it's not like teams don't move out of old places and into newer ones that lack that old feel all the time. The Convo would be fine if students showed up. They don't. That's the problem.

And it's not the success of the program. NIU has never had any kind of sustained success in men's basketball and it was all I wanted to do (go to football and basketball games) when I went there. When I enrolled, I couldn't have told you who any of the coaches were (either sport) and first heard of LeShon at my first game.

But that's where I wanted to be. Seemed like it was the thing to do but also what I wanted to do.

I can remember the odd game where we'd get some grainy highlights on SportsCenter (probably because LeShon ran for like 400 yards and scored 5 TDs). It was the biggest thing any of us could talk about.

Also, I don't think there was a person employed at ESPN would could correctly pronounce "DeKalb" and it always confused me. I think it was even mispronounced in one of the early NCAA football games by EA Sports.

Anyway, I hold no longing for or fond memories of the Fieldhouse. So, that's not it for me. And, Huskie Stadium has barely changed. Well...that's not true. When I started, there were no East Side grandstand. Just some portable bleachers where some visiting fans would sit (but not all). The students all sat in the northern section of the West grandstand and threw marshmellows at each other.

I remember that. It was like a snowstorm. Good times.

(09-26-2021 07:41 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(09-26-2021 06:00 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(09-26-2021 04:30 PM)pvk75 Wrote:  You were also in the Fieldhouse, which had a very unique and special atmosphere (even for women's hoops and v-ball). When the Convo opened in 2002, it was the shiny new "big-time" thing. Somewhat antiseptic. You know what happened to MBB. And WBB. And V-ball.

The bigshots forgot it's the teams and fans who make the place, not the place that makes the teams and fans.

To be fair, I never really liked the Fieldhouse. Probably because I grew up in Southern Illinois and went to a number of games (as well as high school state tournament games) in the SIU Arena so the Fieldhouse always felt second class to me. Tbh, I couldn't have been happier when they built the Convo.

And it's not like teams don't move out of old places and into newer ones that lack that old feel all the time. The Convo would be fine if students showed up. They don't. That's the problem.

And it's not the success of the program. NIU has never had any kind of sustained success in men's basketball and it was all I wanted to do (go to football and basketball games) when I went there. When I enrolled, I couldn't have told you who any of the coaches were (either sport) and first heard of LeShon at my first game.

But that's where I wanted to be. Seemed like it was the thing to do but also what I wanted to do.

I can remember the odd game where we'd get some grainy highlights on SportsCenter (probably because LeShon ran for like 400 yards and scored 5 TDs). It was the biggest thing any of us could talk about.

Also, I don't think there was a person employed at ESPN would could correctly pronounce "DeKalb" and it always confused me. I think it was even mispronounced in one of the early NCAA football games by EA Sports.

Anyway, I hold no longing for or fond memories of the Fieldhouse. So, that's not it for me. And, Huskie Stadium has barely changed. Well...that's not true. When I started, there were no East Side grandstand. Just some portable bleachers where some visiting fans would sit (but not all). The students all sat in the northern section of the West grandstand and threw marshmellows at each other.

I remember that. It was like a snowstorm. Good times.

Like a snowstorm you didn't want to be in.

(09-26-2021 06:00 PM)Big Red Wrote:  

(09-26-2021 04:30 PM)pvk75 Wrote:  You were also in the Fieldhouse, which had a very unique and special atmosphere (even for women's hoops and v-ball). When the Convo opened in 2002, it was the shiny new "big-time" thing. Somewhat antiseptic. You know what happened to MBB. And WBB. And V-ball.

The bigshots forgot it's the teams and fans who make the place, not the place that makes the teams and fans.

To be fair, I never really liked the Fieldhouse. Probably because I grew up in Southern Illinois and went to a number of games (as well as high school state tournament games) in the SIU Arena so the Fieldhouse always felt second class to me. Tbh, I couldn't have been happier when they built the Convo.

