FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[AO]

Like shooting fish in a barrel...

#1.  A more philosophical question...you state that UST no longer fits the mold of a MIAC school.  You suggest that if UST wants to remain in the MIAC, then they need to act more like a MIAC school.  What is the nature of a MIAC school?  Aren't we all supposed to be striving for excellence?

BZZZ! Striving for excellence in retail distribution!  Take that, Mall of America, with your carbon heavy single person transport culture and gangsta wannabe shootout after school specials!

Point, game, set and match Johnnies!

BZZZ! The Mall of America didn't have near the number of gangsta wannabe shootouts until after the carbon haters got their choo choo train to connect to the Mall.  If you've seen Mall Cops: Mall of America, you'd figure out pretty quick that whether it's drunk, naked or violent, it got to the mall on the light-rail train.

[GoldandBlueBU]

So I guess there's a bit of the "if you can't beat 'em, act like they shouldn't even be part of the conference" sentiment present on this board, huh?   

[02 Warhawk]

So I guess there's a bit of the "if you can't beat 'em, act like they shouldn't even be part of the conference" sentiment present on this board, huh?   

No kidding...Shame on UST on experiencing some success, and wanting to strive for excellence   

[DuffMan]

So I guess there's a bit of the "if you can't beat 'em, act like they shouldn't even be part of the conference" sentiment present on this board, huh?   

SJU can't seem to beat Bethel, and I have never heard anyone say that Bethel shouldn't be in the MIAC. 

[USTBench]

Game in Winnipeg:

I was unable to make the game myself, but it appears UST faired pretty well in Winnipeg this past weekend, posting a score of 68 to 21. Of course, this info was fed to me second hand by a parent that happened to be in a restaraunt in GF.

He did say Matt O'Connell looked pretty decent. Very Tracy-esque.

That's good to hear. I think Matt will be just fine.  He's a pretty good athlete and has a great head on his shoulders.  Do you know who the backup is right now?

Not too certain who the back-up is at this point. I could be wrong but I don't think the rumors of Gopher-transfer/current Tommie cager John Nance being in the running for a QB spot hold much water. No one seemed to know what I was talking about when I brought it up.

Anyway, I agree Toney and Byrd may be getting the brunt of the carries this coming up year, and will be leaned on more heavily. Didn't seem like either one of them ran away with the #2 spot at RB last year. I would probably give Byrd a slight advantage when it came to ball security. Both of them are smaller, and elusive, but I'd like to see a "3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust" type emerge for short yardage situations.

[GoldandBlueBU]

So I guess there's a bit of the "if you can't beat 'em, act like they shouldn't even be part of the conference" sentiment present on this board, huh?   

SJU can't seem to beat Bethel, and I have never heard anyone say that Bethel shouldn't be in the MIAC. 

touché

I guess it just seems convenient that while there was certainly a strong dis-taste for UST from SJU fans previously, it was all good for them to be in the MIAC, so long as SJU was dominant.

Two consecutive years of losses seems to have some fans going off the deep end a bit.

From an outsider's perspective, the knee-jerk reaction to a changing of the guard in the conference has been entertaining on this board.  All of the hope and rumors of Caruso's departure, hating on his personality, deciding that UST flat out doesn't belong in the MIAC, let alone D3...  Who knows what the conference will look like 5-10 years from now in terms of who the powers are, but if it's someone other than SJU, will Johnnie fans still be crying in their beers?

[AO]

So I guess there's a bit of the "if you can't beat 'em, act like they shouldn't even be part of the conference" sentiment present on this board, huh?   

SJU can't seem to beat Bethel, and I have never heard anyone say that Bethel shouldn't be in the MIAC. 

Speaking of teams that shouldn't be in the MIAC, Hamline would have to be the first one kicked off the island.  The pipers were outscored 41-361 last season, and were shutout by Carleton, Macalester and Gustavus.  On the other hand, they managed to increase their average home attendance from 630 to 2309.   At that rate, if they avoid scoring entirely next year, they'll have to build a bigger stadium to handle all of the new fans.

[USTBench]

So I guess there's a bit of the "if you can't beat 'em, act like they shouldn't even be part of the conference" sentiment present on this board, huh?   

SJU can't seem to beat Bethel, and I have never heard anyone say that Bethel shouldn't be in the MIAC. 

touché

I guess it just seems convenient that while there was certainly a strong dis-taste for UST from SJU fans previously, it was all good for them to be in the MIAC, so long as SJU was dominant.

Two consecutive years of losses seems to have some fans going off the deep end a bit.

