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My own petty protest

oldcougar77

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Apr 21, 2004
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I always make my Varsity Club donation in May or early June. After the spring football game fiasco this year, I've decided to cut it by 10%. I'm going to send along a note to Fred explaining that I expect a spring football game as part of my overall football package. If IU can't deliver, I'm going to adjust accordingly.

It wasn't just the irritation of the last-minute cancel. It was the lack of initial promotion and then seeing that a select group was indeed allowed to be there. It kind of solidifies for me that the athletic department was looking for a way to not have to put in the effort from the get-go.

A couple hundred bucks less is piss-dribble for Fred and the VC I know but it will make me feel better to at least make a symbolic stand.
 
Ouch . . .
And that's a big part of the problem at the top..., no one takes the 15 to 20,000 hardcore football fans who donate at the sea level rate and yet do all the other things that makeup the true foundation of a fanbase seriously; they simply take us for granted...

Sure you can blow us off, laugh at us, and ignore us but you do so often enough, you just might find that's it's only you and your couple of thousand pals looking up at close to 50,000 empty seats...
 
I always make my Varsity Club donation in May or early June. After the spring football game fiasco this year, I've decided to cut it by 10%. I'm going to send along a note to Fred explaining that I expect a spring football game as part of my overall football package. If IU can't deliver, I'm going to adjust accordingly.

It wasn't just the irritation of the last-minute cancel. It was the lack of initial promotion and then seeing that a select group was indeed allowed to be there. It kind of solidifies for me that the athletic department was looking for a way to not have to put in the effort from the get-go.

A couple hundred bucks less is piss-dribble for Fred and the VC I know but it will make me feel better to at least make a symbolic stand.
Those were recruits, their families, and former players. There are always former players and recruits at practices, even though they’re closed to the public. They had to play going one direction the entire day because there wasn’t really any more room for fans behind the end zone. Actually, the guests were well up into the end zone, hence why they didn’t go that way and started every drive at the 25. I don’t think anyone on the staff was looking to play inside, going one way because of field room limitations, after being forced inside all spring.

What fiasco? Many teams canceled altogether. Some programs don’t do it anymore in general because they don’t want players to get hurt. There was a threat of thunderstorms all day. They didn’t want to deal with clearing the field for lightning, so they made a decision and stuck with it. Baseball did the same thing even though they probably could’ve played. IU said on Tuesday or Wednesday that they would make a decision by Friday at noon. They did. Weather is notoriously difficult to predict. I realize it ended up being ok out, but any threat of lightning is a HUGE deal for those hosting events. You cannot play and you have to clear the stands and field. It’s a liability and logistical issue that I don’t blame any school for wanting to get ahead of. Especially when it’s just a scrimmage.

Also, it’s a free practice game. What exactly is this 10% you’re adjusting? They’ve been promoting the game on social media for weeks, and announced the usual activities when they usually do. You can do what you want, I just think this is very silly. It makes me feel like our fans are way out of touch. It’s been canceled before. Michigan and Wisconsin just flat out canceled it and I highly doubt they are seeing some of these bizarre reactions.

The stream sucked. We should be complaining about that. Call up the BTN and pester them, because it sucked.
 
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Fans matter. Hope they don’t lose that fact amid all that tv $$$.
Spring games get canceled for weather all the time.

This is ludicrous. You really think they were scheming to play inside and having to go one direction all day because the 200 invited guests were crammed into the end zone behind them?
 
When you get a chance, compare Michigan's weather to Bloomington's Saturday. New thing, everytime lightning strikes in Ann Arbor, we play our games in Mellencamp Pavilion going only one direction. If they can't play outside, neither can we!
 
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The problem from my personal point of view was that earlier in the week the Athletic Department had stated that the game would be moved to Mellencamp in the case of inclement weather, with no mention of it being closed to the public or any mention of a shutdown of the pregame activities (the only ones that I cared about involved the kids football skill stations which easily could have been set up inside Mellencamp on virtually the same time schedule 9am registration, skill stations run 9:30 to 11:00).
It wasn't until Friday that they changed their tune and said it's completely closed to the public.

