My thoughts from the field:

- The uniforms did not impress me. And they, as usual, are not easy to photograph (focus) due to a lack of contrast. Where were the rumored red jerseys?

- The game day video intro was very well done and impressive.

- The student section was almost full (6,000 to 7,000?), loud and came to support the team. Excellent job by the students. Now, I'll ask again: In games when FAU knows it's not going to sell out or even come close to filling the sidelines (looking bad in photos and video), why not let the students fill in the better seats?

- Led by the students, the fans got loud at times. FAU Stadium has the ability to be a loud, rocking,shake-up-the-other team place when it has a good crowd and the crowd is fired up. Really, this place could be special.

- I was reminded again last night how nice the video board and sound system are. First-class and lots of bass. The music selection was excellent - from driving rock to good hip-hop (or whatever it's called).

- That said, FAU MUST coordinate better between the sound system people and Marching Owls. The new football intro video was supposed to show before the team ran onto the field. Then, out comes the team and the band starts playing its hearts out and the sound system blasts the video and music, drowning out the band and ruining the moment. At other times, when the band would go into a spirit song, on would come a recorded sound system piece. Come on, organizers, get your act together. This problem goes back to Lockhart Stadium.

- The cool red-light-lined palm trees are already much out of order. Can they be fixed? They are a nice touch. And, some of the banners on the outside of the stadium are gone (storm?). What's going to be done about that?

- One small section of the reserved seats (lower level closest to where the team comes out before the game) deserves the game ball for great cheering. They were very impressive and that section was packed. They appeared to be recent alumni.

- The food choices seem better with the new Subway and Moe's Southwest Grill locations in the stadium.

- Tailgating seemed lively, although the Friday date kept the number of people down. FAU had a good band playing in the grass just behind the press box tower. Problem is, it wasn't where most of the people tailgated - not even the students - and the band played to a very sparse crowd much of the time. How about moving the stage to where the people are, or encouraging the people to come closer to the band?

- Carl Pelini must have taken some lessons in calm (he admitted he was calmer than in years past). When most of the fans there last night would have imploded at the poor play, dropped balls, fumbles, stepping out of bounds, fighting after whistles, etc., he stayed cool.

- It was very chippy out there last night. Issues seemed to be caused mainly by Wagner players, but FAU contributed and was lucky to not be flagged more.

- How can someone step out of bounds on a kick return at his own 1-yard-line and then touch a punt at his own 1 minutes later? How? How?! Also, the team seemed pretty lackluster in spirit most of the game.

- Martese Jackson is a nice little runner, despite that almost-game-changing fumble with seconds to play. If the line can open some holes larger than a pinhead (wasn't much room last night), he should gain a lot of yardage this year.

- I wondered some of the decisions late. On a fourth-and-short after a long drive ad maybe 3 minutes to play, FAU brought on the punt team, then went for it and got the first down. The at the 1-year-line with :33 to play, FAU could have all but sealed it with a FG, but went for it and fumbled, allowing Wagner a glimmer of hope for a miracle win.

- Wilbert made the game his in the second half. Good for him. Is FAU's field goal kicker going to make one this year?

- Where was the live owl? It is a fan favorite.

- Kudos to the Marching Owls. They had little time to get ready and were still impressive. After the game, the cheerleaders and dance team came over to the band, rocked to a couple of songs and sang the alma mater. It was very nice. But where was the football team? Pelini ought to start a new tradition of having the players join in this moment after each game and then ring the victory bell. It would be great for spirit and all involved.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.  I noticed the lights on the scoreboard trees too.  How hard can it be to get those lights working??  It is such a great feature, but one side NEVER stays lit up. 

Was it me or has the band gone down in size?

owlmart said

Was it me or has the band gone down in size?

We may be down 4 or 5 from last year. They can look smaller depending on where we lost the most instruments. The drumline is down 6 members this year (we were ENORMOUS last year) but we have a ton of trumpets and a very solid low brass section which makes  a big difference. (Did I just make it too nerdy in here? lol)

We lost a lot of students to graduation so we are very young this year in all section of the band. Now we just need to KEEP these kids for a few years and we'll be at 120 easily!

Any thought from you on why we can't really expand the band here in South Florida, especially with SO MANY good hs band programs?

I am sure there are many factors but what do you think should be done to grow the band to AT LEAST 200 ASAP?

GeorgiaOwl said

Any thought from you on why we can't really expand the band here in South Florida, especially with SO MANY good hs band programs?

I am sure there are many factors but what do you think should be done to grow the band to AT LEAST 200 ASAP?

Does the band offer official scholarships? Or is it just an extracurricular with the perks of going to away games?

The band has never been garunteed travel. Members do recieve a scholarship but depending on how many credits you take it for it might only offset the tuition price.

I think (as a former member now 3 years out) more local and statewide performances are needed to get high school kids to join. Problem is traveling takes money.

As far as away games go well the band is always an after thought. Even in state games were not a garuntee. And when your team makes a bowl game but doesnt send the band and instead gets a local high school to play why would kids want to join? Also the team performance can be a factor in retention. It's never fun to lose and most kids don't want to put in all the practIce and time commitments for not travel or benefits. :/

Does the band make any "exhibition" appearances at local band competitions during the year. All of the "normal size" bands up here do, Ga St. W. Ga., Jacksonville St., S. Ga. I have never seen UGA or GaTech do it though, I guess because they don't have to.
Gotta spend money to make money so to speak and to get your name and "BRAND" out there! Pun intended!

I just looked through the defensive game stats, anyone notice true freshman trevon coley had 4 tackles compared to Jimmy jeans 2 on the line? I know it is not the same as mcknight or hind's 9-10 tackles but that is impressive.

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FAUfasho said

owlmart said

Was it me or has the band gone down in size?

We may be down 4 or 5 from last year. They can look smaller depending on where we lost the most instruments. The drumline is down 6 members this year (we were ENORMOUS last year) but we have a ton of trumpets and a very solid low brass section which makes  a big difference. (Did I just make it too nerdy in here? lol)

We lost a lot of students to graduation so we are very young this year in all section of the band. Now we just need to KEEP these kids for a few years and we'll be at 120 easily!

Hoping that the Marching Owls make that mark.  They are such an important part of the game day experience!