2018 Richmond Spiders Football - Prologue - Maine

[mojo-spider]

it's been a long, tough and disappointing season for the team, staff and Spiders fans...I wouldn't be honest if I said anything other than I'm kind of glad the slog is almost over...

but a big part of Spiders football is the fellowship and camaraderie of being a Spiders fan...enjoying the good times and the bad times that inevitably come as a fan...

for many Saturday's final home game will be more about enjoying things that have nothing to do with wins or losses...the Senior Day Shout Out...the 10th Anniversary of our FCS National Championship...the final Brick House tailgate of the season...

and if we pull one of the biggest upsets of the year...another war story to share for years to come...

enjoy the Prologue...

Go Spiders!

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

Who would have thought when this schedule came out that beating Maine would be "one of the biggest upsets of the year?"

 

[URTOM68]

Who would have thought when this schedule came out that beating Maine would be "one of the biggest upsets of the year?"

MO did, as well as W&M

 

[32counter]

Senior Day is not the time to start preparing for the future, in the view of UR coach Russ Huesman

• BY JOHN O'CONNOR Richmond Times-Dispatch
  
• 51 min ago
  

Richmond senior defensive tackle Andrew Clyde has played at an All-CAA level in a disappointing year for the Spiders.



Richmond defensive end Maurice Jackson leads the Spiders with six-and-a-half sacks.

• JOE MAHONEY/TIMES-DISPATCH

Two paths are available to the University of Richmond’s football staff as it heads into the Spiders’ penultimate game of the season, Maine’s Saturday visit on the Spiders’ Senior Day.

At 3-6 (1-5 CAA), UR’s coaches could determine that in the best interest of the program, it’s time to exclusively play non-seniors and gain experience that could pay off next year.

Or Richmond can continue riding with the group, seniors included, that has been most involved through an unfulfilling season.


To Spiders coach Russ Huesman, sitting seniors Saturday and next weekend at William & Mary wouldn't be fair to them. He said he considered pulling a few late in last Saturday’s 45-21 loss to visiting Villanova, saw their effort level, and chose not to.

"There is a temptation [but] I’m not interested in [removing] some guys that have put a lot of blood, sweat and tears on that field just to say, ‘I’ve got to get this sophomore ready for next year,’" Huesman said.

“We’ve got a lot of time to get everybody else ready. This is not the time, in my mind. I don’t know if I’m in the minority on that or not. That’s just my feelings about how you handle the players that have done a lot for your program.”

Fifteen minutes after the Villanova game ended, senior offensive lineman John Yarbrough clearly expressed interest in two more opportunities to demonstrate UR is better than 3-6.


“I think moving forward, we’ve got a Senior [Day] game, and then we’ve got the Capital Cup,” he said, referring to the trophy that goes to the UR-W&M winner. “So those are two pretty big things to play for.”


The Spiders advanced to the FCS playoffs in 2014, 2015 and 2016. They went 6-5 last season, and then never got on track this year.

“It’s an easier thing to have a lot of energy when you’re getting ready for the playoffs," said junior defensive end Maurice Jackson. "But I think for most people on the team, it’s always easy to get ready to play because we all have a love for the game and all want to go out there and play our hardest and our best each week."

Maine (6-3, 5-1 CAA), ranked No. 16, lost its only league game at William & Mary (3-5, 2-3 CAA) on Oct. 20. The Tribe won 27-20 behind back-up quarterbacks Ted Hefter and Dean Rotger. The Spiders will go with Kevin Johnson or Reid Chenault at QB after starter Joe Mancuso suffered a concussion last Saturday.

“I think we’ve learned our lesson that we can’t worry too much about that,” said Black Bears coach Joe Harasymiak.

NOTE: Richmond will salute the 10th anniversary of its FCS championship team at Saturday’s game. Those Spiders finished third in the CAA’s South Division with a 6-2 record, and then rolled to the title, winning it with a 24-7 decision over Montana in Chattanooga, Tenn.