Now I have no problem with the recruits family's , the Teams family's, and the coaches family's being there. I think that's great. Given the way this administration promotes the game maybe that's the way it should always be...Just limit it to that group and let the Athletic Department get on with their 6 month nap..

My Big problem is where they lead fans with young kids to believe that the game would just be moved indoors and little else would change right up into Friday afternoon.

Disappoint me...,I can deal with that... I'm a 59 year INDIANA fan... I've learned to deal with a little disappointment...

Disappoint my grandson (for no good reason)...,I'm pissed, putting it quite mildly...

With even a minimum of kindergarten level planning most of this C.F. could have been easily avoided.

Given that the Athletic Departments mouth piece on here has called us everything from silly, to out of touch, to (my personal favorite) "crazy old" guys... it shouldn't surprise anyone that this sort of half _ssed result is what we ended up with...

To say that that outfit lacks professionalism is a major understatement!
 
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Those were recruits, their families, and former players. There are always former players and recruits at practices, even though they’re closed to the public. They had to play going one direction the entire day because there wasn’t really any more room for fans behind the end zone. Actually, the guests were well up into the end zone, hence why they didn’t go that way and started every drive at the 25. I don’t think anyone on the staff was looking to play inside, going one way because of field room limitations, after being forced inside all spring.

What fiasco? Many teams canceled altogether. Some programs don’t do it anymore in general because they don’t want players to get hurt. There was a threat of thunderstorms all day. They didn’t want to deal with clearing the field for lightning, so they made a decision and stuck with it. Baseball did the same thing even though they probably could’ve played. IU said on Tuesday or Wednesday that they would make a decision by Friday at noon. They did. Weather is notoriously difficult to predict. I realize it ended up being ok out, but any threat of lightning is a HUGE deal for those hosting events. You cannot play and you have to clear the stands and field. It’s a liability and logistical issue that I don’t blame any school for wanting to get ahead of. Especially when it’s just a scrimmage.

Also, it’s a free practice game. What exactly is this 10% you’re adjusting? They’ve been promoting the game on social media for weeks, and announced the usual activities when they usually do. You can do what you want, I just think this is very silly. It makes me feel like our fans are way out of touch. It’s been canceled before. Michigan and Wisconsin just flat out canceled it and I highly doubt they are seeing some of these bizarre reactions.

The stream sucked. We should be complaining about that. Call up the BTN and pester them, because it sucked.

thank you Mr Press Secretary.

this took no logistics brilliance, just state fri that pre game activities would be at Mellencamp or MS, depending on weather, and playing the game in MS would be weather permitting. plan accordingly.

absent weather permitting, the game would be at Mellencamp, and closed to the public.

everybody has 24/7 access to weather radar, as does IU.

the weather was great all afternoon. much better than many spring games i've been to, and there was absolutely no need to make a call a day ahead.

and not only was the game ruined for fans wanting to attend, but also for fans hoping to catch and record on BTN.
 
I always make my Varsity Club donation in May or early June. After the spring football game fiasco this year, I've decided to cut it by 10%. I'm going to send along a note to Fred explaining that I expect a spring football game as part of my overall football package. If IU can't deliver, I'm going to adjust accordingly.

It wasn't just the irritation of the last-minute cancel. It was the lack of initial promotion and then seeing that a select group was indeed allowed to be there. It kind of solidifies for me that the athletic department was looking for a way to not have to put in the effort from the get-go.

A couple hundred bucks less is piss-dribble for Fred and the VC I know but it will make me feel better to at least make a symbolic stand.

Who was the select group?
 
Who was the select group?
Recruits, families, and former players.

Anyways the weather was good all day. If IU plans on a better football Saturday experience then they need to make a bigger deal out of the spring game. IDK what schools rbb is talking about when he said they don't have spring games anymore. There are ways to grow the fanbase and after recruiting classes like the one IU just had people want to see because they are excited.

I posted in another thread I wondered how many people would show up not knowing the thing was cancelled. My son and I were literally ready to jump in the car and I checked this board first only to be disappointed. It was an awful late decision. Someone else mentioned they were flying in. That would suck.
 
