FB: Empire 8

[boobyhasgameyo]

So basically for a program that started about 15 years ago, we've had about 9 solid winning seasons and 3 or 4 terrible ones.  It just seems like we were dogged so bad a few years ago before we started to become really good when in actuality for a new program we were doing well. 

Yeh, it is hard to ignore the ignorant posters who have, over the past few seasons, bashed SJF as only being good for a couple years and only because of the Bills, blah, blah, blah.  Those same people must think that Vosburgh and Scachetti and Mervis, etc. rode in on the Bills bus a few years ago.  The reality is that Vosburgh took over a D3 newbie in '91, and in August after the previous coach stepped down right before the season started.  He had no recruiting class that year and no time to prepare for the season.  They finished 0-9 and scored only twice all year.   I think he finished the season with less than 40 players and most playing both ways.

Those guys that stuck it out with Coach V. in '91, came back for their senior season  in '92 and started it off with a huge upset over a then good Catholic team. It was a  respectable 4-5 season that year with Coach V's first recruiting class.  We were very competitive in several close losses against the likes of B-Port, Canisius and Merchant Marine.

Over that and the next couple years, as the D-Coordinator, Vosburgh led defenses that were nationally ranked during parts of seasons. 

Facilities are obviously a plus for any school and it is utterly ridiculous for those who believe that Fisher somehow 'bought' its team with the Bills.  Vosburgh has spent 17 years  building and re-building this program, and it has had its ups and downs like most, save MUC and IC (who have managed to stay strong throughout).   Does anyone know how many other D3 programs have a professional team that trains at their school?  If so, are those teams Nationally ranked like Fisher.

Oh Ithaca and Mount Union I'm sure had their down periods as well just as Fisher had when they were first starting out.  Ithaca had a 28-85-3 combined record from 1941-1956 with a few winless seasons throughout, so they were far far far from being consistently dominant.  That would come in the 70's and beyond after being a program for nearly 40 years.  So I'd say on the whole Fisher has done pretty well for only being around as long as it has been, and considering we won a national championship in football before we were a D3 team.  A national championship is a national championship.  

[Yanks 99]

So basically for a program that started about 15 years ago, we've had about 9 solid winning seasons and 3 or 4 terrible ones.  It just seems like we were dogged so bad a few years ago before we started to become really good when in actuality for a new program we were doing well. 

Yeh, it is hard to ignore the ignorant posters who have, over the past few seasons, bashed SJF as only being good for a couple years and only because of the Bills, blah, blah, blah.  Those same people must think that Vosburgh and Scachetti and Mervis, etc. rode in on the Bills bus a few years ago.  The reality is that Vosburgh took over a D3 newbie in '91, and in August after the previous coach stepped down right before the season started.  He had no recruiting class that year and no time to prepare for the season.  They finished 0-9 and scored only twice all year.   I think he finished the season with less than 40 players and most playing both ways.

Those guys that stuck it out with Coach V. in '91, came back for their senior season  in '92 and started it off with a huge upset over a then good Catholic team. It was a  respectable 4-5 season that year with Coach V's first recruiting class.  We were very competitive in several close losses against the likes of B-Port, Canisius and Merchant Marine.

Over that and the next couple years, as the D-Coordinator, Vosburgh led defenses that were nationally ranked during parts of seasons. 

Facilities are obviously a plus for any school and it is utterly ridiculous for those who believe that Fisher somehow 'bought' its team with the Bills.  Vosburgh has spent 17 years  building and re-building this program, and it has had its ups and downs like most, save MUC and IC (who have managed to stay strong throughout).   Does anyone know how many other D3 programs have a professional team that trains at their school?  If so, are those teams Nationally ranked like Fisher.

Oh Ithaca and Mount Union I'm sure had their down periods as well just as Fisher had when they were first starting out.  Ithaca had a 28-85-3 combined record from 1941-1956 with a few winless seasons throughout, so they were far far far from being consistently dominant.  That would come in the 70's and beyond after being a program for nearly 40 years.  So I'd say on the whole Fisher has done pretty well for only being around as long as it has been, and considering we won a national championship in football before we were a D3 team.  A national championship is a national championship. 

Come on now...you cannot be serious comparing a club national championship to the championships like Ithaca, Mt. Union, St. John's etc...

[boobyhasgameyo]

I think I just did? 

[JQV]

A national championship is a national championship.  

Unless its a club National Championship.

I'm not sure you can legitimately compare the small college football environment of the 40s and 50s to today.

