The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(11-26-2013 08:55 AM)blazers9911 Wrote:  Whoever gave you access to that photo should be shot.

You leave that man alone!

(11-26-2013 10:55 AM)the Dragon Wrote:  

(11-26-2013 10:52 AM)iam4uab Wrote:  It's amazing that we went from #freeuab, never let up, expose them all and let's take our university back to "don't even mention it!"

At least Gorilla is doing what everyone said they were going to do when they shut it down. Our culture of losing goes way beyond the teams...we cowered down way too easily.

Gorilla is hammering us with stadium posts.

If he is mailing letters to the BOT every week asking for the stadium, then I will give him credit for keeping the fight. But posting a stadium in every thread on this board is like continuing to argue with everyone who agrees with you.

I understand that he's preaching to the choir, but the choir has decided they don't need to show up for practice anymore. The attitude is just leave us alone, don't talk about it. We all know we need it, so why keep bringing it up.

Casting a vision has to happen internally constantly for it to actually happen. I've found that in my job, most of the people on my volunteer teams are in my corner and are ready to accomplish the things that I want to see done, however, they don't really hear much of anything I say until I get to a point where I'm tired of hearing it myself. Only then can we begin to get to work on it.

My point is that if we, the die-hards, are already tired of seeing it, hearing it and thinking about it, then it will never get done. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. That was the sentiment when this campaign started and everyone on here was on fire about it and screaming that we can't let it die like it always has before, yet, we're right back to that place.

Is it frustrating to know that we are playing by someone else's rules? Absolutely! But if we attack someone for constantly reminding us of what we all really know that we need, well, then we've decided not to fight for what we know will help us win...i.e. a culture of losing. I'm surprised at the number of people who have taken on the company line given to us by the BOT.

We just need to decide where we stand and accept it I guess. Either we are going to fight for it, or we are not. Right now, when I look around the board at the die-hards, I don't want to fight for it because it feels like I would be in a very small minority. However, I'd be fired up to do whatever it takes if everyone was a little more like Gorilla about it.

My point is simply that we've accepted defeat, rolled up the #freeuab banner and have passed the buck to the team and coaches to get it done alone even though we've said plenty of times that they need it to be successful.

I hate to say it but it is hard to justify a stadium when we draw less than 6,000 on national TV. I know winning will bring the fans but we also have to show up win lose or draw as they say. If you want a stadium show up and support the team. If you are pissed at the coach tell Mackin or yell at McGee. He can hear but whatever you do show up! I realize I am mostly preaching to the choir here as most here go to all the games but seriously, give us some ammo to get a stadium. SHOW UP! Encourage others to go. It takes 20,500 average paid attendance + what we pre-sold to pay for it.
Do I think we deserve a stadium? Hell yea but I don't make the decision. The BOT makes the final decision and they look at the numbers and look how much our athletic program is losing each year now. I would rather go to a gunfight with bullets in my gun.

Let's have the numbers to back up warranting a stadium and then if we are denied we can take this fight public. Until then we will get ZERO public sympathy with our attendance and deficit. We make a public fight now and they will have the news spit out the true numbers and show shots of an empty Legion Field.

Until then there are things we can do like go ahead with the football building and new practice facility. Improve those facilities, improve attendance and cash flow and then hit them with it between the eyes when we are in a more stable position. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it happen. No one has accepted defeat but it's time to come up with a feasible battle plan.

(11-26-2013 05:56 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  I hate to say it but it is hard to justify a stadium when we draw less than 6,000 on national TV. I know winning will bring the fans but we also have to show up win lose or draw as they say. If you want a stadium show up and support the team. If you are pissed at the coach tell Mackin or yell at McGee. He can hear but whatever you do show up! I realize I am mostly preaching to the choir here as most here go to all the games but seriously, give us some ammo to get a stadium. SHOW UP! Encourage others to go. It takes 20,500 average paid attendance + what we pre-sold to pay for it.
Do I think we deserve a stadium? Hell yea but I don't make the decision. The BOT makes the final decision and they look at the numbers and look how much our athletic program is losing each year now. I would rather go to a gunfight with bullets in my gun.

