My Indy Bowl Observations

[bulldogfan1]

I went to the game, (I got free tickets), Good crowd considering the teams playing my guess 25,000-30,000 actual.

Not real good teams, but then I am a Tech fan, so dont get me started on bad teams!

Chilly, overall perfect night for football!

It appeared as though, it was a LSU home game with all of the sickening LSU gear everywhere, Iowa States chant is I-S-U, and some annoying LSU fans started chanting, well you can only imagine. I did count 7 Tech hats and shirts. We are making progress a few years, this would not have been 2. I was really looking!

The lack of a sponsor is hurting. The I bowl will have to have one next year to stay afloat.

The fairgrounds are in worse shape than they were when we played Tulsa. If you can imagine that. It is a disgrace to have visitors from out of town see this.

Sam Giordono has single handily ruined that facility, it was trashy, parking was horrible, and expensive.

OK, I have vented. I would like to hear some other thoughts on the game.

[Dawgpix]

[QUOTE=bulldogfan1]I went to the game, (I got free tickets), Good crowd considering the teams playing my guess 25,000-30,000 actual.
QUOTE]

guess I'll nitpick this one fact.
This is a post-season bowl game. A prize any community should be proud of.
Why the Ark-La-Tex can't sell out a post-season bowl game is beyond me. With its pecking order on conference contracts, the Independence Bowl is NOT going to have "good" teams that have 10,000-20,000 fans travel with them.
I know it can be an expensive way to show community support (if everyone has to buy their ticket), but the market's population is there to fill more than 25,000-30,000 to a post-season bowl game, regardless of the participating teams.
tm

PS--It's kinda like Houston Nutt being eyed by ElEssEwe as the new head coach. The Hog fans bitch and moan about his job performance weekly, but now that he's being interviewed by someone else in their conference, he's not a bad coach afterall.
So . . . . The Ark-La-Tex needs to support the I-Bowl or there won't be a need for a sponsor. It's hard to pay out 1.3 mil each team each year with this kind of paltry attendance for a post-season bowl game.

[Dwayne From Minden]

I think the I-Bowl would have been better served to invite Troy St - even if they only bring 5,000 fans - it makes a tremendous impact at the gate - Miami brought NO ONE...

However, Iowa State brought a very good contingent of fans and they know how to wear their colors -

But the first poster is correct - its opportunities like this for TECH fans to wear their colors and they don't and if we just would maybe people would set up and take notice -

All night long all I could think of was this SHOULD have been us if we could have just had one more "winnable" game on the schedule in the OOC slate -

Even certain I-Bowl officials were bemoaning the fact this year that we weren't bowl eligible, but alas we weren't...

[dawg80]

Gee, too bad Tech was not available to bail out the I Bowl idiots. We did that once for that stupid bowl and what thanks did we get? Well, not once, BUT TWICE, the I Bowl turned its back on Tech (1997 and 2001). So, let the bowl rot.

How any Tech fan can support that bowl is beyond me.

Even Scott Ferrell agrees with that sentiment. In my exchange of emails with him recently, he acknowledged the screwing the I Bowl has done to Tech, twice. He also stated that the bowl will die if it doesn't get a title sponsor soon! Probably true....and good riddance.

[Dawgbitten]

I watched very little of the game. From what I saw there was not 32K in the stands. The game was a close one all the way to the end. When it was over, I saw good shots of the stands and there were only a few hundred in the stands.

Did the fans clear out at the half ala Tech games? Or was it a quick organized mass exodous of 30K people with 55 seconds left in the game?

I sure hope the dillweed sports writer for The Times tells the truth about the attendance at the game.

I am with dawg80 on this one. Good riddance!

[Dwayne From Minden]

It would be bad for the area to lose this bowl game -

And if and its a big IF - TECH ever gets in CUSA - a tie in could develop between CUSA and the bowl on a regular basis -

And lets face it - the WAC isn't known for doing us many favors and the Mobile Bowl really isn't an option - the more bowls out there, the better it is for Tech football - I will not be making another trip to Boise for a bowl and I will not go to San Jose for a bowl - I might would go to Hawaii but thats a big if -

I really think the days of the bowl's tie in with the SEC are numbered -

I would judge the crowd to be on par with the TECH Okie State game in 2002 - larger than the Cal and Baylor games but no where near the Miami or A&M games -

The east side was 80 to 90% full the north endzone was about 70% full and the south end zone was about 50% full - the poor side was the west side MAYBE and I say maybe 60% full - there were somewhere between 28,000 and 30,000 there - I think the locals showed up in decent numbers considering the matchup, it was the lack of support from the Miami fans that really hurt the bowl - a SBC team would have brought alot more people -

After halftime alot of the "locals" left and at the end of the 3rd quarter there may have been 17,000 people left in the stadium - and half of those vacated with about 3 minutes left -

I was surprised that as many people showed up as they did I was really expecting a crowd of 25,000 or less...

[oledawg66]

Gee, too bad Tech was not available to bail out the I Bowl idiots. We did that once for that stupid bowl and what thanks did we get? Well, not once, BUT TWICE, the I Bowl turned its back on Tech (1997 and 2001). So, let the bowl rot.

How any Tech fan can support that bowl is beyond me.

Even Scott Ferrell agrees with that sentiment. In my exchange of emails with him recently, he acknowledged the screwing the I Bowl has done to Tech, twice. He also stated that the bowl will die if it doesn't get a title sponsor soon! Probably true....and good riddance.

