Lafayette paper: 100,000 expected for tailgating today

[FirefightnRick]

Just got a call from an NT alumn in Lafayette, says this was reported in the paper this morning. They are also being told the 32,000 seats for the game sold out already.

Now that's school pride!

Rick

[foutsrouts]

Wow! 100k? Maybe I shoulda put this one on my roadtrip list. A little winning can go a long way. We need to take the wind out of their sails beginning first quarter.

[MeanGreenGlory]

Wow! 100k? Maybe I shoulda put this one on my roadtrip list. A little winning can go a long way. We need to take the wind out of their sails beginning first quarter.

Yes. If we don't take their fans out of the game early it's going to be a really tough environment.

[THOR]

but you have 68,000 people not going into the game...wasteful...

[Eastwood Eagle]

Great job for them. Should be a fun game!

[FirefightnRick]

I've said for years it's one of the greatest road trips you'll ever have. Been there numerous times.

We are very fortunate to have ULL in our conference and one of, if not THE best reason to be in the Subelt.

Rick

[SilverEagle]

In case some of you haven't heard THIS is the out of town game you should always try to attend. Those people know how to party! And the best part is that they INSIST that you join them. Plus, they are DAMN GOOD COOKS!

[greenminer]

Great thread. Great for the Belt. Let's enjoy what we have, however much longer it lasts.

[Keith7]

They must not be Ranger fans.

[oldguystudent]

In case some of you haven't heard THIS is the out of town game you should always try to attend. Those people know how to party! And the best part is that they INSIST that you join them. Plus, they are DAMN GOOD COOKS!

Anytime you try to walk from one end of a southern Louisiana tailgate to the other, you'll be 15 pounds heavier and blowing a .21 before you reach the end. I've not made it to Lafayette yet, but I have been to LSU for baseball. At least I think I've been to LSU for baseball. Good Lord.

[risinggreen]

but you have 68,000 people not going into the game...wasteful...

For their sake, they sell beer in the stadium so at least nobody has an excuse to leave early. Sure never seen that many Cajuns at one place at one time. There has got to be a joke there somewhere.

[MDH]

This is what happens when you schedule winnable OOC games, take note Rick.

[oldguystudent]

This is what happens when you schedule winnable OOC games, take note Rick.

Quiet you! Don't you have some M-3 reconciliations to go take care of or something?

[greenminer]

This is what happens when you schedule winnable OOC games, don't compete with playoff MLB NFL NHL NBA, or live within 30 miles of 3+ other D1/FBS programs. Take note Rick.

FIxed to make sure everyone understands how awesome Lafayette is.

[CaribbeanGreen]

We can analyze it all we want... but when ULL was at the bottom of the standings, they weren't selling out and didn't have 1/5th that for tailgating.

At the end of the day, the math is pretty simple.

[Green P1]

We can analyze it all we want... but when ULL was at the bottom of the standings, they weren't selling out and didn't have 1/5th that for tailgating.

At the end of the day, the math is pretty simple.

But it's still like the middle of the day. Math is hard.

[CaribbeanGreen]

But it's still like the middle of the day. Math is hard.

OMG.

I'm not the guy in the next cubicle here.

[SilverEagle]

We can analyze it all we want... but when ULL was at the bottom of the standings, they weren't selling out and didn't have 1/5th that for tailgating.

At the end of the day, the math is pretty simple.

....and we didn't even come close to 100K for our opening week-end....with a NAME OPPONENT. Even in their worst times, they still have better overall fans than us. They also have a win over A&M (1996)....have we?

[greenminer]

We can analyze it all we want... but when ULL was at the bottom of the standings, they weren't selling out and didn't have 1/5th that for tailgating.

At the end of the day, the math is pretty simple.

It is simple, and I'm agreeing we need to win first. I only point out how difficult it has been for us to match the numbers LaLa is getting after a 6 game stretch.

I just can't shake the memories of our crowds; even during our Belt title years, we were getting 16 - 18K per game....ten thousand less what LaLa is averaging right now. And this is at the same time the Mavs and Rangers were barely turning around their playoff fortunes. It could be even harder this go-round; who knows what the DFW scene will truly feel like if SMU and TCU are the AQs, and we're not?

Heck, even during year four of our run, the last two home games were destroyed by inclement weather. We had something like 7K and 10K for those games.

ULM Box

ASU Box

It is so cool to read those kind of tailgating numbers. Great for them!