 

[32counter]

 

[grayson5]

I attended the Spider game today to pay my respects the 2008 National Champions Spiders and was excited to see the new spiders play at home. I left the Spider game with a heavy heart. I wondered what happened to the Spider fans. I was so embarrassed by what I heard and saw. I bought tickets so I could sit and touch the wall just like I did the last year my son played for Richmond. You want to be close to the players so you can give them love while they are playing. I have never heard such rude comments about players and the coaching staff. These young men give their all 7 days a week and you come out for a few hours and feel that you have the right to ridicule their efforts. In a few years this team could be playing another national championship game. I believe if you were one of those spectators tonight, you need to purchase Mike Radford’s 2008 National Champion Spiders book. A winning team is not developed over night and the fans are very important aspect of winning, when our players were having a bad game, we cheered even louder, we insured they knew we had their back win or lose. Those players could turn around and pick up momentum from our energy. Just remember when you are in the stands, there could be a potential player and family trying to decide if their son should attend this wonderful university and first impressions are everything. To the gentleman trying to motivate the crowd don’t give up, because with your perseverance and the dare to dream attitude of the young men on the field, the Spiders could be National champions once again. My only regret today was when I looked down at the sad faces of the players and parents who were near me, was that I did not get up and walk over to the 2008 champion tent and grab some of the parents so we could show the players that we know how to help them “Move Da Chains”!!! If any players are reading this board, stay strong especially during the rough times, motivate one another, remember mistakes only make you better and leave everything you’ve got on the field.

 

[32counter]

I attended the Spider game today to pay my respects the 2008 National Champions Spiders and was excited to see the new spiders play at home. I left the Spider game with a heavy heart. I wondered what happened to the Spider fans. I was so embarrassed by what I heard and saw. I bought tickets so I could sit and touch the wall just like I did the last year my son played for Richmond. You want to be close to the players so you can give them love while they are playing. I have never heard such rude comments about players and the coaching staff. These young men give their all 7 days a week and you come out for a few hours and feel that you have the right to ridicule their efforts. In a few years this team could be playing another national championship game. I believe if you were one of those spectators tonight, you need to purchase Mike Radford’s 2008 National Champion Spiders book. A winning team is not developed over night and the fans are very important aspect of winning, when our players were having a bad game, we cheered even louder, we insured they knew we had their back win or lose. Those players could turn around and pick up momentum from our energy. Just remember when you are in the stands, there could be a potential player and family trying to decide if their son should attend this wonderful university and first impressions are everything. To the gentleman trying to motivate the crowd don’t give up, because with your perseverance Thanksand the dare to dream attitude of the young men on the field, the Spiders could be National champions once again. My only regret today was when I looked down at the sad faces of the players and parents who were near me, was that I did not get up and walk over to the 2008 champion tent and grab some of the parents so we could show the players that we know how to help them “Move Da Chains”!!! If any players are reading this board, stay strong especially during the rough times, motivate one another, remember mistakes only make you better and leave everything you’ve got on the field.

.....“ I wondered what happened to the Spider fans. I was so embarrassed by what I heard and saw ...... I have never heard such rude comments about players and the coaching staff. These young men give their all 7 days a week and you come out for a few hours and feel that you have the right to ridicule their efforts.....”

Can I ask what section which you sat?Thanks for your heart felt comments.

 

[Spiderconvict18]

I attended the Spider game today to pay my respects the 2008 National Champions Spiders and was excited to see the new spiders play at home. I left the Spider game with a heavy heart. I wondered what happened to the Spider fans. I was so embarrassed by what I heard and saw. I bought tickets so I could sit and touch the wall just like I did the last year my son played for Richmond. You want to be close to the players so you can give them love while they are playing. I have never heard such rude comments about players and the coaching staff. These young men give their all 7 days a week and you come out for a few hours and feel that you have the right to ridicule their efforts. In a few years this team could be playing another national championship game. I believe if you were one of those spectators tonight, you need to purchase Mike Radford’s 2008 National Champion Spiders book. A winning team is not developed over night and the fans are very important aspect of winning, when our players were having a bad game, we cheered even louder, we insured they knew we had their back win or lose. Those players could turn around and pick up momentum from our energy. Just remember when you are in the stands, there could be a potential player and family trying to decide if their son should attend this wonderful university and first impressions are everything. To the gentleman trying to motivate the crowd don’t give up, because with your perseverance and the dare to dream attitude of the young men on the field, the Spiders could be National champions once again. My only regret today was when I looked down at the sad faces of the players and parents who were near me, was that I did not get up and walk over to the 2008 champion tent and grab some of the parents so we could show the players that we know how to help them “Move Da Chains”!!! If any players are reading this board, stay strong especially during the rough times, motivate one another, remember mistakes only make you better and leave everything you’ve got on the field.

