lm77 said

GeorgiaOwl said

Were you there, did you not see the PATHETIC team we put on the field that day. SHUTOUT at not only your home opener but your "HOME" opener! And not by Kentucky (ha ha) but by Western Kentucky. I love Howard but THAT WAS SOME AWFUL FOOTBALL BACK THEN!

Posted On: Dec 8th 2013, 8:16 PM #323574

This is a big part of it. Our first game in history was also pretty bad, losing to Slippery Rock from a lower division and only getting a few points (on special teams). The stadium opener was much worst – getting shutout by WKU. We should have been ready for that game. We didn't even get a single point! Games like that have a lasting impact of the (real) thousands of people that attended out of curiosity. The product was bad, and that won't excite people to come back. Unfortunately, there were still thousands of seats still available for the stadium opener.

UCF opened their stadium with a sellout hosting TEXAS (with a legitimate sponsor in place as well)! Their administration has truly put the resources together to support a legitimate team, and look at the results. We have not yet had a marquee team in the stadium, although I hope that will change when Miami visits in 2015. FIU has had some major opponents at their stadium as well. Fans – most of which are nowhere near as dedicated or engaged as we are – need something to cheer for. They haven't had it since Rusty Smith was QB.

It's strange to think about it now, but FAU and UCF were peers athletically until as recently as 2005, when both were in the Atlantic Sun together.

Posted On: Dec 10th 2013, 5:01 PM #323766