Fans are beyond apathetic toward Lamar football

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[Guest mffl]

I was going to say the community seems to be pretty excited with the reinstatement of football, then I saw this article was from 1985. 

[Silsbee92]

ouch..... ???

[UNLV]

Forget Bob West. He was part of the problem back then.

BTW, I saw Nicholls st bus going up Calder today. Anyone knows why?

[TexasTerror]

BTW, I saw Nicholls st bus going up Calder today. Anyone knows why?

Yes. There are some make-up tennis matches happening in Beaumont featuring A&M-CC, SLU and Nicholls. Make-up matches (which are required if they impact standings) tend to happen at neutral sites midway between to help schools with budget/travel issues.

[Guest coachacola]

Well, fans weren't apathetic in 1979 or 1980 when they averaged over 16K per game.  When they did win the fans showed up, but the problem was they didn't win much.  As several of Bob West's other old articles on LU football back then have pointed out, they hired some coaches that doomed Lamar to losing seasons.  Also, back in the 80's the head basketball coach was also the A.D. so you know where the focus was at.  And with rumors of the them killing the program of course there was apathy. 

For football to work now all Lamar needs to do is take football seriously and they'll win enough to get the fans to show up.

[HouTexan]

What is the significance of the PA News running this story again? Not enough depressing things going on in PA these days? Gotta try to drag something else down like LU Football (a positive in the area)?

[UNLV]

I still see a link between Lamar playing IA and a huge drop in attendance after LU joined IAA.

Fans here see IAA-FCS as jv ball.

[TexasTerror]

I still see a link between Lamar playing IA and a huge drop in attendance after LU joined IAA. Fans here see IAA-FCS as jv ball.

Well, if that is the case - when LU is back in their usual spot at the bottom of the SLC standings - am I allowed to call your team a middle school program, since you can't make the JV cut?  ???

[Guest coachacola]

What is the significance of the PA News running this story again? Not enough depressing things going on in PA these days? Gotta try to drag something else down like LU Football (a positive in the area)?

Every Friday the PA News publishes one of Bob West's old articles.  This one just happened to be about LU football.

[Guest coachacola]

I still see a link between Lamar playing IA and a huge drop in attendance after LU joined IAA.

Fans here see IAA-FCS as jv ball.

Well, at the end of the article Bob West does say the area really didn't accept LU basketball until they were competing with the big dogs so there is some truth in that.  Back then Lamar was new to D1 football so they didn't have a chance to solidify their stay in D1A when the NCAA (or more specifically the big football schools) were forcing changes so schools like Lamar couldn't compete with them.  The SLC was relatively new to D1 and didn't have large fan bases like the established conferences like the SWC, so the NCAA added new rules that forced schools and conferences to have 30K stadiums or average 17K a year (or something like that).  Remember the CFA (College Football Association)?  Schools like UT and Oklahoma, Notre Dame didn't want to share any TV money, so that made it even harder for LU to fund football.

Then with the success of LU basketball around that time, I think LU put all their eggs in that basket.  It worked for a while, but they started making some bad decisions and hires, plus they were hurting financially, and LU ends where they are today.  I'm happy that times have changed because now LU can be successful in football.

[txstar]

I wouldn't waste your time even reading that garbage...Obviously he is a malcontent.  Interest in LU Football will be just fine...I think all will be well...they need to win!  We have to get the students involved...we need to tailgate...make this thing huge!  Let's maintain our positive outlook and see this program get off in the right direction!

[smith]

What is the significance of the PA News running this story again? Not enough depressing things going on in PA these days? Gotta try to drag something else down like LU Football (a positive in the area)?

"Apathy is almost too mild a word to describe the Golden Triangle’s collective attitude toward Lamar football. Trying to find a man on the street who’s bought or would buy a ticket to a Cardinal football game is like trying to find somebody in Vidor who’d ask Muhammad Ali for his autograph."

I guess he wanted everyone to remember he stereotyped Lamar fans as apathetic and the town of Vidor as racist.

[UNLV]

I still see a link between Lamar playing IA and a huge drop in attendance after LU joined IAA. Fans here see IAA-FCS as jv ball.

Well, if that is the case - when LU is back in their usual spot at the bottom of the SLC standings - am I allowed to call your team a middle school program, since you can't make the JV cut?  ???

It is still jv ball reguardless where LU ranks. And since SHSU can't compete against the new kids, UCA, that makes SHSU already pop-warner...