I always make my Varsity Club donation in May or early June. After the spring football game fiasco this year, I've decided to cut it by 10%. I'm going to send along a note to Fred explaining that I expect a spring football game as part of my overall football package. If IU can't deliver, I'm going to adjust accordingly.

It wasn't just the irritation of the last-minute cancel. It was the lack of initial promotion and then seeing that a select group was indeed allowed to be there. It kind of solidifies for me that the athletic department was looking for a way to not have to put in the effort from the get-go.

A couple hundred bucks less is piss-dribble for Fred and the VC I know but it will make me feel better to at least make a symbolic stand.
Good protest.

My personal protest will be to not attend the FIU game this year. I went 2 years ago and had a great time. I had planned on going this year. But with the heat and everything, I don't want to put my personal safety at risk. LIke the IU Administration, I'm just doing it out of concern for 'fan safety'.

I've been so-so on Fred. He's good at building things. He gets personally involved in cheerleading, which I like - he does like the limelight. But this move showed a total disregard for the IU football fan.
 
My take is that this decision was made with regard to player and fan safety, and I still believe this.
I agree, and before someone accuses me of being a “mouthpiece for the Admin” , I’m not. Long time fan (50+ years) and financial contributor, I live in the Chicagoland area ,and planned to come. I appreciate them making the decision , in advance, so I didn’t make a 3.5 hour drive for nothing. Yes, the weather may have turned out ok, but that wasn’t what was predicted and the overriding concern has to be safety for all. Anyone who truly believes they just “really” didn’t want to put forth the effort to have the game , and get fans there to enjoy it , is just wrong.
I get being disappointed, I was too, but this anger is misplaced. Pulling donations and threatening non attendance ultimately just hurts those that deserve it the most, the players.
 
I always make my Varsity Club donation in May or early June. After the spring football game fiasco this year, I've decided to cut it by 10%. I'm going to send along a note to Fred explaining that I expect a spring football game as part of my overall football package. If IU can't deliver, I'm going to adjust accordingly.

It wasn't just the irritation of the last-minute cancel. It was the lack of initial promotion and then seeing that a select group was indeed allowed to be there. It kind of solidifies for me that the athletic department was looking for a way to not have to put in the effort from the get-go.

A couple hundred bucks less is piss-dribble for Fred and the VC I know but it will make me feel better to at least make a symbolic stand.
If we all did that, they might notice. Publicly they would blame something else.

Our family is celebrating my wife's Birthday today because my son and I were supposed to be in Btown on Saturday.

I will no longer plan to go to the Spring game. If I have all my Spring projects around my property done (unlikely) and nothing else comes up, I'll go last minute. They never wanted the game. Maybe Allen didn't want to let teams scout us.

The football program and athletic department is run by amateurs. Why ahould we ever expect they will build a winning program?
 
The football program and athletic department is run by amateurs. Why ahould we ever expect they will build a winning program?

It’s been ten years under Freddy Limelight and the football program has two bowl appearances and zero winning seasons. It also irks me that Fred will take all of the credit if Archie is successful.

I only go to games if I can get free tickets. Not paying money for this s**t.
 
Ohio State didn't cancel their spring game, but they moved it up by two hours hoping to miss the rain. However, the potential of rain still reduced attendance. Last year about 80,000 attended and this year it was down to about 41,000.
 
I agree, and before someone accuses me of being a “mouthpiece for the Admin” , I’m not. Long time fan (50+ years) and financial contributor, I live in the Chicagoland area ,and planned to come. I appreciate them making the decision , in advance, so I didn’t make a 3.5 hour drive for nothing. Yes, the weather may have turned out ok, but that wasn’t what was predicted and the overriding concern has to be safety for all. Anyone who truly believes they just “really” didn’t want to put forth the effort to have the game , and get fans there to enjoy it , is just wrong.
I get being disappointed, I was too, but this anger is misplaced. Pulling donations and threatening non attendance ultimately just hurts those that deserve it the most, the players.
Anyone who reads my posts here knows that I'm not a guy who bashes Fred Glass. But I think the whole spring game situation was badly handled this year. From the beginning it felt like an afterthought - like something the athletic department really didn't want to do but felt obligated to. What happened Friday seemed to me to be Glass seizing on an excuse he was looking for all along to not deal with a crowd and the hassle of opening the stadium.