As I former player, I can tell you for a fact that players do read these boards. With that being said, yes Rocco was a great coach and the players loved him, but he is gone now and what we have now is what we have. As Spider fans we need to realize that we will not always have top tier coaches or players but we need to continue to support our staff and players because truth be told fan support does help give players an edge. Moving forward we need not to turn our back on our coaches or players and continue to support them if our record is 3-8 or 10-4. I really hope that the players can use this down year as motivation going into the offseason and spring ball, and the coaches make the changes needed to be made. Because Rocco recruited players or Huesman recruited players deserve that much. They are all Richmond Spider players and we need to realize that and do a better job at supporting these guys next season. Just my two cents.

 

[MolivaManiac]

I think the hard part here is all of us have a lot of other stuff to do. Yesterday, we turned down a birthday party for the kids and i probably have 4 or 5 hours worth of leaves to get up today... after spending the last couple hours walking the dog and cleaning up the house to get back in order for the next week. All stuff that i could have chipped away at yesterday had i not spent 7 hours at Robins Stadium.

I spent a lot of money and an entire Saturday, taking my family up to UVA to see that beat down. I have been at all the home games, which included a 63-10 ass whipping from JMU, a Delaware game where we were out of it in the 2nd quarter, a 4 score drubbing against an awful Villanova team, and yesterday. I surrendered a couple hundred dollars worth of Saint Francis tickets and did not ask for anything in return when that game moved to STFU. And i am sitting on $160 worth of tickets to Bill and Mary next week. Attendance to that one sort of depends on the weather at this point. Tell me what more I am supposed to be doing to support the program?

My group, which i would consider among the most ardent of fans groups, has dwindled down to about half the size it was when the season starts. Put simply, there are other things to do than sit out in the cold and support a losing product for a lot of people here and everywhere else. All of us paid good money for tickets and parking passes and all will do it again next year, in spite of the outcome this year.

What i would like to see is more of the recent football alumni come back and support the program. It's great that the 2008 National Championship team came back for their 10 year anniversary. How about those guys come back every year?

Why is it up to a former track and field athlete like me, who lost his program to Title 9, to rally the MOVE THE CHAINS troops to get the locker room project going? I would like to see the football alumni start carrying more water, quite frankly. Don't just show up for the every 10 year photo op. The scoldings ring sort of hollow for me.

 

[ur2K]

And how many games has this presumed local with connections to the program attended in the last 7-8 years. We need these people attending games and helping to build the excitement in the fan base, not flying in once every ten years and criticize the ones who do attend in a pretty bad losing season.

 

[32counter]

Davidson rushes for 789 yds vs San Diego.Breaks FCS mark.Scott,wanna come back to Va?

https://davidsonwildcats.com/news/2...ushing-record-in-loss-at-san-diego-56-52.aspx

Have we as a team rushed for 789 in 10 games?

 

[SpiderRick]

Mr. Grayson, while I understand your feelings, my opinion is that the people that were there in the stands DO support the team and program, otherwise, why were they there? You didn't say if you are a season ticket holder, or how many games that you have attended since your son last played. With few exceptions, players and their families come and go, maybe showing up at homecoming for a few years after their graduation Many of us old timers have been there year after year, in the heat, in the cold, showing up at practices and the spring game; living and dying with every victory or loss. We have invested many many hours and days following our teams, and spent many thousands of dollars buying tickets and donating to every cause that comes down the pike. I myself have supported the Spiders since I was 13 years old; I am now 70. I was there in the stands Saturday clapping and yelling even though I knew we had no chance of winning. We are the fuel for our teams; sometimes the tank gets low. We embrace and celebrate the highs; and are saddened and depressed by the lows. I am sorry that you and other parents heard grumbling and complaining, but as alumni and fans, we have that right when we are not happy with how things have gone. Most of the complaints here are not about players, they have been about the coaching and administration. But don't sit there and say we don't support the team.

Your son was one of my favorites, I hope he is doing well.

 

[CarolinaSpider]

It does look pretty bad when the home side stands by end of Q3 looks almost empty. If you look at total
yardage, both teams were close. Difference our turnovers that gave Maine great field position.
I don't question the players as much as I question what the coaches are doing. Why do we have
such a poor TO rating? Do we just not have the players to execute? Like MO I drove to Cville to
see us compete against a much improved UVA team.

But from there and every week I expected us to improve. It has gotten worse each week. You can
say injuries have been excessive, but we have always had the next man up mentality. I just don't think the offensive coaching staff has put us in a position to succeed with the players we have available to play. Our front seven defense is our best asset but our DBs one of our chief weaknesses. Thanks to TOs and lack of offensive execution,
our defense has stayed on field too long.

