FB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[formerd3db]

I would have to agree that in the past, Adrian has been the "big choke" team to use your own phrase.  For sure, I think we all agree that it will be a close game.  However, I will believe [er] in Adrian it if/when I see it - i.e. an Adrian win.  Then, of course, we can say the same about Trine - they have to proove to the rest of us they are "the real deal".

[formerd3db]

I would also just say that, with a quick glance at the scores, really the teams are comparable as to their results.  Adrian wins agains some pretty poor teams, Defiance, Bluffton, Lake Erie, blows out Kazoo.  The Alma and Albion games are about the same for both teams; Trine has very close games against Kazoo and Hope, Adrian loses to Capital.  So overall, at least at a general glance, the stage is set and both have reached a good point of preparation.  Any team can have a bad day or two, but the bottom line is finding a way to win.  Trine did that in their close games.  I am not saying Adrian couldn't put this one away easily because that could very well happen; and...I have not seen Adrian play (I missed the Hope game which obviously was a blowout), but have seen Trine and Hope play.  Rather I'm just saying that I think both Trine and Adrian are where they want to be as far as preparation for the game.

Also, if there is not a huge crowd for this one at Adrian, then something is amiss down there are your school/community.  Let's hope there is a huge crowd and nice weather for a great MIAA championship game, like has happened several times in history over recent decades for "the really big ones".  

[ADAWGISADAWG4LIFE]

formerd3db:

Huge crowds have been lacking at Adrian for several years, with the exception of Homecoming and the season openers.  I have been to several games this year and the crowds I have seen at the on campus stadium are lacking compared to what we used to draw to the old Maple Stadium.  The biggest lack of involvement seems to be from the students at the college themselves, with the exception of HC and the opener the student section is a virtual waste land, sparsely populated.  THe stands seem to be fairly full but the student body at Adrian appears to be apathetic.  I wish the best for the Bulldogs this Saturday and actually I think work will afford me the opportunity to be at the game and get paid to see it, but the team and coaches deserve fuller stands, and a more rowdy crowd to show the support for what is a fine program.  Championship implications dont seem to be that big for attendance either, hopping in the way back machine to Nov. 15th 2003, we (Adrian) at 8-1 were playing Kzoo @ home, a win and we would split the MIAA title (Hope would lose that day) and more than likely would have gotten an at large for the playoffs.  Needless to say we did not go on to win, and we played in front of about 900 fans as opposed to the several thousand we were used to earlier in the season and the 6000 or so that were at HC that year.

All that being said I see an Adrian win this week.  The team is fast and physical well coached on all sides and is playing like they have the desire.  This seems to be the year that everything falls in the right place, a strong D to go with a strong O.  I see it being a tight game, but I see this being an experience for Tri State ( I cant call it Trine, thats like call IAA the FCS) in getting over the hump.  Adrian has been there several times in the past and this Bulldog thinks this will be their year!

[formerd3db]

DAWG:

Good to hear from you and thanks for your insight as a former player and coach there as to the attendance issue at Adrian.  That is too bad as from a historical standpoint, Albion and Hope have always pretty much been the leaders among their MIAA colleagues in having the most solid support from not just the students, but moreover the community with regards to attendance numbers even in "down or lean" years (including not just at the "specialty days" i.e.  HC or Community or Parent Day, etc.).

Let's hope that this Saturday might be an exception to the "usual" at Adrian and thus a huge crowd  show up.  That just might happen with Trine being at such an improved level, with more "awareness" and respect in the league having been built of recent.  It would be neat to see a 5000-6000 crown there.  I recall playing in front huge crowds similar to that for the really "big" games (I remember when my brother played at Alma, they played at Ferris in front of about 11,000 people one year - awesome!) and also recall the MIAA championship game of Albion at Alma back in the mid-1990's when over 8,000 people showed up.  As I recall, that was the highest ever for attendance at an MIAA game, although I personally believe there were way more than that actually present.  Although schools do a good job and try the best they can at keeping attendance records, I believe that there are times when additional people have attended games and not been counted for whatever (variety of inadvertant) reasons.

Anyway, I do hope it will be a great game Saturday.  It would be one to see, however, I will be at the Alma @ Hope game of course!