I happen to think the spring game should be a huge deal. Every year. It should be a big event designed to celebrate a marquee sport, to schmooze season ticket holders and donors, to recruit new fans, and to showcase for recruits the fun of being in Bloomington for 4 years. There should always be a Plan B for our notoriously unpredictable weather. An alternate time/day for the same weekend. Reserve Assembly Hall for the youth activities if they need to be indoors and if thunderstorms threaten, move the scrimmage to Mellencamp and set up a closed circuit feed to AH where all interested fans can watch out of the threat and from comfortable seats. Change the format of the game to suit the limitations of the practice facility and without the need for people to stand on the sidelines or in back of the endzone.

In other words, plan for it and execute it on the spot if need be so that fans can plan to make the trip "hell or high water" and still have a great experience. With proper planning there is no reason the athletic department could not have committed to a full schedule of activities yesterday with alternate plans like those I mentioned earlier ready at a moment's notice if the weather turned. What happened Friday is inexcusable in my humble opinion.

One of the things I worry about is that the return of basketball success and interest will manifest in football becoming an afterthought from December through August. I may be way off base, but that's what this weekend felt like to me. It could have been a great day for a community happening and a showcase for IU athletics in Memorial Stadium Saturday. Instead it turned into a family birthday party that the rest of us could skype into if we didn't have anything better to do. Not only that, but the feed was being delivered to us distant relatives by one of the 12-year-old cousins holding his laptop above his head to capture the honored guest cutting the cake and opening presents.
 
My take is that this decision was made with regard to player and fan safety, and I still believe this.


"what about the children"?

sorry, but you obviously don't live in or near Btown.

there was no safety issue. there were no thunderstorms.

it was a gorgeous afternoon for football.

had there been weather related issues, they could have dealt with that at the time, and everyone would have understood.

and like i said, everyone has 24/7 weather radar available to them, and those making a long drive could make the call themselves as to whether they wanted to chance making that long drive.

it rains and storms in Indiana every yr.

people planing anything both out of town and outdoors, make this same call anytime they plan to attend any outdoor activity that requires any travel, be it playing golf, outdoor concert, going fishing, visiting Brown County or any state park, attending a little league game, football game, etc.

they get up that morning. check the radar and forecast, and decide from there whether to chance the drive or do something else.
 
Anyone who reads my posts here knows that I'm not a guy who bashes Fred Glass. But I think the whole spring game situation was badly handled this year. From the beginning it felt like an afterthought - like something the athletic department really didn't want to do but felt obligated to. What happened Friday seemed to me to be Glass seizing on an excuse he was looking for all along to not deal with a crowd and the hassle of opening the stadium.

I happen to think the spring game should be a huge deal. Every year. It should be a big event designed to celebrate a marquee sport, to schmooze season ticket holders and donors, to recruit new fans, and to showcase for recruits the fun of being in Bloomington for 4 years. There should always be a Plan B for our notoriously unpredictable weather. An alternate time/day for the same weekend. Reserve Assembly Hall for the youth activities if they need to be indoors and if thunderstorms threaten, move the scrimmage to Mellencamp and set up a closed circuit feed to AH where all interested fans can watch out of the threat and from comfortable seats. Change the format of the game to suit the limitations of the practice facility and without the need for people to stand on the sidelines or in back of the endzone.

In other words, plan for it and execute it on the spot if need be so that fans can plan to make the trip "hell or high water" and still have a great experience. With proper planning there is no reason the athletic department could not have committed to a full schedule of activities yesterday with alternate plans like those I mentioned earlier ready at a moment's notice if the weather turned. What happened Friday is inexcusable in my humble opinion.