 

[Spider B]

Here is a positive for next year. Our defensive line was good yesterday. I believe we return 3 starters next year. We will have to replace 97, which is a big loss, but I really like that group to be a strength for us next year.

 

[urfan1]

We were happy with the job our D did in holding down their running game, but we let them pass out of almost every difficult situation. Look at the box score our RB's managed only -2 yds in 8 carries. You cannot win games like that.

 

[Spiderconvict18]

I think the hard part here is all of us have a lot of other stuff to do. Yesterday, we turned down a birthday party for the kids and i probably have 4 or 5 hours worth of leaves to get up today... after spending the last couple hours walking the dog and cleaning up the house to get back in order for the next week. All stuff that i could have chipped away at yesterday had i not spent 7 hours at Robins Stadium.

I spent a lot of money and an entire Saturday, taking my family up to UVA to see that beat down. I have been at all the home games, which included a 63-10 ass whipping from JMU, a Delaware game where we were out of it in the 2nd quarter, a 4 score drubbing against an awful Villanova team, and yesterday. I surrendered a couple hundred dollars worth of Saint Francis tickets and did not ask for anything in return when that game moved to STFU. And i am sitting on $160 worth of tickets to Bill and Mary next week. Attendance to that one sort of depends on the weather at this point. Tell me what more I am supposed to be doing to support the program?

My group, which i would consider among the most ardent of fans groups, has dwindled down to about half the size it was when the season starts. Put simply, there are other things to do than sit out in the cold and support a losing product for a lot of people here and everywhere else. All of us paid good money for tickets and parking passes and all will do it again next year, in spite of the outcome this year.

What i would like to see is more of the recent football alumni come back and support the program. It's great that the 2008 National Championship team came back for their 10 year anniversary. How about those guys come back every year?

Why is it up to a former track and field athlete like me, who lost his program to Title 9, to rally the MOVE THE CHAINS troops to get the locker room project going? I would like to see the football alumni start carrying more water, quite frankly. Don't just show up for the every 10 year photo op. The scoldings ring sort of hollow for me.

Moliva,
We appreciate your support more than you know. One of my greatest memories in the brickhouse was listening to you guys taunting the opposing teams coaches and players. I understand your disappointment in the current situation of the football team, but just like life it is the hard times that humble us and make us appreciate the good old days. Lord willing I hope we are able to bring back the winning tradition to the brickhouse.
As far as the Title 9 situation goes, it's always tough when a sports team is cut or loses its funding, just gives alumni and fans less stuff to brag about.
Just hang in there, hopefully we can send the seniors and the fans out with a win.

 

[32counter]

Moliva,
We appreciate your support more than you know. One of my greatest memories in the brickhouse was listening to you guys taunting the opposing teams coaches and players. I understand your disappointment in the current situation of the football team, but just like life it is the hard times that humble us and make us appreciate the good old days. Lord willing I hope we are able to bring back the winning tradition to the brickhouse.
As far as the Title 9 situation goes, it's always tough when a sports team is cut or loses its funding, just gives alumni and fans less stuff to brag about.
Just hang in there, hopefully we can send the seniors and the fans out with a win.

Who are you?So young,so much wisdom.What’s your Deal?

 

[spiderstudent17]

The three fondest memories I had as a student with the football team was 1: Going to ESPN College Gameday and then chanting at the JMU football fans as they left heartbroken 2: Going to the UVA game and chanting "We are UR" that could be heard around the stadium as we beat UVA and 3: Watching on my computer the incredible comeback win against UND in the playoffs

The memories weren't so long ago and there will be plenty of new memories in the future. Outside of North Dakota State in the FCS and a few big teams in the FBS, no team can sustain dominance forever. The beauty about being in a great conference like the CAA is the ability to rebound can happen in any given year. Look at URI, Maine, Stony Brook, Elon. They were never really the cream of the crop in our conference, but have found that switch to turn things around. We will do that again.

As a fan, it is frustrating to see us lose. However, what I really want to see is what measures are we taking to improve. Kudos to getting the much needed elevate campaign renovations done that has paid dividens with recruiting. Now Huesman needs to completely re-evaluate all aspects of what he is doing and what is working and not working. This isn't the SoCon. CAA football is on a whole new level. Things he got away with at SoCon won't fly in the CAA. Huesman also needs to re-evaluate his approach with his players. If enough players are coming to this board saying they feel a disconnect with Huesman compared to Rocco (and I've heard the same things from a friend of mine who worked closely with the football team) then Huesman needs to re-evaluate his approach and how he handles the day-to-day operations and his interactions with the team.

