FB: Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Ice Bear]

It was such a pleasure to play against a Class program like St. Johns!  I absolutely loved the camaraderie and sportsmanship that was on display all game long between two very equal teams (and programs!).  Offering a hand to help up the other team... the guy actually taking the offered hand... patting guys on the butt after a good play... it was so nice to see.  Linfield has had some issues with that this year and to have an entire game filled with guys playing the game the way it should be played was a joy to watch.

I'm not sure that I would have wanted to have played a healthy Johnnie squad.  I could tell that you had a lot of guys playing hurt which is unfortunate.

Did I hear correctly that the guy who was moving on with his life after the 2020 season to become a teacher actually came back to play this year?   

I was at the 2002 Johnnie victory at Maxwell Field (aka the Catdome) and have always admired their program.  Our brackets were a D3 playoff joke as was Central and Wheaton... no way 4 top 8 teams should be playing in the Sweet 16 but that is life at D3.

[/b]

Ice Bear says this is really a great ****ing post. Ice also enjoyed the mutual respect he saw on the field today. It says a lot about the players, coaches, and programs as a whole.

Ice says that it would really be nice (Ice knows he is dreaming here) if the field was set based upon/getting as close as possible, to the actual strength of the teams across the country. He is aware of fiscal travel restrictions/challenges and the fact that lots of teams with minimal crossover and/or inter-region play being a possibility would effect this...blah, blah, blah. Ice ****ing gets it. Ice says that he would ****ing love to use season based  SOS/other criteria as well as the common sense many of us all have, to set a seeded field accordingly. Ice knows it will never happen but, well it mother****ing should. Ice, being a self admitted East Region soulful mother****er knows his region has not produced a top notch playoff team, aside from Wesley and maybe Hopkins (really a South region team), in decades.

Ice says while watching the Central and Wheaton game (what a ****ing ending!) he really thought there's got to be a better way of setting this all up. Who knows? Just his thoughts (even though he knows teams from his region would admittedly be the ones to be outside looking in). Ice will now remove the cotton out from his ears and insert it into his mouth (typing fingers) and shut it down.

[catjumper]

So, did Lindfield rent those MASSIVE heaters for their sidelines?  I chuckled that the Johnnies didn't even have a heater and Linfield had two monstrous ones. 

It was quite a pleasant day for late November in MN!  Heck, we enjoyed great weather all season.

Kind of silly if the weather was anything like it was in Whitewater, BUT...

Let me get this straight.  The NCAA monitors scoreboards to the point that a home scoreboard has to "even things out" with promotions and hype videos they show.  But a visiting team can bring whatever extras they want and plunk them down on the sidelines?

Serious question: What if St. John's had the heaters on the sideline and didn't provide them to the visitors?

Looks like the visitors can't bring whatever they want but the host needs to provide certain things regardless and a few things if requested. https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/championships/sports/football/d3/2019-20D3MFB_HostOpsManual.pdf —> not the most recent but I imagine there aren't a ton of updates.

Video board pg 9 section h.
Heater pg 3 section section c.
For good measure, equipment pg 4 section m.

In the mid-2000s I worked in the athletic department of a Division I school that hosted a number of postseason events on our campus; the sports involved didn't have video boards at that time but your reference to page 9, section h sounds like what we were told about similar activities. Our baseball PA announcer was fantastic at playing ... shall we say, "appropriate" ... sound clips that weren't exactly supportive of the visiting team; he was informed that wouldn't fly during NCAA postseason events. And if you're playing a multi-round tournament, you may be the host team but required to be the visitor and use the visitor's bench / dugout for a game.

I did wonder about that huge heating system behind Linfield's bench - I'd be interested in knowing if that was what St. John's provided if Linfield requested heaters.

[DuffMan]

I didn't care about the heaters--more found it funny.  We've had our fair share of cold games at SJU, and I don't recall ever seeing such excessive heaters.  It doesn't really make sense as there is nothing to hold the heat in.

The scoreboard thing--just plain stupid.  They're not neutral site games.

[catjumper]

I didn't care about the heaters--more found it funny.  We've had our fair share of cold games at SJU, and I don't recall ever seeing such excessive heaters.  It doesn't really make sense as there is nothing to hold the heat in.

The scoreboard thing--just plain stupid.  They're not neutral site games.

Agreed. But for whatever reason, the NCAA wants to make them as neutral as possible in the postseason.

[SJU13]

Tough part about the season ending is knowing great players are ending their college football careers. Cheers to Ravi on a great SJU career: https://twitter.com/ravialston/status/1464725054705569797?s=21.

Looks like he ends with 153 receptions, 2350 receiving yards, and 22 touchdowns. Many of those tight window acrobatics.

[DuffMan]

Losing that final game of your career is incredibly emotional.  Cheers to the seniors, and welcome to the has-been club!

[retagent]

Tough part about the season ending is knowing great players are ending their college football careers. Cheers to Ravi on a great SJU career: https://twitter.com/ravialston/status/1464725054705569797?s=21.

Looks like he ends with 153 receptions, 2350 receiving yards, and 22 touchdowns. Many of those tight window acrobatics.

Had a short conversation with his mother at the 2019 UWW game. In just a quick bit, I could see why he is what he is. Good luck to him and all the Seniors. I think he has a chance to compete at the next level. Great hands.