And it's not like teams don't move out of old places and into newer ones that lack that old feel all the time. The Convo would be fine if students showed up. They don't. That's the problem.

And it's not the success of the program. NIU has never had any kind of sustained success in men's basketball and it was all I wanted to do (go to football and basketball games) when I went there. When I enrolled, I couldn't have told you who any of the coaches were (either sport) and first heard of LeShon at my first game.

But that's where I wanted to be. Seemed like it was the thing to do but also what I wanted to do.

I can remember the odd game where we'd get some grainy highlights on SportsCenter (probably because LeShon ran for like 400 yards and scored 5 TDs). It was the biggest thing any of us could talk about.

Also, I don't think there was a person employed at ESPN would could correctly pronounce "DeKalb" and it always confused me. I think it was even mispronounced in one of the early NCAA football games by EA Sports.

Anyway, I hold no longing for or fond memories of the Fieldhouse. So, that's not it for me. And, Huskie Stadium has barely changed. Well...that's not true. When I started, there were no East Side grandstand. Just some portable bleachers where some visiting fans would sit (but not all). The students all sat in the northern section of the West grandstand and threw marshmellows at each other.

I added that last sentence to my earlier post because that was the point: it's not the venue, it's the team and the fans that make it what it is. Old and tiny the Fieldhouse was, but the fans made it rock.

As for HS, when I went, the student section was the north end of the West Grandstand. There were bleachers on the east side. Then they added some on the south, under the scoreboard. After graduation, I remember a freezing rain, backing my pickup truck up to the north fence and opening the tailgate and cap lid to watch out the back and try to stay dry. Three of us gulping coffee, eating Cheez-Its and cheering. I forget which game or who, but a Huskie RB would have run a TD into our laps if the fence hadn't been there.

Ahhhhhhh ... the good ol' days. But it's still the teams and the fans more than the facilities. And chain post getting too long, so I quit here.

I just can't connect the final game statistics with my thinking during the game. It wasn't until very late that we ran up some big stats. And I seem to recall a few really bad ref calls for us, against Maine. They called a pass interference against Maine's WR (he did nothing), and that punt fumbled seemed to be recovered by Maine. I'm glad to get some calls go our way, believe me, but it make me think this game was much more a challenge than the score and stats would indicate.

Glad we won but I'm not convinced this team can go 6-6 or better yet, still feels like maybe we eek out only 2-3 more wins vs MAC teams.

I just want games to be close, to be in every game with a chance to win. And I think the big swings are here to stay, Rocky will throw some picks at bad times, but he'll also surprise us with nice touch passes and runs.

Better than last year, so much so.

(09-26-2021 08:01 PM)NIU84 Wrote:  I just can't connect the final game statistics with my thinking during the game. It wasn't until very late that we ran up some big stats. And I seem to recall a few really bad ref calls for us, against Maine. They called a pass interference against Maine's WR (he did nothing), and that punt fumbled seemed to be recovered by Maine. I'm glad to get some calls go our way, believe me, but it make me think this game was much more a challenge than the score and stats would indicate.

Glad we won but I'm not convinced this team can go 6-6 or better yet, still feels like maybe we eek out only 2-3 more wins vs MAC teams.

I just want games to be close, to be in every game with a chance to win. And I think the big swings are here to stay, Rocky will throw some picks at bad times, but he'll also surprise us with nice touch passes and runs.

Better than last year, so much so.

The stats were lopsided the entire game. Our offense was doing whatever they wanted to but kept shooting themselves in the foot. The score finally caught up to the stats at the end.

I do tend to agree that i think they're probably going to struggle to win 6 games. I think 5-7 is probably where they end up. Hope i'm wrong though!

I think we’ll learn a lot from next Saturday’s EMU game. If our D can hold up against them, maybe four or five MAC wins are possible. Creighton’s teams are always physical though, so they could also abuse our D like Michigan did, in which case it may be hard to find more than a couple MAC wins.