FB: American Rivers Conference

[Wartburg Fan]

Congrat to all the winners , and hope there was no serious injuries to anyone.
With BV losing to Luther it makes it real interesting in the IIAC for the rest of the games. Every game will be important the rest of the way out to every team.
Now on a more serious note. My prayers go out to the Mercer family for their lost. I didn't not know the young man even thou my son played football with him at the Burg and he was in my daughter-in-Law's class. After being in Law enforcement for 23 yrs and investigating to many  of these actions, I still don't understand how anyone could do this.

[doolittledog]

Doolittle,

Great day for football.  I hope the apple picking went well for you today.  I hope you got to listen to some of the Spartans win today. 


Purple Heys, 

Sorry for your rams.  I heard they played pretty well for part of the game.  I hope Jr didn't get nicked up any more today.  Is there any chance you will be at the game next week.  If you come out I will have to seriously consider attending. 

Jr. DNP'd for the 2nd straight game.  He's frustrated, he's mad, and he is itching to get back on the field.   

I credit Cornell Staff's judgement in considering the player's health over the team's single game prospects as a parent.

As a fan, I sure hope they can get him back on the field this week...assuming he's ready.

Does he still get to travel with the team?  Dubuque is a short drive from Mt. Vernon.  If he is getting left at home on saturday I can see how he would really be upset.  Maybe sitting out 2 games will really channel his aggression and he will come out next week and be a terror on the field. 

How did the game sound yesterday?  Same old same old from the Rams?  Play well and then let mistakes cost them? 

[doolittledog]

For more meaningless (and not serious) attendance analysis...looking at averages...

3,828 Luther (Lutheran)
3,800 Wartburg (Lutheran)
3,400 Coe (Presbyterian)
3,175 BV (Presbyterian)
3,004 Dubuque (Presbyterian)
2,609 Loras (Catholic)
2,000 Central (Reformed)
2,000 Simpson (Methodist)
994  Cornell (Methodist)

So by that we can assume that Lutherans support their teams the best...Presbyterians aren't too bad...and Methodists must not like football

What would Central draw if they didn't have the 2nd best NCAA record since 1975???

With 3 straight crowds of 2,000...Simpson must have the most consistant fan base!!!

[Old Dutch]

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Mercer family and all involved in that terrible tragedy.

I agree Doolittle, be good to get JR back on the field,even if it is against the Dutch, Unfortunatly I just can't hope for too much success for him this week.

All this COY talk is very interesting,although impossible to pick this early.  I think we're headed for a 2,3 or even 4 way tie for the league this year.  

2 teams would be BV and whomever wins the Lutheran Bowl.

If Central runs the table, (beats Cornell, Loras, BV and Simpson - could happen?)  Luther beats the Warts, and loses to either Coe or Loras, its the Dutch in the tie.  I'm sure Simpson, Luther and Loras backers can also make the same argument.  Really makes all the games critical.  Either way, in a tie, Central won't be the AQ, and quite likely neither will Warty.  So BV, Luther, Loras, Simpson have a good chance - theirs your COY.

[Old Dutch]

For more meaningless (and not serious) attendance analysis...looking at averages...

3,828 Luther (Lutheran)
3,800 Wartburg (Lutheran)
3,400 Coe (Presbyterian)
3,175 BV (Presbyterian)
3,175 Dubuque (Presbyterian)
2,609 Loras (Catholic)
2,000 Central (Reformed)
2,000 Simpson (Methodist)
994  Cornell (Methodist)

So by that we can assume that Lutherans support their teams the best...Presbyterians aren't too bad...and Methodists must not like football

What would Central draw if they didn't have the 2nd best NCAA record since 1975???

With 3 straight crowds of 2,000...Simpson must have the most consistant fan base!!!

I wouldn't be so sure that the Reformed folks make up much of the Central fan base,  Sure we have the Veldhuizens, Van Arkels and Ver Meers, but a majority non V surnames.  Being German heritage, when I headed for Dutch Town my Dad did tell me I had some Dutch blood in me. Sometimes I feel like going to the Red Cross and giving it away though. 

