[LUnpretty11]

Let's also not forget that the fans are apart of Liberty football.

[ToTheLeft]

And in big games in big moments, the fans are there. In the rain, up 20, on a terrible team no one has heard of? I can't blame them.

I know most of us here would stay through anything. I do. Because that's how I am. Doesn't mean we can project our personality on 14k people/8k students. I would rather have seen more people stay, but it's really not the end of the world. The VMI game will be 14k+, and if the weather is decent they'll stay into the 3rd if it's a blowout, into the 4th if not...

[Sivart]

TTL, I totally agree... Come on guys do ya'll remember the students who showed up in the monsoon rain two hours early for the JMU game? And most stayed till the point that it was hopeless... you take in the factors that it was halloween and that it was raining and we were up like 28-5 going in to the half... i just dont see why everyone is so mad... just remember JMU, we had more people at that game then most clear days last year... so yeah...

[SuperJon]

So are we content in saying that our fans only show up against big teams? Are we ok with that now? I just want to know what I should expect. Going into the JMU game it was "our fans are awesome. We always show up. We're always loud. We're always early and we're always there to the end." Now it's, "We'll show up but we're only staying if the weather is perfect, the team we're playing is a big name, and the game is close." So what should I expect? What is our fan base? Which definition is it?

[LUnpretty11]

I understand your point completely. But when all but a 1,000 people leave, it's a little aggravating. Like I said, I'm not trying to be a downer, or take away from another LU win. All I'm saying is if people want to hang out on a Saturday, then go to the Tilley student Center. Or at least wait til the 3rd qtr to leave. I think the band performed in front of 3,000.

[ToTheLeft]

You're right. The world is coming to an end and three people will be at the VMI game. Danny Rocco will then promptly quit and Mike Brown will transfer. We will then drop football and change our school colors to purple and black...

---

The crying act over people leaving games early is old. LUnatics leaving way too early? That sucks, but that's an internal issue, and something that doesn't belong on a message board. Regular fans leaving early to preserve their health or cell phones, or because it's Halloween? Really not something to get the panties all in a bunch over. Especially from someone who has spent the past two rain games sitting in a climate controlled office. I stayed the whole time and got cold and wet, and I'm not upset. It's not like I'm looking down on these people and judging them, I am relating to them since I was there, too. It's easy for a football fanatic who cares about the team and stayed for every game he attended that everyone should stay. It's a lot harder when you're out there, in the cold/rain, wondering if you're going to get sick, or if your cell phone is going to get fried again. Or, in the case of people with more of a social life than I, how your Halloween plans will be affected by your decision to stay in the cold rain...

And the opponent does matter. Not everyone is a LUnatic. I'll say it again. Not everyone is a LUnatic. I will say it one more time. Not everyone is a LUnatic. Beat Coastal was a genius campaign, because people care about Coastal games now. People care about JMU. No one cared about WVW. It was a weak, weak crowd. But that's what happens. It happens everywhere that lacks a tradition and a history of a good game atmosphere. We don't have this track record of "if you stay to the end you'll have fun". It takes a while. But getting upset because people leave when it's 28-5 over a DI transitional that no one has heard of is getting selfish about how far we've come. We're making progress, but we're not Tech or Florida or anything...

I've said it like 5 times now. I want people to stay. But I am not delusional enough to think Liberty fans are at a point yet where they are going to watch us blow out a weak team in the rain. We're not there yet guys, sorry to burst a bubble. It's not a knock on our fans, our team, or our marketers. It's just a fact. We're building tradition and we're building history. It takes time. Having 14,000 at the game is pretty impressive.

Also, how about Tommy Beecher, solid game, huh?

[jcmanson]

Let's not act like it was a monsoon. It barely rained.

[ToTheLeft]

Refer to the first paragraph of the post above yours.

[jcmanson]

I'm sorry, but that was pathetic. Say what you want, but it was.

[Keenan]

Good all around game today! Offense,Defense and Special Teams all looked good today. My only complaint on the field were some terrible calls against LU in the 2nd half and one non-call on PC that directly led to a TD. The boys obviously came out to play today and it showed. Great effort and great win!!!!