One of the things I worry about is that the return of basketball success and interest will manifest in football becoming an afterthought from December through August. I may be way off base, but that's what this weekend felt like to me. It could have been a great day for a community happening and a showcase for IU athletics in Memorial Stadium Saturday. Instead it turned into a family birthday party that the rest of us could skype into if we didn't have anything better to do. Not only that, but the feed was being delivered to us distant relatives by one of the 12-year-old cousins holding his laptop above his head to capture the honored guest cutting the cake and opening presents.
Well 77, I enjoy your posts , but just happen to disagree here, and that is ok ,we are all entitled to our opinions. The scenarios that have been laid out by some as alternatives aren’t always as easily done as they are being made out to be. And even if they are pulled off in some fashion , someone will be complaining because it wasn’t what they were expecting blah, blah, blah.
As far as football being an “afterthought”, in my view, when hasn’t it been at IU? This comes from a football first fan, my father helped the football program waaay back in the Pont years. I have season football and basketball tickets, but frankly would choose for football to succeed first, if I had to choose. How many IU fans would say that ? We have posts above saying they would only go to a football game if they got “free” tickets, how many of our fans say that about Bball ?
I don’t know FG well, but have met him on several occasions . I do have friends that know him well, and I am confident the football program is extremely important to him. He was in Memorial Stadium as a kid through the same years I was ,and yearns for the type of success we all experienced in 1967. One can certainly debate if his guidance of the Athletic Department is correct, is it perfect ? No, but I truly believe this decision was not made to make anyone mad or because they “ didn’t want to open the stadium”. Maybe rather than bitching on a message board, those that feel this ruined their day should submit their ideas to FG via email on how they could/should have alternatives to cancelling the day to see if some of those ideas are actually viable.
All I know is this , for those that truly care about football , withholding attendance and money only hurts the players and coaches.
 
Well 77, I enjoy your posts , but just happen to disagree here, and that is ok ,we are all entitled to our opinions. The scenarios that have been laid out by some as alternatives aren’t always as easily done as they are being made out to be. And even if they are pulled off in some fashion , someone will be complaining because it wasn’t what they were expecting blah, blah, blah.
As far as football being an “afterthought”, in my view, when hasn’t it been at IU? This comes from a football first fan, my father helped the football program waaay back in the Pont years. I have season football and basketball tickets, but frankly would choose for football to succeed first, if I had to choose. How many IU fans would say that ? We have posts above saying they would only go to a football game if they got “free” tickets, how many of our fans say that about Bball ?
I don’t know FG well, but have met him on several occasions . I do have friends that know him well, and I am confident the football program is extremely important to him. He was in Memorial Stadium as a kid through the same years I was ,and yearns for the type of success we all experienced in 1967. One can certainly debate if his guidance of the Athletic Department is correct, is it perfect ? No, but I truly believe this decision was not made to make anyone mad or because they “ didn’t want to open the stadium”. Maybe rather than bitching on a message board, those that feel this ruined their day should submit their ideas to FG via email on how they could/should have alternatives to cancelling the day to see if some of those ideas are actually viable.
All I know is this , for those that truly care about football , withholding attendance and money only hurts the players and coaches.
No problem. I have no issue with people who see things differently than I, especially if they are rational and civil. I don't plan to boycott attending certainly, and if I withhold anything financially (I will probably relent after time to reflect) it won't be permanent. But I must say I was dismayed with the whole under-promotion of the spring game this year. I honestly felt like the athletic department wasn't as invested in the event as it should be.

For sure I will send an email with my opinion on what I would like to see done to better promote the event and some thought on contingency plans to make sure fans can get a great spring game experience regardless of weather. I think with better long-range planning what happened this year is easily avoided in the future.
 
I'll add one more post about it and then move
on to more interesting football topics...

The Athletic Department made very little effort to promote the game. They gave the date and then later added a time then...,nothing..., until a few days ahead of the game they finally confirmed (officially) the details of the game. Fine... If they don't want to make any effort in promoting it, well it's not too terribly bright, but that's their prerogative...

The problems begin, at least for my family, and evidently several others, when on April 11th, three days before the game, the Official INDIANA FOOTBALL site: IUhoosiers.com (Football page) put up an article which read (in part): "With Saturday's forecast currently calling for rain, a final decision will be made by Noon on Friday whether the game will be played outdoors at Memorial Stadium or indoors in the Mellencamp Pavilion."

