The sears in mall st Vincent in Shreveport's second floor has such bad leakage thru the ceiling they've got tarps and an irrigation system to filter the water down into buckets in the middle of aisles. Last time I was there, a contunuous drip was splashing off the floor and sprinkling decorative pillows.. it had been going on long enough for the pillow to turn colors
I think that ship has sailed. LA Tech is well entrenched in CUSA now, and with 5 or 6 bowls to fill every year, Tech truly no longer "needs" the I-Bowl like it once did. IMO, LA Tech's brand has outgrown anything that the I-Bowl could offer, unless they some day want to offer us a match-up against LSU, Arkansas, Texas, TX A&M, or Ole Miss. Short of that, I just don't have any interest in seeing LA Tech go to the I-Bowl.
Times has online article in Sunday (8th) addition concerning attendance.
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/longf...cern/96279580/
The Newsday article: http://www.newsday.com/sports/colleg...-17-1.12784796 details the attendance of each of the bowl games this season. Looks like the bowls that featured regional teams in relation to the bowl location didn't have as much trouble putting people in the seats.
They are trying to blame the playing date of Dec 26th for their attendance woes, but in 2014 we played on Dec 26th in Dallas and drew 31,300. Maybe that date does impact attendance. Probably does. But we see that Tech still outdraws the Idiot Bowl including on Dec 26th.
Next! on the excuses.... we're waiting....
In the past when it was seriously hurting for money the I-Bowl committee has had the arrogant luxury of "throwing a bone" to Louisiana Tech to pull in a 40K+ attendance game to help them out. The next day it was right back to licking the P5's boots for any attention they can get.
The P5 doesn't need them, Louisiana Tech no longer needs them, and fans & sponsors are unimpressed with the 'barely bowl eligible' leftovers that they are getting. The I-Bowl is officially screwed and they have nothing to "blame" but their own arrogant attitude. They will never get rid of the "old regime" either.
And, they will go down the drain, blaming everyone else. They certainly can't be the reason. I bet some of them are even blaming this board for their poor attendance and claiming we have a bad attitude.
Screw them. I will attend the HOD bowl every year until I die. They care far more about Tech than our own Louisianian bowl does. Very sad for them. Can't see the diamond right in front of their face.
Well said Cliff. LA Tech has never been big time enough for Shreveport even when it made a lot more sense economically for the bowl and the city to get behind Tech. Let LSU bail them out.
I think it's funny, Shreveport getting what they deserve. I hope their crappy bowl goes under.
In that article about bowl attendance any journalist worth their salt would have questioned the local bowl team on their recent experience with selling bowl tickets and attendance.
Shreveport media...so lazy.
It's really a shame that the I-Bowl committee refused to cooperate with Tech in the past. The Ft Worth bowl was created to make sure that local university TCU would have a bowl game if not selected elsewhere, same for the Humanitarian Bowl with Boise State. There are other examples of bowl committees who understand that local cooperation leads to MUTUAL GROWTH & PROSPERITY!
Shreveport's I-Bowl is THE ONLY bowl who has been adamant to make sure that their local school Louisiana Tech was their LAST OPTION. Ken Antee UL-M, Missy Setters LSU,... Antee is still feeling his oates as a C-USA football referee.
This is a rhetorical question, but shouldn't Missy Setters have an idea of how to get butts in the seats if she's been the Executive Director of a bowl game since 2005?"I hear a lot of different things from a lot of different people,'' Setters says. "It's easier to sit on your comfy couch and watch the game on a big screen TV.
"I grew up in a time when you went to events so you could make memories with your family. It's a little different for me.That's why we have to tap into different age groups and different demographics and ask them, 'What will get you to the game?'''
Excuses mentioned in the article:
1. "Bowl attendance has dropped by around 5 percent this season."
Me: "Announced" attendance at the Independence Bowl fell by 7.33% from 31,289 to 28,995.
2. Missy Setters: "It's easier to sit on your comfy couch and watch the game on a big screen TV."
Me: ...especially when it's a mediocre matchup of Vanderbilt vs N.C. State
3. Shreveport Times: "One thing that apparently won't get people to bowl games is the Dec. 26 playing date."
Me: Last year, six bowl games were held on December 26th. The Sun Bowl (41,180), Pinstripe Bowl (37,218), and Foster Farms Bowl (33,527) all had higher attendance numbers than the Independence Bowl.