[LUnpretty11]

[quote="ToTheLeft"]You're right. The world is coming to an end and three people will be at the VMI game. Danny Rocco will then promptly quit and Mike Brown will transfer. We will then drop football and change our school colors to purple and black...
[/quote]

Completely irrelevant and not even close to anything of what I was saying.
And I'm not crying about anything. I'm just simply voicing my opinion (which is pretty much what this entire board is about) on how I think it's ridiculous that 8,000 before halftime.

Agreed, Beecher was solid today. 15-17 and 2TD's is getting the job done.

[ToTheLeft]

That was more directed to Jon, and it was a clear use of hyperbole. (I hope I used that word right, CJ).

The point is, I don't think we're at a point yet where every time kids bail early on a game that we need to feel like something is wrong. We're working on building tradition. It will get here, just let it happen. The crowd was good while it was still a game, and we took an early lead, and they lost interest... then the rain drove them away.

[olldflame]

When you go to a game in a monsoon (JMU) you go prepared, mentally and physically. I confess that I didn't check the weather report this morning, but during the week they were not calling for rain, so I didn't bring my rain gear. I left at the half. I might have stayed a while longer, but I brought a friend who is 70 years old, and he was getting cold. If the game had been close, I probably would have given him my car keys to go and dry out and listen to the game on the radio while I stayed.

If I were going to judge the student support today, I would be more critical of those who never showed than those who left. The student side was not full at any time, and the weather was fine til the second quarter. I haven't questioned our attendance figures til now, but 14,000 plus? No way. There were well over 1000 empty seats, only a handful of people on the hillsides, and nowhere near the usual crowds in the concession areas. I say less than 12,000.

As far as the game is concerned, I saw all but a few minutes between being there and watching on the Liberty Channel, and I was pleased. Very solid performance with contributions from a lot of players. We exerted our superiority, and the outcome was never really in doubt. Beecher was really efficient passing, and did a good job running the ball as well, and with the way Aldreakis and SirChauncy are running, I definately hope Rocco puts BJ back at slot receiver when he returns.

[LUnpretty11]

drizzle to be exact
One point olldflame

[LUnpretty11]

On point. Not one point. My bad.

[phoenix]

I was surprised we didn't have more leave before the end of the Coastal game. Unfortunately, some of the people who DID leave were the people who were blocking the wind around me and my father in law. There were a lot of things working against people staying today, but I'm disappointed in how many left. Out of 14,000+, 13,000 people were gone before the 4th quarter (assuming the reported count was accurate).

Great strides have been made (it was easier when everyone rode buses to City Stadium, and couldn't leave until the buses left). If anything, today's game is a reminder that there is a lot of work still to do.

[Libertine]

Nothing I've read in this thread so far could possibly excuse what I saw tonight. You don't want to get sick? Don't lick door knobs. The weather has nothing to do with germs. You had somewhere to be? Really? 13,000 of you? You only want to show up for good opponents? Gee, I thought you were a fan of our team. That mass vanishing act was embarrassing to me on a personal level. We had more people in the stands at the end of games during that dreadful 2005 season. I was at Charleston Southern last week and they officially had 3,800 people in the stands, the great majority of which left at halftime after they handed out the homecoming awards. I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, that wouldn't happen at Liberty." I was wrong.

I'll admit it, I'm mad about this, I'm going to stay that way for a while and nothing that any of you could possibly bring to the table is going to change that.

[thesportscritic]

Nothing I've read in this thread so far could possibly excuse what I saw tonight. You don't want to get sick? Don't lick door knobs. The weather has nothing to do with germs. You had somewhere to be? Really? 13,000 of you? You only want to show up for good opponents? Gee, I thought you were a fan of our team. That mass vanishing act was embarrassing to me on a personal level. We had more people in the stands at the end of games during that dreadful 2005 season. I was at Charleston Southern last week and they officially had 3,800 people in the stands, the great majority of which left at halftime after they handed out the homecoming awards. I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, that wouldn't happen at Liberty." I was wrong.

I'll admit it, I'm mad about this, I'm going to stay that way for a while and nothing that any of you could possibly bring to the table is going to change that.

+1 and this weather wasn't like JMU where it was a downpour. It was a little drizzle that got a little bit steady at times but this was nothing compared to the JMU game

[Cider Jim]

When you go to a game in a monsoon (JMU) you go prepared, mentally and physically. I confess that I didn't check the weather report this morning, but during the week they were not calling for rain, so I didn't bring my rain gear. I left at the half.