Goes on to give an extremely detailed breakdown of the Youth Football Clinic, the Tailgate Party/Fan and Kids Zone and the game itself.

Nothing, zip, nada...,about the potential for shutting the entire thing down to the public in case of rain, just the implication that it would go on and that it would be moved to Mellencamp...

Now I was going to take my grandson and a friend of his and they were psyched. Seemed like common sense that they'd go ahead and run the kids skill stations in Mellencamp even if it was drizzling out, given that they were scheduled a full hour and a half ahead of the game... I should have known better (DWS)... Needless to say they were disappointed when the whole thing fell thru. Now they got over it rapidly and moved on to more pressing matters: practicing dribbling a basketball...

Me, not so much...,as far as rapidly getting over it...

If the University is going to bother to host stuff like this they need to do two things: they need to promote it like they are serious about it, and they need to set up contingency plans so most of the activities can go on rain or shine.

Perhaps most importantly, they need to be able to clearly communicate that they intend to shut it down to the public if they move it to Mellencamp. That is NOT what they did with their communication on 4/11/18. I know that for certain because I printed their 4/11 article to have a reference to the activities times and I'm holding it in one hand while I peck this post out...

Now I'm NOT going to discontinue supporting INDIANA FOOTBALL because of what occurred (and I'd hope no one else does either) but I am NEVER going to trust the Indiana Athletic Department again when it comes to making any family plans... The AD showed me the value that he puts on his football fan base by his approach to this fiasco...

For me, at least, it's easy to separate the Athletic Department from the Football program because historically it's almost as if they really never have cared about Football...I was hoping Fred Glass was different but his approach to the Spring Game was much less than impressive...(in my opinion)...
 
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The comments posted here certainly reflect a complete frustration with Fred Glass and the athletic department in general, and rightly so.

This board is made up of perhaps the most diehard Indiana football people on planet earth. We have a very good gauge on the pulse of the program. The spring game wasn't advertised well leading up to it. There was minimal and I mean minimal buzz surrounding it.

This was a critical spring game in the sense that fans/boosters wanted to check out the new freshman, 4* QB from Florida and see how he fits in the picture. They could've promoted the spring game to decent success using that theme alone.

Does it take a working man to hand them advertisement props???
 
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Major dissapintment all the way around. Takes some of the excitement out of the upcoming season, at least for me. If something happened to interrupt midnight madness or Hoosier hysteria or whatever they are calling it these days do you think it would have been handled the same?
 
Wow. Some of these posts make me sad. Withhold money if you want, but to not attend a game in protest when the Coaches and players are working their butts off trying to build a winning program is beyond petty in my opinion. Attend the darn games because you support the football players. Wear a t-shirt with a picture of Glass and a large X if you want, but support the people who really matter.
 
My final (hopefully) comment on this. The few thousand that would have shown up for the Spring game ad looked forward and planned for this since our disappointing loss to Purdue. It is how many of us got over the lack of a bowl game. Outside of a snow storm or an actual thunderstorm, I (we) were going to show up. The threat of a thunderstorm was not going to keep me away because I can read a weather forecast.

My forecast in Evansville called for possible storms in the early a.m. hours and rain moving out mid morning. There was to be a dry period with storms possible after 8 p.m. Bloomington was not much different. This information was available at the time the game was cancelled. By Friday evening, our forecast called out the storms had weakened and we would just get rain and wind overnight and a decent Saturday.

Those few thousand that would have shown up like we have in the past in worse conditions are the diehard fans. They buy the season tickets, contribute to the Varsity Club and to specific or general academic programs. The Athletic Department did not make an apology that I saw and certainly did not take responsibility for cancelling the game when it turned out to be a good day for football.

There now exists more mistrust of the football program and the diehard fans feel like fools for scheduling their lives around April 14. Well, I'm not scheduling my life around September 8. If there is a wedding, or my neice's birthday party, I'm doing that instead. I feel a responsibility to show up and support the program. I actually believe the administration needs to insist FIU comes to Bloomington and make September 1 the first home game. Our athletic department is weak and would never do that. We will act like an inferior program and take what scraps we can get.
 