Spider football has too long and too proud of a history to not turn things around. It's not a matter of if but when!

 

[JM09]

The three fondest memories I had as a student with the football team was 1: Going to ESPN College Gameday and then chanting at the JMU football fans as they left heartbroken 2: Going to the UVA game and chanting "We are UR" that could be heard around the stadium as we beat UVA and 3: Watching on my computer the incredible comeback win against UND in the playoffs

The memories weren't so long ago and there will be plenty of new memories in the future. Outside of North Dakota State in the FCS and a few big teams in the FBS, no team can sustain dominance forever. The beauty about being in a great conference like the CAA is the ability to rebound can happen in any given year. Look at URI, Maine, Stony Brook, Elon. They were never really the cream of the crop in our conference, but have found that switch to turn things around. We will do that again.

As a fan, it is frustrating to see us lose. However, what I really want to see is what measures are we taking to improve. Kudos to getting the much needed elevate campaign renovations done that has paid dividens with recruiting. Now Huesman needs to completely re-evaluate all aspects of what he is doing and what is working and not working. This isn't the SoCon. CAA football is on a whole new level. Things he got away with at SoCon won't fly in the CAA. Huesman also needs to re-evaluate his approach with his players. If enough players are coming to this board saying they feel a disconnect with Huesman compared to Rocco (and I've heard the same things from a friend of mine who worked closely with the football team) then Huesman needs to re-evaluate his approach and how he handles the day-to-day operations and his interactions with the team.

Spider football has too long and too proud of a history to not turn things around. It's not a matter of if but when!

Well said, thank you

 

[Spiderconvict18]

Who are you?So young,so much wisdom.What’s your Deal?

Just a former player who's career was cut short with injuries and loves to see the program succeed. I appreciate all of you guys support. Let's stick it to Bill and Mary this week and bring home the Capital cup!

 

[MolivaManiac]

Moliva,
We appreciate your support more than you know. One of my greatest memories in the brickhouse was listening to you guys taunting the opposing teams coaches and players. I understand your disappointment in the current situation of the football team, but just like life it is the hard times that humble us and make us appreciate the good old days. Lord willing I hope we are able to bring back the winning tradition to the brickhouse.
As far as the Title 9 situation goes, it's always tough when a sports team is cut or loses its funding, just gives alumni and fans less stuff to brag about.
Just hang in there, hopefully we can send the seniors and the fans out with a win.

I appreciate the nod. I think my personal favorite was the Morgan State playoff game. They had a cornerback that could not have been more than 5'4". Man, we got that guy to come unglued.

Do what you can to get these guys on the same page. There are a few realities here:

1- Huesman is not getting canned this year and it's highly doubtful he will next year, unless we play all of next season like we are ending this season.
2- Even if he does get canned, you are counting on the people that hired him to pick someone you like more. That is a risky proposition.
3- If we do not get on the same page, voices like Rick Mayes and other faculty that think we should not have football get louder. None of us need that crap.

Please do what you can to get a young football alumni organization going. We really need you guys. You might not be making a ton of money yet but it starts adding up. Trust me. Organize something. I will gladly help you from behind the scenes if you want it.

 

[spiderhawk111]

coach russ wont get axed , cause they think he will turn things around or they cant afford it? hard to see them much better next year but i hope i am wrong , either way i will be there to watch

 

[MolivaManiac]

coach russ wont get axed , cause they think he will turn things around or they cant afford it? hard to see them much better next year but i hope i am wrong , either way i will be there to watch

I do not know the reason but just research our basketball program's "lost decade". In general, Richmond just does not like firing coaches.

 

[DTSpider]

We were there yesterday- it was ugly. It was empty. My kids had a decent time but we couldn’t make it all the way to end. We have had season tickets for about 15 years and buy more than we need (have tickets for friends, family, etc).

I think Mo nails a lot of it pretty well. Unfortunately Rocco has split the fan base. That has to end. Personally I think Rocco left before it go tough when he knew the roster wasn’t what he wanted (blame the admin in my opinion). I also think Huesman needs to reevaluate his assistants and how we connected with the players. He seems to be able to recruit so just need to follow through on the connection points.

One of the things I noticed was the seemingly lack of chemistry. When Caughill was hurt only a couple of guys came over to the cart.