[formerd3db]

Mr. Ypsi:

Intriguing point re: the league name-change .  Yet, if they didn't do it when these other schools joined in the recent past (Defiance, St. Mary's, Wisc Lutheran), I can't imagine that would ever go through let alone be considered.  I realize you were saying this mostly in jest, but on the other hand, it is not a "weird" potential thought at all - actually a reasonable suggestion.  However, the MIAA from the historical standpoint would not go for this I would dare say (Just MHO, but then, what do I know !!!)

[MIAAfan44]

I listened to the Alma broadcast last week and they seemed to be okay. I didn't have a lot of time.

Who should I tune in this week for the big game? Trine or Adrian? Do they both have radio broadcasts online?

I listened to the Alma broadcast last week and they seemed to be okay. I didn't have a lot of time.

Who should I tune in this week for the big game? Trine or Adrian? Do they both have radio broadcasts online?

http://88xradio.com/sports.php

I also recommend Trine's broadcast ... Aaron Coyle does an excellent job ... As a matter of fact, I always listen to the archive of our games, whether it's football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, etc., against Trine ... Aaron always mentions something about one or more Olivet athletes that I had never been told.

Thank you! I'll tune them in. 

[70_dc_alum]

formerd3db:

Huge crowds have been lacking at Adrian for several years, with the exception of Homecoming and the season openers.  I have been to several games this year and the crowds I have seen at the on campus stadium are lacking compared to what we used to draw to the old Maple Stadium.  The biggest lack of involvement seems to be from the students at the college themselves, with the exception of HC and the opener the student section is a virtual waste land, sparsely populated.  THe stands seem to be fairly full but the student body at Adrian appears to be apathetic.  I wish the best for the Bulldogs this Saturday and actually I think work will afford me the opportunity to be at the game and get paid to see it, but the team and coaches deserve fuller stands, and a more rowdy crowd to show the support for what is a fine program.  Championship implications dont seem to be that big for attendance either, hopping in the way back machine to Nov. 15th 2003, we (Adrian) at 8-1 were playing Kzoo @ home, a win and we would split the MIAA title (Hope would lose that day) and more than likely would have gotten an at large for the playoffs.  Needless to say we did not go on to win, and we played in front of about 900 fans as opposed to the several thousand we were used to earlier in the season and the 6000 or so that were at HC that year.

All that being said I see an Adrian win this week.  The team is fast and physical well coached on all sides and is playing like they have the desire.  This seems to be the year that everything falls in the right place, a strong D to go with a strong O.  I see it being a tight game, but I see this being an experience for Tri State ( I cant call it Trine, thats like call IAA the FCS) in getting over the hump.  Adrian has been there several times in the past and this Bulldog thinks this will be their year!

Shame I used to love to play at the old Maple Stadium and have to deal with the students in the late 90's.  of course Defiance was typically week 1 or 2, but it was great getting off the bus and there were already a hundred or so drunken Adrian students on couches harasing us as we came of the bus.  To be even more impressed is they did their homework and could call out players by name and try to get into their kitchen at 10am.

D3DB thanks for the call out on your list didnt you hear Defiance now has a winning streak! while we are still "poor" thank goodness we are no longer homeless poor!!

[formerd3db]

Shame I used to love to play at the old Maple Stadium and have to deal with the students in the late 90's.  of course Defiance was typically week 1 or 2, but it was great getting off the bus and there were already a hundred or so drunken Adrian students on couches harasing us as we came of the bus.  To be even more impressed is they did their homework and could call out players by name and try to get into their kitchen at 10am.

D3DB thanks for the call out on your list didnt you hear Defiance now has a winning streak! while we are still "poor" thank goodness we are no longer homeless poor!!
[/quote]


70_dc_alum:

You are welcome!   In all seriousness, though, while I realize there were "issues" to some when Defiance was in our MIAA, I, for one, appreciated them being in and overall, it did benefit all the teams including Defiance and served a purpose (i.e. the NCAA automatic bid, which the MIAA would not have had were it not for Defiance coming in those years).  On the other hand, I truly feel that the HCAC is the better fit for Defiance if not just from a historical and geographical standpoint.

On the other topic, glad to see Defiance has a win streak going now!  We'll see if that holds true for us (i.e. Hope) this weekend, although I dare say it will be a tough task with Alma coming into our "house".  I'll see some of my former colleagues (but still friends) from there this weekend!