Let's have the numbers to back up warranting a stadium and then if we are denied we can take this fight public. Until then we will get ZERO public sympathy with our attendance and deficit. We make a public fight now and they will have the news spit out the true numbers and show shots of an empty Legion Field.

Until then there are things we can do like go ahead with the football building and new practice facility. Improve those facilities, improve attendance and cash flow and then hit them with it between the eyes when we are in a more stable position. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it happen. No one has accepted defeat but it's time to come up with a feasible battle plan.

When you look at the numbers, the size of subsidy UAB athletics gets from the President/University, I agree that it is hard to justify spending on a football stadium right now. Our average attendance has been less than 20,000 since Callaway was hired. Why did Garrison and Mackin think the BOT would go for a stadium? I have never understood that part.

(11-26-2013 06:45 PM)BlazerGreen Wrote:  

(11-26-2013 05:56 PM)ATTALLABLAZE Wrote:  I hate to say it but it is hard to justify a stadium when we draw less than 6,000 on national TV. I know winning will bring the fans but we also have to show up win lose or draw as they say. If you want a stadium show up and support the team. If you are pissed at the coach tell Mackin or yell at McGee. He can hear but whatever you do show up! I realize I am mostly preaching to the choir here as most here go to all the games but seriously, give us some ammo to get a stadium. SHOW UP! Encourage others to go. It takes 20,500 average paid attendance + what we pre-sold to pay for it.
Do I think we deserve a stadium? Hell yea but I don't make the decision. The BOT makes the final decision and they look at the numbers and look how much our athletic program is losing each year now. I would rather go to a gunfight with bullets in my gun.

Let's have the numbers to back up warranting a stadium and then if we are denied we can take this fight public. Until then we will get ZERO public sympathy with our attendance and deficit. We make a public fight now and they will have the news spit out the true numbers and show shots of an empty Legion Field.

Until then there are things we can do like go ahead with the football building and new practice facility. Improve those facilities, improve attendance and cash flow and then hit them with it between the eyes when we are in a more stable position. I wish I could wave a magic wand and make it happen. No one has accepted defeat but it's time to come up with a feasible battle plan.

When you look at the numbers, the size of subsidy UAB athletics gets from the President/University, I agree that it is hard to justify spending on a football stadium right now. Our average attendance has been less than 20,000 since Callaway was hired. Why did Garrison and Mackin think the BOT would go for a stadium? I have never understood that part.

Because they were the ones that gave Mackin and Garrison the green light to do a feasibility study, which passed with flying colors.

I had a copy of that proposal, it was solid as a rock, everything was in place, the business community was ready to take the plunge with having pledged to the skyboxes and damn near sold them & I have no doubt in my mind that season ticket sales would have matched or bettered that of what Charlotte has done with the 49ers in their inaugural season, I was prepared to purchase a set of 2 season ticket packages for the 1st 5 years had the damn proposal been approved as it should have.

But the b**tards already knew in their dark, conniving, pathetic little hearts that they were going to derail the project, anyway, because they have the power to do so. Mackin & Garrison played their part and the scumbags just shot it down out of sheer spite.

And they enjoyed it, because they know they don't have to answer to anyone for what they've done to UAB Football. Because they have the blessings of everyone from the local sports media to the state capitol to do so.

I'm guess the BOT didn't think we would actually get a proposal together and pre-sell all the boxes. UAB did everything that was asked of it and was totally blindsided when it was pulled. Finis St John requested the proposal evening of UCF game. (poorly attended)

(11-26-2013 08:42 AM)TheGORILLA Wrote:  Just as George Wallace "stood at the door", Paul Bryant Jr. will go down in history for proudly usurping his power to prevent UAB from creating their own "Football Dynasty", for the sake of The Crimson Tide.

This!

...where there is no vision, the people perish...

(11-26-2013 05:10 PM)iam4uab Wrote:  

(11-26-2013 10:55 AM)the Dragon Wrote:  

(11-26-2013 10:52 AM)iam4uab Wrote:  It's amazing that we went from #freeuab, never let up, expose them all and let's take our university back to "don't even mention it!"