We need a reset. Not that we have to change all the coaches but hopefully we can make it all happen. Realize a lot of guys are leaving the program. Wish them all well. We have a lot of guys coming back. It’s up to them to make us better. There’s no reason we can’t win and win big. Those guys could see the 2008 team (or at least I hope they got to see those guys). I’m hopeful for the future and I’ll continue to invest my time & money.

 

[SpiderRick]

A winning attitude starts at the top. I am sick of watching Huesman hanging his head, blaming kids, always saying that "we got out coached", etc. Nothing optimistic comes out of his mouth. I want someone who talks about national championships, not makes a bunch of excuses. Under his leadership (or lack of), this team got worse and worse as the season went on.

 

[32counter]

Maine coach Joe Harasymiak▲


BY JOHN O'CONNOR Richmond Times-Dispatch
5 hrs ago
The game ball from Maine’s 28-9 win at the University of Richmond on Saturday went to a family from Locust Grove. Former Orange County High defensive back Darius Minor collapsed and died July 24 during a team workout prior to what would have been his freshman season at Maine.

In mid-August, Maine's state medical examiner determined that Minor's death was caused by "acute aortic dissection with cardiac tamponade, with hypertensive cardiovascular disease as a contributing factor." Cardiac tamonade involves compression of the heart caused by fluid collected in the surrounding sac. The manner of his death was ruled "natural."

Minor’s Maine jersey No. 39 was draped across the bench on the Black Bears’ sideline at Robins Stadium on Saturday, as it has been for all Maine games this season.

In Maine's postgame locker room, “We had Darius Minor’s family with us," Maine coach Joe Harasymiak said. "I think there was about 10 of them. We’ve been through a lot together, certainly them more than us. But it’s one big family, and it was great to have them here for this win. I got to give the game ball to mom for him.

“The game is second to that. That’s number one, and that’s the best moment we’ve had all year.”

No Maine player will wear No. 39 for the next three years.

Minor, 18, underwent annual physicals through high school, and another when he arrived at Maine. The Black Bears (7-3, 6-1 CAA) are ranked No. 16 in the FCS poll. The win at UR, along with other results, assured them of at least a share of the CAA championship.

 

[32counter]

 

[ChoppinBroccoli]

Jim Marshall got 6 years. Russ ain't going anywhere. Find a way to get everyone pulling on the same rope.

 

[Stonewall D]

I attended the Spider game today to pay my respects the 2008 National Champions Spiders and was excited to see the new spiders play at home. I left the Spider game with a heavy heart. I wondered what happened to the Spider fans. I was so embarrassed by what I heard and saw. I bought tickets so I could sit and touch the wall just like I did the last year my son played for Richmond. You want to be close to the players so you can give them love while they are playing. I have never heard such rude comments about players and the coaching staff. These young men give their all 7 days a week and you come out for a few hours and feel that you have the right to ridicule their efforts. In a few years this team could be playing another national championship game. I believe if you were one of those spectators tonight, you need to purchase Mike Radford’s 2008 National Champion Spiders book. A winning team is not developed over night and the fans are very important aspect of winning, when our players were having a bad game, we cheered even louder, we insured they knew we had their back win or lose. Those players could turn around and pick up momentum from our energy. Just remember when you are in the stands, there could be a potential player and family trying to decide if their son should attend this wonderful university and first impressions are everything. To the gentleman trying to motivate the crowd don’t give up, because with your perseverance and the dare to dream attitude of the young men on the field, the Spiders could be National champions once again. My only regret today was when I looked down at the sad faces of the players and parents who were near me, was that I did not get up and walk over to the 2008 champion tent and grab some of the parents so we could show the players that we know how to help them “Move Da Chains”!!! If any players are reading this board, stay strong especially during the rough times, motivate one another, remember mistakes only make you better and leave everything you’ve got on the field.

In fact, most of the fan base is embarrassed by the behavior of a few fans. Their behavior is childish and self-centered. They want everything now and everything their way. If they do not get their way, they yell and stomp their feet like children. Their anonymous behavior is boorish and unbecoming. I am sorry you had to experience it. The rest of us stay away.

 

[DTSpider]

To take this slightly a different direction. Mo invited the football alumni to step up their game, attendance, etc. I’ll extend that to the parents, particularly if local. Just because your son has graduated doesn’t make you any less a spider. We’re all in this together. Keep coming to the games. Cheer just as hard for the next set of kids as you wanted us regular fans to do for your son.