[CaribbeanGreen]

....and we didn't even come close to 100K for our opening week-end....with a NAME OPPONENT. Even in their worst times, they still have better overall fans than us. They also have a win over A&M (1996)....have we?

No, but we beat Texas Tech (1997), who had a better record than the '96 A&M team. Pointing to a win over a 6-loss Aggie team 15 years ago as reason for ULL's crowd? Maybe I'm missing something.They've had a lot of bad crowds and losing football since then.

I'd venture to say if they had opened this season against Houston, they wouldn't have had 100k tailgating. If they were 0'fer, they wouldn't have had the 6th largest crowd in history last week against Troy... and yes, by the way, the 6th biggest crowd in school history wasn't a sellout.

Is Lafayette a great SBC roadtrip? Do they have really good, fun fans? Absolutely. They're winning. That's why it's this big. That's why we haven't spoken about "those big ULL crowds!!" in the past several years.

Any difference between us and them (which wasn't even what I was referring to) is where you can start looking at external factors (DFW vs. lafayette, etc.)

[risinggreen]

....and we didn't even come close to 100K for our opening week-end....with a NAME OPPONENT. Even in their worst times, they still have better overall fans than us. They also have a win over A&M (1996)....have we?

They're the only team in The Belt that did not either go down to or come from D1AA. That continuity along with being the only game in town, has just got to help the morale of their fans even though they have really not been very successful. Hate to say it, but the lack of directional issues (kinda) is another positive that they have going for them.

[CaribbeanGreen]

It is simple, and I'm agreeing we need to win first. I only point out how difficult it has been for us to match the numbers LaLa is getting after a 6 game stretch.

I just can't shake the memories of our crowds; even during our Belt title years, we were getting 16 - 18K per game....ten thousand less what LaLa is averaging right now. And this is at the same time the Mavs and Rangers were barely turning around their playoff fortunes. It could be even harder this go-round; who knows what the DFW scene will truly feel like if SMU and TCU are the AQs, and we're not?

Heck, even during year four of our run, the last two home games were destroyed by inclement weather. We had something like 7K and 10K for those games.

ULM Box

ASU Box

It is so cool to read those kind of tailgating numbers. Great for them!

Good points all - but I have more faith this time around. Do you recall what our gameday atmosphere was like during the title runs? It was HORRENDOUS. No tailgating to speak of, no scene, no pageantry. It was a dismal college football experience, no matter how much fun the diehards may have been having.

It's so much bad timing... if we had had that run today, with Apogee - or even at Fouts post-tailgating opening up - we'd have seen much, much larger crowds. There's no doubt that atmosphere plays a role.. but it's winning above all else.

Edited October 15, 2011 by CaribbeanGreen

[CaribbeanGreen]

They're the only team in The Belt that did not either go down to or come from D1AA. That continuity along with being the only game in town, has just got to help the morale of their fans even though they have really not been very successful. Hate to say it, but the lack of directional issues (kinda) is another positive that they have going for them.

When did they ditch the SELA name anyway? Late 90's?

You bring up an interesting point, though.... I don't know that there's a school in major college football with more of an identity crisis than UL-L/M.... seemingly constant name changes, uniform/logo changes, major complex on the whole Louisiana vs. Lafayette thing... yet through all that (and all the branding/naming/NTSU crap we argue about all the time), they start winning and everything's a-ok.

[UNT90]

It''s their homecoming (looking forward to the day when almost every belt school doesn't schedule us as their homecoming game), they are 5-1, and there is some kind of huge festival going on.

Doubt they have 100k, but not surprised they will have a large tailgating scene.

We need to win some football games, starting toxay. A win today puts 5k extra butts in the seats next week.

[CaribbeanGreen]

Another point to be made here - we overrate the "big name" wins around here.

ULM beat Alabama just a few short seasons ago. Nick Saban's Alabama, no less... not a down year from a lame duck coach like our Tech win or ULL's Aggie win. Meanwhile, it did next to nothing for their program, their attendance, or their now fired staff.

ULL has a 1-score home win over Kent State, a 17 point home win over Nicholls State, and a couple of Belt wins. Now, with a chance to seal their dream bowl once and for all within their reach and homecoming on tap, the crowds are huge.

It's about CONSISTENT winning, being in the conference race, and having the games mean something come November. I'd rather get drilled by Clemson and be in the Belt race than vice versa 10 times out of 10.