Wow. Some of these posts make me sad. Withhold money if you want, but to not attend a game in protest when the Coaches and players are working their butts off trying to build a winning program is beyond petty in my opinion. Attend the darn games because you support the football players. Wear a t-shirt with a picture of Glass and a large X if you want, but support the people who really matter.
This has caused diehards to adjust their priorities. I usually have to miss a wedding or a birthday party to attend the first game because I feel the team needs the support. I was wrong. They don't give a sh!t if I attend as long as I buy a ticket, donate to the school, join the Varsity Club and Alumni Association. The AD made it clear how he values those diehard fans that show up rain or shine.
 
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This has caused diehards to adjust their priorities. I usually have to miss a wedding or a birthday party to attend the first game because I feel the team needs the support. I was wrong. They don't give a sh!t if I attend as long as I buy a ticket, donate to the school, join the Varsity Club and Alumni Association. The AD made it clear how he values those diehard fans that show up rain or shine.

Fred Glass is not stupid. There is no way he purposely would alienate the small group of diehard fans IU has. A decision was made and it turned out it was the wrong call. Sadly, no person can predict, with 100% accuracy, things like the weather.
 
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Fred Glass is not stupid. There is no way he purposely would alienate the small group of diehard fans IU has. A decision was made and it turned out it was the wrong call. Sadly, no person can predict, with 100% accuracy, things like the weather.
I saw the day before that there would be a huge window to play the game and there might be some leftover drizzle at the start of the game, but the afternoon was going to be free from rain. What information did Fred Glass look at? The decision had to be made with information that was 24 - 48 hours old.

Just called the AD office. I requested they own their mistake and do a better job of treating the diehard fans they disparately need. I also told therm that FIU should be in Bloomington on 9/1 or cancel the series. It's time to act like a B1G program and not a MAC school. I also told the girl I will be waiting for a comment from the AD on both matters.
 
There now exists more mistrust of the football program and the diehard fans feel like fools for scheduling their lives around April 14. Well, I'm not scheduling my life around September 8. If there is a wedding, or my neice's birthday party, I'm doing that instead. I feel a responsibility to show up and support the program. I actually believe the administration needs to insist FIU comes to Bloomington and make September 1 the first home game. Our athletic department is weak and would never do that. We will act like an inferior program and take what scraps we can get.
It seems most people agree this could've been handled better. I'm in that camp. But to jump from scheduling issues associated with the spring game to an overall "mistrust of the football program" is ludicrous. Shouldn't the focus be on what is happening substantively with respect to IU football? We had a great recruiting season and signed a very good class, we added a respected and effective S&C guy, and we've got two grad transfers (Linder and Dawkins) coming in who look to make important and immediate contributions.

If you're willing to pull your support for the team and players (who were not responsible for what happened on Saturday) at the home opener, so be it. But tying your displeasure to the location for the IU/FIU game in September is a stretch, and arguing that we "take what scraps we can get" is simply ridiculous.
 
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But tying your displeasure to the location for the IU/FIU game in September is a stretch
Yeah, that one's a head scratcher. They fubared the spring game, so all of a sudden FG must demand that FIU give up a previously scheduled home game and come here instead?
 
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Yeah, that one's a head scratcher. They fubared the spring game, so all of a sudden FG must demand that FIU give up a previously scheduled home game and come here instead?

He's talking about FIU using the hurricane (they were already in Alabama and had already played one game there) as an excuse to bail on our Home game with them last year...

Butch knew what he was doing... He saw a game that could damage his season, and more importantly his recruiting, and worked the angles and Fred fell for it...

He's correct in thinking that the FIU game should be here and the moved back game should be their (FIU's) home game. Any other Power 5 program in the country would have won that negotiation...
 
He's talking about FIU using the hurricane (they were already in Alabama and had already played one game there) as an excuse to bail on our Home game with them last year...

Butch knew what he was doing... He saw a game that could damage his season, and more importantly his recruiting, and worked the angles and Fred fell for it...

He's correct in thinking that the FIU game should be here and the moved back game should be their (FIU's) home game. Any other Power 5 program in the country would have won that negotiation...
Gotchya. I had completely forgotten about the hurricane cancellation.
 