That's me, too, olldflame. This was one Eagle Scout who wasn't prepared: when I left the house, it was sunny, so all I brought was a light jacket and NO rain gear. Once it started to rain, I gave my jacket to a friend's son and a semi-waterproof blanket to his my friend's wife. By halftime, we were all wet, so we went home to watch it on TV.

If I would have packed my rain gear, I would have stayed for the whole game, but without it, I went home, put on some dry clothes, drank some hot cider, and enjoyed the second half on MASN.

[Kolzilla41]

Nothing I've read in this thread so far could possibly excuse what I saw tonight. You don't want to get sick? Don't lick door knobs. The weather has nothing to do with germs. You had somewhere to be? Really? 13,000 of you? You only want to show up for good opponents? Gee, I thought you were a fan of our team. That mass vanishing act was embarrassing to me on a personal level. We had more people in the stands at the end of games during that dreadful 2005 season. I was at Charleston Southern last week and they officially had 3,800 people in the stands, the great majority of which left at halftime after they handed out the homecoming awards. I remember thinking to myself, "Wow, that wouldn't happen at Liberty." I was wrong.

I'll admit it, I'm mad about this, I'm going to stay that way for a while and nothing that any of you could possibly bring to the table is going to change that.

While is doesn't have anything to do for germs, even drizzle messes with the homeostatic condition of your body, which will make you even more susceptible to germs. I wasn't even at this game but I gotta tell you, I have sat through two games of rain this season so I would have checked the weather before I left. I do believe we need to give this some time to have 15k plus stand around and watch us beat the snot out of teams.

[TDDance234]

How about that 36-point whallop we put on Presby yesterday?

[madmat]

Two points to consider.
1. Don't forget about the high school recruits whose large eyes are upon everything. Our atmosphere can be a great influence for good or for bad.
2. When films are traded to other teams or viewed on sport clips/highlights, empty seats are noticed. Does this impact any selection commitee members?
Good job team, surviving trap games thus far.

[Stevev]

I was surprised to see all of the empty seats also. I was watchin the game on MASN and disppointed to see the stadium emtied out when we were the team that was winning. I could see if we were on the receiving end of a blowout and having to sit through the rain when there was no hope for a comeback and we were stinking it up but we were winning. I would think that the fans present would just enjoy themselves and watch some of the younger backups get some reps in gametime situations. The rain didn't appear on TV to be that bad and I don't think that it was cold. I sat throught the JMU game and know what it is like to sit in the rain but it didn't appear that yesterday's game was nearly as bad as the JMU game.

[olldflame]

For those who think fans of established FBS programs never leave early, check out the stands at the end of the Tennessee - South Carolina game at Knoxville. The Vols have one of the most intense fan bases around and fill a 100,000 seat stadum. South Carolina was ranked coming in and the weather was near perfect. TN played great and SC stank it up. The Vols won easily, and there was a mass fan exodus in the second half.

Groups like the LUnatics don't count. While their fandom is unquestioned this is also an integral part of their college experience. The bonding experience of going through something like a rain game with friends is as as much a part of being there the whole time as supporting the team. Not every student who comes is in that position now, which is why building tradition is such a key to having more students who feel the same way about the game experience.

[SuperJon]

It was an odd scene Saturday evening. As Liberty finished a 55-19 thrashing of winless Presbyterian, avenging the loss from last season that cost the Flames a berth in the FCS playoffs, the crowd at Williams Stadium looked much like the one that shows up Friday nights for LCA games.
With 2:55 left in the second quarter, SirChauncey Holloway bounded in from four yards out to put the Flames up 28-3. A light drizzle began to fall, and the stadium emptied. Announced attendance was 14,197. But by the time the second half started, there were maybe 1,000 folks left in the stands.
“I turned to Todd (Wetmore, Liberty’s director of athletic communications), and said, ‘it’s a mass exodus,’” Liberty coach Danny Rocco said. “I don’t know if it was that it had started to pour, but I was a little taken aback by that.”

http://www2.newsadvance.com/lna/sports/ ... ian/20958/