From an outsider's perspective, the knee-jerk reaction to a changing of the guard in the conference has been entertaining on this board.  All of the hope and rumors of Caruso's departure, hating on his personality, deciding that UST flat out doesn't belong in the MIAC, let alone D3...  Who knows what the conference will look like 5-10 years from now in terms of who the powers are, but if it's someone other than SJU, will Johnnie fans still be crying in their beers?

Sigh. Ever since I first found out about this site the conversation between UST/SJU was who put the better team on the field, coupled with some "Bennies are fat/Tommie gals are $lutty" dialogue. Then we'd talk about beer.

There wasn't much of a response I could make to the who was more successful on the football field so I'd get creative with my barbs about rotund Bennies, we'd have a good laugh, I'd get some light-hearted slam in response and I'd move on.

Now that UST has a few wins under its belt it's this constant criticism of asinine things that make no sense: Your buildings are too nice, your enrollment is too big, you spend your money on making your school look nice and somehow that is wrong, your core ethos is not the same as our Benedictine principals - therefore it is inferior, you will NEVER be college X thus, fundraising, improving campus aesthetics and emulating their development plan deserves criticism. Even contracting with a radio station and having our Coach making media appearances gets slammed, even though SJU/Gags has been doing the same thing for decades. 

I guess I never really got why I would mock SJU for their success. "Haha, Blake Elliot is awesome, your coach is the winningest coach of all time, you won the NCAA championship in '03, your campus is gorgeous and you have more Congressional delegates as alums! So lame."

So, in turn, telling UST that having a large endowment that affords them the opportunity to improve their campus facilities to attract a bigger/better pool of students/athletes is somehow wrong and should be mocked, makes no sense to me.

Next thing Vince Flynn will get slammed and people will come unglued when someone suggests he could have the same success as Tom Clancy.

[sfury]

I can say this: Flynn would be a better owner for the Vikings than Clancy was.

[Mr.MIAC]

So I guess there's a bit of the "if you can't beat 'em, act like they shouldn't even be part of the conference" sentiment present on this board, huh?   

SJU can't seem to beat Bethel, and I have never heard anyone say that Bethel shouldn't be in the MIAC. 

touché

I guess it just seems convenient that while there was certainly a strong dis-taste for UST from SJU fans previously, it was all good for them to be in the MIAC, so long as SJU was dominant.

Two consecutive years of losses seems to have some fans going off the deep end a bit.

From an outsider's perspective, the knee-jerk reaction to a changing of the guard in the conference has been entertaining on this board.  All of the hope and rumors of Caruso's departure, hating on his personality, deciding that UST flat out doesn't belong in the MIAC, let alone D3...  Who knows what the conference will look like 5-10 years from now in terms of who the powers are, but if it's someone other than SJU, will Johnnie fans still be crying in their beers?

Sigh. Ever since I first found out about this site the conversation between UST/SJU was who put the better team on the field, coupled with some "Bennies are fat/Tommie gals are $lutty" dialogue. Then we'd talk about beer.

There wasn't much of a response I could make to the who was more successful on the football field so I'd get creative with my barbs about rotund Bennies, we'd have a good laugh, I'd get some light-hearted slam in response and I'd move on.

Now that UST has a few wins under its belt it's this constant criticism of asinine things that make no sense: Your buildings are too nice, your enrollment is too big, you spend your money on making your school look nice and somehow that is wrong, your core ethos is not the same as our Benedictine principals - therefore it is inferior, you will NEVER be college X thus, fundraising, improving campus aesthetics and emulating their development plan deserves criticism. Even contracting with a radio station and having our Coach making media appearances gets slammed, even though SJU/Gags has been doing the same thing for decades. 

I guess I never really got why I would mock SJU for their success. "Haha, Blake Elliot is awesome, your coach is the winningest coach of all time, you won the NCAA championship in '03, your campus is gorgeous and you have more Congressional delegates as alums! So lame."

So, in turn, telling UST that having a large endowment that affords them the opportunity to improve their campus facilities to attract a bigger/better pool of students/athletes is somehow wrong and should be mocked, makes no sense to me.

Next thing Vince Flynn will get slammed and people will come unglued when someone suggests he could have the same success as Tom Clancy.

Awesome post.  It's not just a case of SJU fans critiquing nearly every aspect of UST.  Many actually get upset when UST fans celebrate their university's success.  For years SJU fans would talk about their alma mater as though Collegeville was the center of the universe.  They were all ready to "Johnnie up" and "go all in" because "the nation that is unrivaled" knows that no place on earth compares to the 56321.  Some especially zealous SJU fans would talk like a dip in John Gagliardi's bathwater could wash away sin and we therefore must prepare for his canonization.  Now, if UST fans express even a hint of pride due to UST's success they are labeled as "too big for their britches." 