Good luck to all the teams this weekend, and, as always, safe driving to all of you who will travel to attend the games.  Let's hope we are lucky and have at least one more great weather Saturday for this season.  That would be wonderful.

[miaafbfan]

D3DB:

I remember that Albion @ Alma game back in 1994.  Albion won, and then went on to win the national championship.  We were told there were 8,000 on hand for the game, but it was hard to tell.  All seats at Bahlke Stadium were full, and hundreds of people were standing along the fence.  Alma hasn't seen a crowd close to that since.  A couple of games have gone over 4,000.  Attendance this year has not been high, aside from a nice crowd for Homecoming.  They have organized a student section, but results are mixed. 

[formerd3db]

D3DB:

I remember that Albion @ Alma game back in 1994.  Albion won, and then went on to win the national championship.  We were told there were 8,000 on hand for the game, but it was hard to tell.  All seats at Bahlke Stadium were full, and hundreds of people were standing along the fence.  Alma hasn't seen a crowd close to that since.  A couple of games have gone over 4,000.  Attendance this year has not been high, aside from a nice crowd for Homecoming.  They have organized a student section, but results are mixed. 

miaafbfan:

Good to see you back on the board and thanks for sharing your comments.  Indeed, that was a fantastic game, wasn't it?!!! (Even though Alma lost  ).  For sure as you say, the crowd was standing room only all over the place.  I truly believe the attendance was well more than 8,000.  Regardless, as I recall, the MIAA has considered it the largest crowd ever to witness an MIAA[/i] game.

It is neat to see games with over 4,000, and especially when organized student sections are present for the various schools.  Heck, I remember even at Kazoo about 3 years ago (perhaps it was 4 - I'd have to check) they actually had over 4,000 in attendance for their Homecoming fb game against Hope - that was fantastic for Kazoo.

Anyway, as I mentioned, it will be interesting to see what the crowd is for Adrian/Trine championship.  Also, the Hope/Alma game this weekend is always a, shall we say, spirited contest! .  I'll be able to see some of my "old buddies" from there (coaching and training staffs).  Tomorrow's forecast is rain, but I'm not sure about Saturday - I hope it is going to be clear.   

[formerd3db]

BTW friends.  It would be nice to see our board get to at least 200 pages by the end of this fb season.  Let's see if we can do it with two weeks left and at least one week for the NCAA playoffs with whoever represents our league in the first round.

[bulldogalum]

BTW friends.  It would be nice to see our board get to at least 200 pages by the end of this fb season.  Let's see if we can do it with two weeks left and at least one week for the NCAA playoffs with whoever represents our league in the first round.

That's a pretty tall order, d3db!  Hopefully Saturday's games generate a lot of talk.

[DBQ1965]

BTW friends.  It would be nice to see our board get to at least 200 pages by the end of this fb season.  Let's see if we can do it with two weeks left and at least one week for the NCAA playoffs with whoever represents our league in the first round.

I am an IIAC follower living in west Michigan and I usually check out what MIAA folk are saying on here.  So ... I will do what I can to help you get to 200 pages.

And because I tend to pull for the underdog ... and Trine has been one for so long ... I hope they win tomorrow.

[70_dc_alum]

Agree the MIAA was not the right fit for DC, actually from a travel perspective it was about the same or a little better becuase with the HCAC you still have places like MSJ in Cincy (3hr drive) and Hanover which is another 1-1.5 hrs past Cincy.  only advanatge is Bluffton which is about 20 minutes and a rivalry.  From a school perspective the HCAC is a better fit.  Defiance recruits Michigan heavily and got a lot more from there than indiana so being in the MIAA helped with that, but a lot of that was becuase the ties our coaches have to Michigan. I liked the MIAA, but also played it the 2 years we were inn and the 2 years before when we were trying to get in so we pretty much played the schedule...I still follow MIAA and with pride have my 1st team MIAA plaque in my office to remember the good old days prior to being buried in a PC 10 hrs a day!!

thanks for the note and good luck this weekend.  i am pulling for at least 1 Michigan team with the Lions.  as long as they keep thier current streak i dont have to worry about the Bengals screwing up another #1 pick!!

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Hope has closed their campus until Tuesday morning due to a Norovirus outbreak - including cancelling all on-campus athletic activities. 

http://www.hope.edu/hopetoday/