BCS Talks Bring Many Questions
Yesterday was a big day for the University of Central Florida’s Athletic program, with the news that the Big East will be expanding their conference by two members. Although this doesn’t mean an invitation to the Big East is a “sure thing”, you can start to get your hopes up. The talk of joining a BCS conference has been in the works for UCF for the past couple of years, but there are big questions still left to be answered.
“Does UCF deserve to be in a BCS conference?”
The answer for the UCF Athletics program is yes.
Athletic Director Keith Tribble has made some tough decisions in recent years to put this program in the right position to join a BCS conference. The firing of long time baseball Coach Bergman, hiring Coach Rooney, and firing long time basketball Coach Speraw, and hiring Coach Jones were tough but the right choices none the less. Each one of these decisions made both the baseball program and basketball program better.
The facilities for the UCF Athletics program are one of the best in the country. The UCF Arena is second to no other College Arena in the state, and Brighthouse stadium is new and needs work but has plenty of room to grow, with plans to expand to 60,000 seats, once the BCS money is acquired.
“But the Big East wants a proven winning Football program and can’t rely on UCF’s potential.”
The difference between this UCF team and the UCF teams of old is that this team dominates in the trenches. What this means is UCF’s offensive line and defensive line are so tremendously more talented than any other team in the CUSA, and even the BCS teams they played this year, that it seems as though UCF has taken the next step to BCS talent. When you see Darius Nall and Bruce Miller drive an offensive lineman of the opposing team 5 yards into the backfield, then throw them to the ground like a rag doll, you know its not fair to these other teams. The UCF football program is set up to be more successful over the next five years than Houston’s, Villanova’s and some current teams in the Big East. (That means you USF… among others) They still trail TCU’s football program, but we could reach that level someday.
But I still have one question I believe needs to be answered.
“Do UCF fans deserve to support a team in the BCS Conference”
My answer is simply… No.
After surveying the rest of the stadium on Saturday during arguably the most important game in UCF’s young football history, I came to the conclusion that not enough people care about this athletic program.
Granted, we are a young program and we still have many years ahead of us to build the kind of alumni base and boosters to support a BCS program. Even with our lack of a large Alumni and support from the community, our students should still be doing everything they can to be going to these games to support our team. There are many factors to why a majority of our students don’t support the football team, and that’s why I compiled a list for why some of you don’t go to games.
1) You’re still crying about not getting accepted into UF, FSU, or Miami.
I know a lot of you went to Jacksonville this weekend to see a mediocre UF team (by their standards) play a mediocre Georgia team. Granted there is a great amount of partying to be done in Jacksonville but you should never ignore the importance of a game like the one we had vs. ECU. This student body has too many people walking around campus with other Florida schools apparel, and it needs to stop. Get over it and stop your whining about how you’re not good at standardized testing, because its time for you to support the school you pay thousands of dollars to attend.
2) Way too many geeks who don’t care about sports attend UCF.
The only geeks who care about sports seem to be UF football fans and Duke basketball fans. UCF gets the geeks who cant stand the sight of a football, but that needs to change. If you see a hippie on campus these next two weeks please invite him/her to the next UCF football game vs. Southern Miss.
3) Too many Greeks go to the bars to get drunk and watch the game.
You no longer need to be inebriated during UCF games in order to watch them. The least “Frat” thing to do is be unsupportive of your football team, just ask any SEC school. Sorry Library and Devaneys.
4) A majority of UCF students are inexperienced tailgaters.
UCF is notoriously known for partying a little too hard. It’s a marathon not a sprint and you shot gunning 2 Four Lokos is not only unhealthy, but down right stupid. Drink beer during the tailgate, and if you truly do have a drinking problem get a flask, along with joining Alcohol’s Anonymous for help. And ladies, leave the jeans and t-shirts at home and purchase a sundress for game days. Not only do you look better in a sundress, but they also breathe better.
5) UCF Football games lack Tradition.
It seems as though the only tradition we think we have is zombie nation but I’m afraid to tell you this, but almost every other school does this. We don’t have the chants or the songs or the post game rituals that other schools have but, that’s because we’re still young. I encourage and implore everyone out there to be creative and to think of NEW traditions for our Knights. My idea is that we can start with implementing a Greek section to the stadium across from the Press Box next to Student seating where Fraternities and Sororities can pair up and sit in rows together for the games in one unified section.
All of these infractions by the UCF student body need to be addressed in order to support a BCS conference team. I understand that our competition isn’t the best and you still think about the Knights of old but times have changed and you need to change with them. It’s time for you to evolve UCF students. Be supportive of your football team and prepare your Saturday around attending UCF home football games!