[Retired Old Rat]

I have NO desire for UST to leave the MIAC.  Thing tend to go in cycles.  They're on an up cycle.  There will be a down cycle.  Then I'll gloat again.   

This phenomena is not unique to the MIAC.  My youngest daughter graduated from UW Madison this past Sunday.  You want to talk about a place that likes to toot its own horn.  I could go the rest of my life without ever again hearing about "The Wisconsin Idea" or someone chanting "On Wisconsin."

I hope everyone feels that their school is the best.  And they are.  All for different reasons.

[OzJohnnie]

Sigh.  Sledging UST is a childish entertainment, obviously.

May I highlight that this recent discussion started at UST prompting?

Perhaps we might return to the “UST could go D-I FCS” debate... [The University's] number one goal is to “develop a reputation for excellence beyond the Catholic higher education community and in the broader academy nationally and internationally.”... UST could take it to the next level by going D-I FCS.

And a number of Johnnies said, "Again?"

What sort of meds are they handing out at Georgetown cocktail parties these days?  I want some.

Enough of the BC of the Midwest lovestory already.

Some folks noticed a fight heating up:

And with the approaching climax, some Johnnies chose the better part of valor:

I made a resolution that I would be try to more Christian this year.

Others, not so much:

I'll give you my two cents...

Like shooting fish in a barrel...

And then with astounding audacity, the very person that raised the discussion blames the world for talking about it:

It's not like UST is just mopping the floor with DIII teams across all sports.  Some DIII schools have far more resources than UST and have historically had more dominant athletic programs (look at Williams, for example).  Are people calling for these schools to leave DIII?   

So, reap what you sow.  Is UST too good for us or not?  Rather than trying to help we'll let you argue it out among yourselves.

[faunch]

Sigh.  Sledging UST is a childish entertainment, obviously.

May I highlight that this recent discussion started at UST prompting?

Perhaps we might return to the "UST could go D-I FCS" debate... [The University's] number one goal is to "develop a reputation for excellence beyond the Catholic higher education community and in the broader academy nationally and internationally."... UST could take it to the next level by going D-I FCS.

And a number of Johnnies said, "Again?"

What sort of meds are they handing out at Georgetown cocktail parties these days?  I want some.

Enough of the BC of the Midwest lovestory already.

Some folks noticed a fight heating up:

And with the approaching climax, some Johnnies chose the better part of valor:

I made a resolution that I would be try to more Christian this year.

Others, not so much:

I'll give you my two cents...

Like shooting fish in a barrel...

And then with astounding audacity, the very person that raised the discussion blames the world for talking about it:

It's not like UST is just mopping the floor with DIII teams across all sports.  Some DIII schools have far more resources than UST and have historically had more dominant athletic programs (look at Williams, for example).  Are people calling for these schools to leave DIII?   

So, reap what you sow.  Is UST too good for us or not?  Rather than trying to help we'll let you argue it out among yourselves.

Agreed

[stanbob]

Awesome post.  It's not just a case of SJU fans critiquing nearly every aspect of UST.  Many actually get upset when UST fans celebrate their university's success.  For years SJU fans would talk about their alma mater as though Collegeville was the center of the universe.  They were all ready to "Johnnie up" and "go all in" because "the nation that is unrivaled" knows that no place on earth compares to the 56321.  Some especially zealous SJU fans would talk like a dip in John Gagliardi's bathwater could wash away sin and we therefore must prepare for his canonization.  Now, if UST fans express even a hint of pride due to UST's success they are labeled as "too big for their britches."

All this from a card carrying member of @ 6 months.

[Mr.MIAC]

Awesome post.  It's not just a case of SJU fans critiquing nearly every aspect of UST.  Many actually get upset when UST fans celebrate their university's success.  For years SJU fans would talk about their alma mater as though Collegeville was the center of the universe.  They were all ready to "Johnnie up" and "go all in" because "the nation that is unrivaled" knows that no place on earth compares to the 56321.  Some especially zealous SJU fans would talk like a dip in John Gagliardi's bathwater could wash away sin and we therefore must prepare for his canonization.  Now, if UST fans express even a hint of pride due to UST's success they are labeled as "too big for their britches."

All this from a card carrying member of @ 6 months.

I didn't know this was the only forum for interaction with SJU fans.