[faunch]

Losing that final game of your career is incredibly emotional.  Cheers to the seniors, and welcome to the has-been club!

As bummed out as I'm feeling today I can't imagine how difficult it is for players...especially seniors.

[repete]

Tough to watch the Johnnies in the postgame news conference, but did get a nice laugh out of the Linfield section when Coach Smith let loose a shot at the (l)East region.

[wildcat11]

Had a great time talking to the SJU faithful yesterday while shooting the game.  So knowledgeable and passionate about football and SJU.

Great seeing OAS too.  Loved his was representing in his Linfield gear.  The win means a lot to Linfield and that tells you just how great of a program SJU is.

[MUC57]

57Johnnie and all my friends from St. John's

Tough loss to end the season. There should be some solace in the fact that you lost to a good team. Win or lose, St. John's is still respected around the country, not only as a standout football program but as a fine academic institution.
57Johnnie knows that if I had not attended Mount Union, I would have loved to have been a Johnnie.
So, as we say in the world of sports, "Wait till next year". And Go Johnnies! 

[Texas Ole]

That was a hard fought game and a bummer to lose.  Gotta love the way the Johnnies battled back.  Sometimes the ball doesn't bounce your way, and today was one of those days.  Losing sucks, but I'm proud of this Johnnie team.  They battled through a ton of adversity this year.

Congrats, 'Cats.  Do some damage, now!

Ok, now WTF was up with SJU playing a Linfield hype video, playing their rouser before the game, and playing it again along with Wildcat graphics on the video board when they scored?  You can be gracious hosts without going that far. I'm sorry, but that's part of homefield advantage, and that really ticked me off.  I've never been to another game where the home team did that. 

Years ago a school (may have been the band) decided to play the visitors' fight song or alma mater.  That didn't sit well with the visiting team and it caused a fight (nearly a riot).  The school felt that they were the only dignified enough to play those songs.

So, did Lindfield rent those MASSIVE heaters for their sidelines?  I chuckled that the Johnnies didn't even have a heater and Linfield had two monstrous ones. 

It was quite a pleasant day for late November in MN!  Heck, we enjoyed great weather all season.

Kind of silly if the weather was anything like it was in Whitewater, BUT...

Let me get this straight.  The NCAA monitors scoreboards to the point that a home scoreboard has to "even things out" with promotions and hype videos they show.  But a visiting team can bring whatever extras they want and plunk them down on the sidelines?

Serious question: What if St. John's had the heaters on the sideline and didn't provide them to the visitors?

Looks like the visitors can't bring whatever they want but the host needs to provide certain things regardless and a few things if requested. https://ncaaorg.s3.amazonaws.com/championships/sports/football/d3/2019-20D3MFB_HostOpsManual.pdf —> not the most recent but I imagine there aren't a ton of updates.

Video board pg 9 section h.
Heater pg 3 section section c.
For good measure, equipment pg 4 section m.

In the mid-2000s I worked in the athletic department of a Division I school that hosted a number of postseason events on our campus; the sports involved didn't have video boards at that time but your reference to page 9, section h sounds like what we were told about similar activities. Our baseball PA announcer was fantastic at playing ... shall we say, "appropriate" ... sound clips that weren't exactly supportive of the visiting team; he was informed that wouldn't fly during NCAA postseason events. And if you're playing a multi-round tournament, you may be the host team but required to be the visitor and use the visitor's bench / dugout for a game.

I did wonder about that huge heating system behind Linfield's bench - I'd be interested in knowing if that was what St. John's provided if Linfield requested heaters.

I've watched a ton of D1 baseball playoff games and that drives me nuts regarding the dugouts!  If you are the host you should have access to all of your home facilities which includes the dugout even when you are the visiting team.  If the umpires need a dugout location to determine home and visitor then they need to get a new gig!

I've seen the heaters along with air coolers on the sidelines at games.  That doesn't bother me.  A few years ago Iowa St. was denied shade tents for a road game at Baywhore.  The argument was they were not approved prior to the game.  Iowa State baked in unbelievably high temps while the home team had special cooling sections.  I've also heard (especially in HS) where certain coaches in Texas would disable the AC in the visiting locker rooms sometimes claiming it was broken.  Home field advantage is one thing, but some of the gamesmanship seems targeted at player safety.

[sfury]

Speaking of Ravi, in Frank's game story on the SJU site he had some interesting numbers:

Alston ended his SJU career sixth in receptions (153) and eighth in receiving yards (2,350) in only 25 games played. His average of 94.0 receiving yards per game is a Johnnie record.

Only played two seasons basically and still finished sixth in catches and 8th in yards, at a place that has had some great receivers. Definitely one of the best ever at that position for SJU, as indicated by the record for yards per game as well.

Also in Frank's notes:  "The Johnnies are 35-4 since 2018. All four losses were decided by three points or less."

Agh.

[DuffMan]

I just looked through the stats from Saturday's game.  They're incredibly even.  It's a shame that someone had to lose that game.

Unforunately, the rash of Johnnie injuries proved fatal against a team as impressive as Linfield:
Muffed punt--normal returner (Van Erp) out with dislocated hip from Lake Forest game
Botched snap on punt--normal snapper (Eibensteiner) out with torn ACL from Bethel game

Lots of what ifs, but you live with the outcome.   

[DuffMan]

Oh, another thought from Saturday's game:  I loved the southern drawl from the referee.