At least Gorilla is doing what everyone said they were going to do when they shut it down. Our culture of losing goes way beyond the teams...we cowered down way too easily.

Gorilla is hammering us with stadium posts.

If he is mailing letters to the BOT every week asking for the stadium, then I will give him credit for keeping the fight. But posting a stadium in every thread on this board is like continuing to argue with everyone who agrees with you.

I understand that he's preaching to the choir, but the choir has decided they don't need to show up for practice anymore. The attitude is just leave us alone, don't talk about it. We all know we need it, so why keep bringing it up.

Casting a vision has to happen internally constantly for it to actually happen. I've found that in my job, most of the people on my volunteer teams are in my corner and are ready to accomplish the things that I want to see done, however, they don't really hear much of anything I say until I get to a point where I'm tired of hearing it myself. Only then can we begin to get to work on it.

My point is that if we, the die-hards, are already tired of seeing it, hearing it and thinking about it, then it will never get done. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. That was the sentiment when this campaign started and everyone on here was on fire about it and screaming that we can't let it die like it always has before, yet, we're right back to that place.

Is it frustrating to know that we are playing by someone else's rules? Absolutely! But if we attack someone for constantly reminding us of what we all really know that we need, well, then we've decided not to fight for what we know will help us win...i.e. a culture of losing. I'm surprised at the number of people who have taken on the company line given to us by the BOT.

We just need to decide where we stand and accept it I guess. Either we are going to fight for it, or we are not. Right now, when I look around the board at the die-hards, I don't want to fight for it because it feels like I would be in a very small minority. However, I'd be fired up to do whatever it takes if everyone was a little more like Gorilla about it.

My point is simply that we've accepted defeat, rolled up the #freeuab banner and have passed the buck to the team and coaches to get it done alone even though we've said plenty of times that they need it to be successful.

Compromise to a point becomes !!! What a solid (bleeping) post!!!

The argument should never have been framed in terms of what UAB "deserves" but rather what UAB "needs".

Tuscaloosa doesn't play games at Legion Field any more.

Why not?

Those reasons are every bit the justification UAB needs to have an OCS.

(11-26-2013 08:42 AM)TheGORILLA Wrote:  Just as George Wallace "stood at the door", Paul Bryant Jr. will go down in history for proudly usurping his power to prevent UAB from creating their own "Football Dynasty", for the sake of The Crimson Tide.

You can't invoke George Wallace on this board without permission from BamanBlazerfan

(11-26-2013 07:40 PM)Matrix Wrote:  ...where there is no vision, the people perish...

Where there is no people in the stadium, no one perishes.

I don't give up because my allegiance to UAB Athletics goes as far back as the summer before UAB Basketballs first season, ever, when I was a student at UAB and I had a membership at Bell Gym. Coach Bartow and Coach Hunt and Coach Corn became friends with all of us, at Bell Gym, as did all fourteen UAB signees for the first season. That includes the managers and trainers(Drew Ferguson, Joe Davidson, Allen Brown, etc.) That group set their goals early, to make it to the Final Four, and by the time those Freshmen became Seniors, they almost did make it to the Final Four. I followed UAB basketball, closely, for eighteen years, until Coach Bartow retired as Head Coach. I went to thousands of practices, hundreds of games. Brian Mackin was on the baseball team, way back then. His allegiance is just as deep as mine, and then some. I knew Coach Hilyer, well. It ain't like I didn't know anyone back then. I knew everybody, and they knew me, as being one of the best fans they had. When football went Division One, my dreams were for UAB to eventually build their own on campus stadium, get out and away from that God foresaken Legion Field, and gain the opportunity to step up to the plate and build a top notch Division One Football Program.
Nobody, and I mean nobody, was more disappointed than me, when Paul Bryant Jr. rooked UAB of their opportunity to progress. My Dad was right, God bless his soul, and Dad went to school with Bear Bryant Sr. They graduated the same class, in 1936. Dad told me, years ago that Paul Bryant Jr. was a swindler. I found that out when he deceived you, and UAB out of your on campus stadium, under the pretense that you, or UAB did not deserve one because there was not enough interest or fan base. Paul Bryant Jrs. decision was all just a ruse, to make darn well sure there never will an on campus football stadium, enough interest, or a fan base. There ain't enough room for two great football teams in the same system that The Board of Trustees governs. Yep! I'm still ticked off, and I always will be. Finally, here is one more photo, as a grim reminder that Paul Bryant Jr. got his way and UAB lost their dream. Happy Thanksgiving! Beat Florida A&M and beat North Carolina.