[DBQ1965]

I noticed this morning that the DMR has deleted the "Other Colleges" link from its web-site.  Now they just carry news of the Hawks, Cyclones, Panther and Bulldogs.

A pox upon their house.

[DutchFan2004]

For more meaningless (and not serious) attendance analysis...looking at averages...

3,828 Luther (Lutheran)
3,800 Wartburg (Lutheran)
3,400 Coe (Presbyterian)
3,175 BV (Presbyterian)
3,175 Dubuque (Presbyterian)
2,609 Loras (Catholic)
2,000 Central (Reformed)
2,000 Simpson (Methodist)
994  Cornell (Methodist)

So by that we can assume that Lutherans support their teams the best...Presbyterians aren't too bad...and Methodists must not like football

What would Central draw if they didn't have the 2nd best NCAA record since 1975???

With 3 straight crowds of 2,000...Simpson must have the most consistant fan base!!!

I wouldn't be so sure that the Reformed folks make up much of the Central fan base,  Sure we have the Veldhuizens, Van Arkels and Ver Meers, but a majority non V surnames.  Being German heritage, when I headed for Dutch Town my Dad did tell me I had some Dutch blood in me. Sometimes I feel like going to the Red Cross and giving it away though. 

Don't forget there are Irish Dutch backers now!!!!!!!!!

[kohawkfan]

For more meaningless (and not serious) attendance analysis...looking at averages...

3,828 Luther (Lutheran)
3,800 Wartburg (Lutheran)
3,400 Coe (Presbyterian)
3,175 BV (Presbyterian)
3,004 Dubuque (Presbyterian)
2,609 Loras (Catholic)
2,000 Central (Reformed)
2,000 Simpson (Methodist)
994  Cornell (Methodist)

So by that we can assume that Lutherans support their teams the best...Presbyterians aren't too bad...and Methodists must not like football

What would Central draw if they didn't have the 2nd best NCAA record since 1975???

With 3 straight crowds of 2,000...Simpson must have the most consistant fan base!!!

What if you're a Lutheran who sends their kid to Coe?   

[doolittledog]

For more meaningless (and not serious) attendance analysis...looking at averages...

3,828 Luther (Lutheran)
3,800 Wartburg (Lutheran)
3,400 Coe (Presbyterian)
3,175 BV (Presbyterian)
3,004 Dubuque (Presbyterian)
2,609 Loras (Catholic)
2,000 Central (Reformed)
2,000 Simpson (Methodist)
994  Cornell (Methodist)

So by that we can assume that Lutherans support their teams the best...Presbyterians aren't too bad...and Methodists must not like football

What would Central draw if they didn't have the 2nd best NCAA record since 1975???

With 3 straight crowds of 2,000...Simpson must have the most consistant fan base!!!

What if you're a Lutheran who sends their kid to Coe?   

What if you grew up Methodist, went to a Presbyterian IIAC school, and am now Lutheran???  And have German, Dutch, Scots, Irish, Native American blood in your veins

I guess that means my kids could go to just about any school that would let them in

[warthog]

The visitors aren't helping the Wartburg attendance figures much. 

As I had stated before I was disappointed in the Cornell crowd at Walston-Hoover, but people here reminded me of the make up of the Cornell roster and the fact that they traditionally aren't very good.  OK, I guess that makes sense. 

That doesn't however explain the Loras turnout yesterday.  With a win they would have been right back in the mix for their first IIAC crown.  It is just a short drive on either US20 or IOWA3 from Dubuque to Waverly.  It turned out to be a nice fall day.  I'm thinking if I were a college student, I'd get some buddies together and take a road trip.

[warthog]

Perhaps the DMReg is changing.  It is no longer the newspaper Iowa depends on.  It is newspaper Iowans use as Depends if they haven't gone to the store.