I agree 100%. A bowl is good for the local economy, but when the local bowl screws a local team, which also happens to be my team, to hell with them.

[Cal&Ken]

Gee, too bad Tech was not available to bail out the I Bowl idiots. We did that once for that stupid bowl and what thanks did we get? Well, not once, BUT TWICE, the I Bowl turned its back on Tech (1997 and 2001). So, let the bowl rot.

How any Tech fan can support that bowl is beyond me.

Even Scott Ferrell agrees with that sentiment. In my exchange of emails with him recently, he acknowledged the screwing the I Bowl has done to Tech, twice. He also stated that the bowl will die if it doesn't get a title sponsor soon! Probably true....and good riddance.

I agree. This Tech fan will never go. Hopefully Tech will never go as well. They screwed us twice - others may, but I will not forget.

[TYLERTECHSAS]

Gee, too bad Tech was not available to bail out the I Bowl idiots. We did that once for that stupid bowl and what thanks did we get? Well, not once, BUT TWICE, the I Bowl turned its back on Tech (1997 and 2001). So, let the bowl rot.

How any Tech fan can support that bowl is beyond me.

Even Scott Ferrell agrees with that sentiment. In my exchange of emails with him recently, he acknowledged the screwing the I Bowl has done to Tech, twice. He also stated that the bowl will die if it doesn't get a title sponsor soon! Probably true....and good riddance.

My thoughts exactly!

[glm47]

I was also at the game and I thought Tech was better than either one of those teams.

[DONW]

I think it would be more helpful to Tech if the Independence Bowl went away. Then maybe Shreveport would help promote a game against a big name opponent for Tech for an early season game every year. That would be a lot better than freezing your ass off in late December every year as far as the football fans in Shreveport goes. How is the I-Bowl going to make the payout to the teams this year? They sure didn't sell enough tickets. They should eliminate bowls that do not average 75% stadium capacity.

[bulldogfan1]

Apparently, they had the money in reserve. Rumors were flying around last night that the SEC will be pulling its I-Bowl ties for a bowl in a bigger city, in Florida. We will see.

This bowl is good for the area, I don think you will have to worry much about Tech playing there, for a number of different reasons, one primary one being, how hard it is to get cooperation from the city for regular season games there.

[faninmonroe]

Apparently, they had the money in reserve. Rumors were flying around last night that the SEC will be pulling its I-Bowl ties for a bowl in a bigger city, in Florida. We will see.

This bowl is good for the area, I don think you will have to worry much about Tech playing there, for a number of different reasons, one primary one being, how hard it is to get cooperation from the city for regular season games there.

They had to have had money in reserve. Sponsors ponied up only $600,000 for 2004 plus what the state and city of Shreveport give it (Commmander in Chief Sponsorship). And some of your Louisiana tax dollars goes to the bowl. Which makes me scratch my head - the state gives the bowl money but the bowl kept screwing over a state school? And now Sally wants us to play ULx every year...........

Not having a title sponsor is going to kill the bowl - regardless of who plays in it. No one wants to see two bottom tier SEC/Big 12 teams slug it out.

Gotta grow the bowl from the ground up - if LSU is not available for the Indy bowl the folks that run the bowl should be all over Tech to play in it. Heck, they could not even get North Texas to drive over to S'port

[CARTEK]

Until the Bowl Committe house is cleaned, the I-Bowl will be a "little" bowl because those folks think "little." They are some of the most self-important people I have ever had the misfortune of running across, and they don't even realize (or at leats acknowledge) their short comings. Overall, a sad group of big-time sports wannabes!

[Dwayne From Minden]

I think it would be more helpful to Tech if the Independence Bowl went away. Then maybe Shreveport would help promote a game against a big name opponent for Tech for an early season game every year.

And if that Bowl is not in Shreveport, the City will NOT supply the needed $$,$$$ for the adequate upkeep of that stadium and the continued improvements made to that stadium over the past 10 years or so - the dollars are not going to be spent by the Caddo Parish School Board to upkeep that stadium and its infrastructure -

Just think back to the state of disrepair the stadium was in towards the mid to late 80's and the early 90's -

Much like the Saints in New Orleans - no Saints EQUALS no Super Bowl - can New Orleans economy afford not to have the Super Bowl every 4 years or so?

For the Miami game the Shreveport/Bossier Chamber gave TECH the exact same amount they give the I-Bowl - I want to say it was $35,000 or somehwere in the neighborhood -

One thing we need to ask ourselves - Tech and its administration can't get along with the City of Shreveport, they can't get along with the management of the Century Tel Centre and they can't get along with the management of the Fairgrounds and they also have a poor working relationship with Centenary College -

My guess is its the attitude coming out of the athletic offices that has alot to do with this - usually if you can't get along with most people its usually not the other peoples fault -

The I-Bowl is a entity that depends mainly on the product it sales to the public, it has very support in the way to tax dollars - and remember they get these tax dollars (about $125,000 annually I think) as an agreement struck between our Northern Legislative Delegations and their southern counterparts that funnels about $3 to $5 million annually to the Sugar Bowl Foundation that came about when the BCS was formed - so if it wasn't go here it would be going to New Orleans -

If the I-Bowl doesn't provide a game that will sale the tickets, it will eventually not be able to attract a corporate sponsor and slowly die on the vine -

I personally hope that doesn't happen -