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It seems most people agree this could've been handled better. I'm in that camp. But to jump from scheduling issues associated with the spring game to an overall "mistrust of the football program" is ludicrous. Shouldn't the focus be on what is happening substantively with respect to IU football? We had a great recruiting season and signed a very good class, we added a respected and effective S&C guy, and we've got two grad transfers (Linder and Dawkins) coming in who look to make important and immediate contributions.

If you're willing to pull your support for the team and players (who were not responsible for what happened on Saturday) at the home opener, so be it. But tying your displeasure to the location for the IU/FIU game in September is a stretch, and arguing that we "take what scraps we can get" is simply ridiculous.
I'm looking at where my priorities should be. I won't make plans to attend an event they don't care enough to sell tickets to attend.

This game reminds me of how we gave away an NIT men's basketball game and how we sold a home football game. I have been on the fence about Glass. I now want him to leave.
 
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Selling the Penn State game in 2010 and playing it in basically what was a road environment in a season we went 5-7 was absolutely infuriating. That game could have been the difference between bowling or sitting at home during Christmas.
 
He's talking about FIU using the hurricane (they were already in Alabama and had already played one game there) as an excuse to bail on our Home game with them last year...

Butch knew what he was doing... He saw a game that could damage his season, and more importantly his recruiting, and worked the angles and Fred fell for it...

He's correct in thinking that the FIU game should be here and the moved back game should be their (FIU's) home game. Any other Power 5 program in the country would have won that negotiation...
Glass has made mistakes during his tenure, but I'm not buying the theory that he was played by Davis with respect to the cancellation of last year's FIU/IU game. Irrespective of where the team was at the time, the hurricane was a natural disaster and extremely disruptive to millions of families in Florida. Some things are bigger than football, and it's not hard to fathom that their staff (and some players) needed to attend to matters at home.

We're making up that game, in Bloomington, in 2024.

I've made plans to attend the game in Miami this year and am looking forward to it. And, while Miami is several hours (by car) from Tampa Bay where we've got a nice recruiting pipeline going, the additional exposure for IU football in south Florida can't hurt.
 
Yeah, that one's a head scratcher. They fubared the spring game, so all of a sudden FG must demand that FIU give up a previously scheduled home game and come here instead?
The FIU game should be moved regardless of how they screwed up the Spring Game. The only connection to the Spring Game is Glass will make a half-hearted attempt to do what is best for the football program.

The person I talked to in the athletic department says they are working on moving the game, but it is complicated. I'm sure it is. I read her comment as it is hard and Glass would have to be strong to do it. Don't hold your breath or make any plans for 9/1.
 
Glass has made mistakes during his tenure, but I'm not buying the theory that he was played by Davis with respect to the cancellation of last year's FIU/IU game. Irrespective of where the team was at the time, the hurricane was a natural disaster and extremely disruptive to millions of families in Florida. Some things are bigger than football, and it's not hard to fathom that their staff (and some players) needed to attend to matters at home.

We're making up that game, in Bloomington, in 2024.

I've made plans to attend the game in Miami this year and am looking forward to it. And, while Miami is several hours (by car) from Tampa Bay where we've got a nice recruiting pipeline going, the additional exposure for IU football in south Florida can't hurt.
Bloomington might have another thunderstorm in the forecast a week before the FIU game and Glass might cancel travel to the game to be safe.

Of course I am being sarcastic, but you don't live up here to know how bad of a decision Glass made. Imagine if the game you are looking forward to is cancelled by old or bad information. I can get over missing the game. The stupid decision behind it is more disturbing and it becomes another in Fred's tenure..
 
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He's talking about FIU using the hurricane (they were already in Alabama and had already played one game there) as an excuse to bail on our Home game with them last year...

Butch knew what he was doing... He saw a game that could damage his season, and more importantly his recruiting, and worked the angles and Fred fell for it...

He's correct in thinking that the FIU game should be here and the moved back game should be their (FIU's) home game. Any other Power 5 program in the country would have won that negotiation...
Thank you for explaining this. I thought everyone would understand my point. I'm glad you get it!
 
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