[doolittledog]

One of my favorite college road trips was on a very similar day to yesterday when Dubuque played at Wartburg.  A bunch of us piled into a van and headed out to Waverly.  The game was not in doubt by halftime.  I ran into a high school friend of mine that was going to Wartburg.  We ended up in her dorm room that overlooked the football field.  Wartburg students were nice to us, we had a good time.  There were probably 50-60 UD fans total that day in Waverly.  Probably all but maybe 10 were UD students.  The others would have been parents of the few Iowa kids on the UD roster.  No members of the UD faculty or administration were there that day.  Out of an undergrad population of probably close to 800 at that time 50 or so isn't great, but not horrible.  Having so many non-Iowa kids meant you really had no parents making the trip, something that really adds to the fan count.  UD had an administration at that time that loathed athletics...so you never had them at games either...including home games.  

It also seemed from my memories that fans travelled more for basketball games than football games.  I can remember Simpson fans and others at UD basketball games.  Central is the only team that brought fans with them to Dubuque when I was there.  Now, I had usually had a few adult malted beverages at football games so perhaps my memories from that time period aren't entirely accurate anymore.  

It would be fun to see large travelling groups of each of the schools fan bases.  I know from the little I was able to see of the Central/UD game that the Spartans brought very few fans with them...maybe less that Cornell brought to Waverly...but Pella is a bit further away from Dubuque than Waverly.  

[doolittledog]

The Des Moines Rag might not cover small colleges any more.  But the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald does a pretty good job of covering the IIAC and Dubuque kids that go off to play at colleges across the country.  Here are some stories from todays paper.

http://www.thonline.com/multimedia/?id=1874

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=219837

http://www.thonline.com/article.cfm?id=219839

[DutchFan2004]

UD had only about 50 in the stands last week in Pella.  The attendance with the exception of the Wartburg game has not been great for the Dutch.  The trip from Sheboygan is a long one which may explain the home opener.  UD having no parent base to attend excuses them.  So having two out of the three home games with no traveling crowd has hurt attendance.  


I would say that the Dutch were well represented at Coe yesterday.  The one section was full for Central and we spilled to half of the other section.  I would say that there might have been 60% Coe fans and 40% Dutch there.  

[sportsknight]

A very bittersweet Homecoming yesterday in Waverly.  While it was great (as always) to see so many old friends on campus, and a Knight victory on the football field, you couldn't help but think of those that weren't there, especially Bryce Mercer and former Wartburg emeritus professor of communication arts Grant Price.

Bryce was in graduating class, and while I can't claim to have known him as well as others did, I did have the pleasure of hanging out with him a few times during our years in Waverly.  To say that Merce was fun-loving doesn't do him justice.  He will be sadly missed by all who knew him.  My sincerest condolences go out to those who knew him best, his family and former roommates (including knightlife06).

Grant Price was a giant of the broadcasting industry in the state of Iowa.  A Navy veteran who was just a couple weeks shy of his 86th birthday, Grant cultivated many highly successful broadcasting careers as the News Director at WMT/KGAN and KWWL and as a professor at Wartburg.  Its probably not much of an overstatement to say that each one of us has probably watched one of Grant's proteges on TV somewhere along the way.  I took Grant's "Introduction to Electronic Media" class winter term of my freshman year and I wish I still had my notes from that class, because it was easily one of the most informative course I ever took.  I also had the great privilege of working with Grant on a few of the interviews he conducted for the Archives of Iowa Broadcasting, a great passion of his after his retirement.  Spending a couple hours in a college car on the way to Des Moines or Cedar Rapids to interview some of the other big names of the industry really opened my eyes to just how much Grant loved his profession and all those around him.  One of the proudest moments of my college career came following one of our live football broadcast on Wartburg Television.  Grant, who was admittedly not the biggest sports fan in the world, told how profession our production looked.  To receive that compliment from a man of the stature of Grant made my year.  The world is truly a more incomplete place with the loss of Grant Price.