Also, maybe Vosburgh put together some decent teams in the mid-1990s but that doesn't change my view of SJF's history at all.  Let's be honest here, its not like they have been on a gradual increase.  The teams they ran out in 1999, 2000, and 2001 were three of the very worst college football teams I have ever seen (sorry Upstate).  In fact, IC opened with Fisher at home my freshman year (1999), and I remember thinking just how far I had strayed from home (the SEC).  That team looked like they had open tryouts on like Wednesday before the game.  If they weren't wearing matching uniforms I would have thought it was a scrimmage.  They were just as bad as Utica's first team that included no seniors.

[Yanks 99]

I think I just did? 

No question you are reaching.  Who do you think is going to have the better stories at homecoming a few years from now.  The 1980/90 whatever club national championship team, or the 2006 team that made it to the national semi's and gave the powerhouse Mt. Union team everything they they could handle?

Let's mention that pee-wee championship we won when we were 12.  A championship is a championship... 

[boobyhasgameyo]

I think you are using the same argument D1 fans say about D3 championships because of level of competition, "shouldn't be taken as seriously because look what level that is"....So is that the basic point you are trying to drive home?

[boobyhasgameyo]

Jose I wasn't talking about the environment of college football back in the day, I was refering to the growing pains of a young program.

[Yanks 99]

I think you are using the same argument D1 fans say about D3 championships because of level of competition, "shouldn't be taken as seriously because look what level that is"....So is that the basic point you are trying to drive home?

Actually...not a bad arguement.  I'm not saying you cannot celebrate it...or take it seriously.  Championships are great...at any level.  There is always a certain sense of satisfaction when you win a championship.  However, what makes it tough is when you try to argue/boast "up" about your championship.  Could Mt. Union really put their championship as the same calibar as Florida?  Can a Class D school in NYS really say that their team is better then the AA champion?  The answer is no.  It's not taking anything away from those that won the championship...it is just putting it in perspective.

[boobyhasgameyo]

Yes I understand I was just saying for only having Football an X number of years Fisher has done well for itself.  But I am out for now, I'll return after work to see what debates may come.  Peace

[JQV]

Jose I wasn't talking about the environment of college football back in the day, I was refering to the growing pains of a young program.

But the "growing pains" of a program in today's environment are totally different than the challenges any program faced in the 1930s or 1940s.  It's apples and oranges.

[boobyhasgameyo]

I'm sorry I really don't know where you are going with that Jose, are you saying it's easier for a program now to rise to prominence as quickly as Fisher did then it was in earlier times and that is why it took Ithaca 40 years to become consistently dominant?  Because I would think it's harder now that there are hundreds of D3 schools to compete with and I think that makes what Fisher is doing even more special.  And I wouldn't expect you to think much about Fisher's history since you witnessed the worst team we have ever fielded but how can you discredit the things SJFF82 are saying about when we had decent teams in the mid 90's.  For Fisher it went like this- First year terrible, next 3 years pretty decent, next couple years so-so, then came those consecutive years of terrible teams you witnessed and then came the past 5 or 6 years of current success. 

[chris7sarge]

A club championship is a joke.

Wow, had to get that out before I had a stroke.  I won trophies from the Boy's Club 2 hand touch football league when I was a kid but you dont see me posting....   err... wait

AU's win- huge.  Last 3 games are gonna be paramount to the season and the program, but it seems as though the end of the season has been like that for AU for several years now with AU winning 1 or 2 of the games but not being able to get over the hump and into the playoffs.  I've got faith that this is the year.

In other news.  After 1 month of having no internet at home, road runner moves in tonight between 5 and 7pm.  Now you will be able to have access to my imperial wisdom any night of the week.

[Saxon73]

Saxon73 has finally regained some composure after Sat afternoon.  Decided late to make the trip as Pep notified game would  not be on line. It would have been a shame to miss such an exciting game.  Don't have to mention any specifics as previous posts have covered about everything except an additional kudos to the PepBand as they did do a great job.

Both teams played the game all game long.  Hartwick can be proud of their ability to keep going and going.  The Saxons showed a great determination to keep coming back from some bizarre twists in the game.  Truly a game that both teams can be proud of.

[BoSox0322]

A club championship is a joke.

Wow, had to get that out before I had a stroke.  I won trophies from the Boy's Club 2 hand touch football league when I was a kid but you dont see me posting....   err... wait

AU's win- huge.  Last 3 games are gonna be paramount to the season and the program, but it seems as though the end of the season has been like that for AU for several years now with AU winning 1 or 2 of the games but not being able to get over the hump and into the playoffs.  I've got faith that this is the year.

In other news.  After 1 month of having no internet at home, road runner moves in tonight between 5 and 7pm.  Now you will be able to have access to my imperial wisdom any night of the week.

Thank you for stating this ....

Red Sox are nasty...

[boobyhasgameyo]

All I was saying was for the level of football Fisher offered back in the 80's, we were at the absolute top of it.   What more could those players have done?  Seriously...