Quote:When you look at the numbers, the size of subsidy UAB athletics gets from the President/University, I agree that it is hard to justify spending on a football stadium right now. Our average attendance has been less than 20,000 since Callaway was hired. Why did Garrison and Mackin think the BOT would go for a stadium? I have never understood that part.

Quote:I agree that it is hard to justify spending on a football stadium right now. Our average attendance has been less than 20,000 since Callaway was hired. Why did Garrison and Mackin think the BOT would go for a stadium? I have never understood that part.

Quote:Our average attendance has been less than 20,000 since Callaway was hired.

Quote:since Callaway was hired.

Lol, the whole thing is a sham. They successfully killed the average fan base UAB had. We won't suddenly have 20-25k a season again until some coach miraculously wins a lot of games in a terrible situation. The chances of that happening just aren't very good. It is hard enough as it is to garner support for a non BCS school in football without the addition of having zero support from your board. We went from being a consistent middle of the pack CUSA football team in attendance and being above average in conference wins to a dead last team in a much worse CUSA. But this is the fans problem? The fans somehow need to make a statement to the board so they will build football facilities? That is laughable. That is their job.

And I'm not blaming Neil Callaway. The man probably gave 110% of what he had to try to win. Most football coaches wouldn't be able to find something good in this situation. The blame falls on what the Neil Callaway hire represented. It represented the UAB football program giving up. This is why we were passed on in conference realignment and we will continue to be passed on forever until something changes. Conference affiliation alone should be enough of a reason to upgrade facilities. Every other sport will suffer with it.

I'm just going to throw this out there and probably get torn apart for it, but as conferences have realigned we have gotten stuck with shittier opponents. Maybe that has something to do with the attendance too.

(11-26-2013 09:16 PM)blazers9911 Wrote:  I'm just going to throw this out there and probably get torn apart for it, but as conferences have realigned we have gotten stuck with shittier opponents. Maybe that has something to do with the attendance too.

Maybe, but it's not like the average 'hamite knows the difference between Houston, Marshall, MTSU, and Samford.

Didn't Charlotte's fans do a fun raiser? I think that's a show of fan support. So why hasn't someone organized a fan fundraiser or drive to raise money to show support?

I don't blame Gorilla. Yeah it gets monotonous seeing the pic, but at least he stayed the course and true to himself. And it's been said before, you are not gonna keep drawing crowds with 2-10, 3-9, 3-9 seasons. The board put us right where we are and the base is dwindling.

But, there is an argument to say why we should be quite and just "bide" our time. Time waits for no man. We'll keep biding while UTSA, MT, and WKU pass us by.

The BOT successfully cockblocked us, to the point that every other original CUSA school has moved up except us and Southern Miss, and they're not exactly a huge television market.

(11-26-2013 09:26 PM)Smaug Wrote:  

(11-26-2013 09:16 PM)blazers9911 Wrote:  I'm just going to throw this out there and probably get torn apart for it, but as conferences have realigned we have gotten stuck with shittier opponents. Maybe that has something to do with the attendance too.

Maybe, but it's not like the average 'hamite knows the difference between Houston, Marshall, MTSU, and Samford.

The problem is that the average hamite considers all programs but Bama to be shittier opponents.

(11-26-2013 10:00 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  

(11-26-2013 09:26 PM)Smaug Wrote:  

(11-26-2013 09:16 PM)blazers9911 Wrote:  I'm just going to throw this out there and probably get torn apart for it, but as conferences have realigned we have gotten stuck with shittier opponents. Maybe that has something to do with the attendance too.

Maybe, but it's not like the average 'hamite knows the difference between Houston, Marshall, MTSU, and Samford.

The problem is that the average hamite considers all programs but Bama to be shittier opponents.

Pretty much.