So here I am for the annual trip to Alliance where the weather is about 30-something degrees and there’s a good wind blowing across the field.
I feel a little silly wearing a Linfield sweatshirt, which I brought to have some fun with the SJU and Whitewater fans before the flight got cancelled. I need to buy some OAC wardrobe for these trips since we make enough of them.
Ric Brienza and “HS Coach” gave me a very pleasant surprise, printing me copies of their game charts which we have named “Brienzas” in honor of Ric. They combine all the players’ vital information in a shell that’s easy to complete for a new team and even easier to update for a team you’ve seen before. Bless their hearts for the help since this was a late change in travel plans.
A few Capital players were milling around at about 10 AM and seemed in good spirits. If nothing else, they won’t be intimidated playing in this Stadium. QB Rocky Pentello and the other four-year seniors are playing their sixth game against Mount Union.
As for the Purple Raiders, they are always good for some stunning stats.
– Nate Kmic averages 7.43 yards per carry and is within striking distance of Chuck Moore’s school record (7.46).
– The Purple Raiders are holding teams to 0.9 yards per carry. That’s about what you should get if your quarterback takes the snap and collapses forward.
The two guys I most look forward to seeing are Pentello to see how he stacks up against other OAC playoff quarterbacks in the past few years (Arth, Adamson) and Matt Kostelnik. A junior safety for the Purple Raiders, Kostelnik has amazing numbers — 44 tackles (fourth on the team), 11.5 TFL (2nd), 7.0 sacks (1st), 4 INTs (1st) including two for TDs. Hello, All-American team.
I’ll post some thoughts at the half and after the game, but the floor is certainly open for other thoughts from Wisconsin, Delaware, New York or wherever else you may be.
mainjack,
Really good post at 3:34.
JT_6,
Do you even know what “self-proclaimed” means? Pat and I don’t run around proclaiming ourselves experts. You’ll likely never hear either of us use the word; that comes from you guys. Our opinions are no better than anyone else who has put in seven-plus years of round-the-clock devotion to 200+ football teams.
Fisher57,
When I played, there were no D3 “experts.” Seven years ago, you wouldn’t even have had a place to share your lack of perspective and disrespect for reality.
And if I had a game this week, I would be rejoicing in the fact that nothing a fan or “expert” has to say means anything between the white lines. I’ll bet any amount it makes no difference to the players what anyone but their coaches say.
The reason why no one but other Fisher fans has any love for what you’re saying is because of how you’re presenting yourself.
As a person who seems to have watched St. John Fisher games all season, there’s two ways you can be:
1) You can help the people who haven’t seen a lot of the Cardinals (and there are going to be tons of them on here this week) by providing insight on your team. Let us know what’s to like about them beyond generalities like “they
2) You can blab on about how Mount Union is going to get theirs. Since you clearly don’t know the first thing about the Purple Raiders, why would your insight on them mean anything to the rest of us?
You’re representing your school right now, and you’re doing a bad job. Good thing there are a bunch of Fisher guys with sense scrambling to cover for the clowns among you.
I said all that before I saw Superman57’s latest post, by the way.
He has it nailed.
Fall in line.
Fisher Fans that aren’t superman57 on here,
SHUT THE UP! Nobody is going to pick you or respect your team or cover your team if you as a fan base are such a-holes!
jt_6,
Also, Rowan gave themselves the name Beasts of the East … when they were going to five Stagg Bowls from 1993-99.
When you sustain your success for more than a few seasons, you can give your program a cool little nickname, and others over the years will probably pick up on it.
OOOPS! I put “” and it took it out of that post haha.
Also — All others that have tried to sustain a “dynasty” in the east that are not Rowan have failed miserably. Isn’t it true that no other East team has gotten to the semifinals more than once in the last several years but Rowan.
Portgrad2004,
Well, actually, I would pick a team no matter how obnoxious its fans are if I thought it was the team that was going to win.
Part of doing this job is being able to separate the background noise from the music.
But I think you and Superman57 are on point in trying to tell these guys that for a lot of people around the country who follow D3, these guys are the first impression of St. John Fisher University … and it isn’t coming off as a good one.
Most of us know better. The team going out to Alliance won’t be representing themselves this way, I’m sure.
Also, for the record … We have respected members of the D3 staff who have seen St. John Fisher play this season. It has made more sense geographically to let our staff members that live in New York and Pa. and Conn. to cover the Northeast. Until recently, that group included neither myself nor Pat.
Obviously seeing a team is always better than not seeing them, but it isn’t like D3football.com is flying blind here. You should know better than that.
I didn’t mean you guys Keith, You and Pat are professionals, I just meant in the general d3 community.
D3 Keith… Isn’t #1 your job…expert? For being experts, you guys are much to defensive…. take some critisism and move on. It’s fun to see you guys carry on the way you do at times…
Pat: just the response I was looking for….. thank you.
D3: It’s St. John Fisher COLLEGE, for the record…
Good Point Fisher.
Wouldn’t want to get caught calling a supermarket a grocery store now would we? LOL! Keep up the good work!
I say Tomato, you say Tomato …. well this doesn’t work on a message board but you get what I mean lol.
WOW!!!!
You people should be enjoying your victory!!!!!! Instead you sit there and complain about your Rodney Dangerfield Syndrome. I guess you all have a perfect score on the pick’ems RIGHT ? The only difference between you and the D3 crew is that they try to break down the data and make an educated guess on who the winner will be. And keep the rest of us entertained…
OK…Here we go again…
Last Monday, there were several Fisher fans (a few who are posting here) that were what I would truly call “disrespectful” regarding how they were representing their school and in terms of how they were setting an example for the players and students of their school.
First things first, though. I’m the furthest thing from a Rowan fan. I love the fact that a team other than Rowan is representing the East. However, there were points last week where I considered rooting for Rowan — even after calling two consecutive SJF playoff games.
Here’s the point: players, coaches and fans read these boards (yes, players and coaches do — don’t assume otherwise). There is way too much “smack talking” coming from people here — especially stuff that makes absolutely no sense. But, I’ll ignore that last part — it’s the smack talking that really has no place here. This is Division III football — a game played for the love of the game and the epitome of the student-athlete. Moreover, this is the playoff season — we don’t have rivalry games here in which there is the playful “RPI/UNION SUCKS’ banter that has become attached with those prideful rivalries. This is the point in the season where we all, player and fan alike, show that our team is the class of the division.
What does that mean? BE HUMBLE. Even when the opponent was Rowan, a team hated by many, humbleness was the best idea. It’s when you celebrate the win vs. Springfield with those who are close to the program for the hours following the game, but simultaneously begin to focus on the next CHALLENGE ahead of you. What SJF did to Rowan was incredible — however, it’s rare in playoff games for a reason (the teams are in the playoffs for a reason). The biggest favor you can do for your program is turn things into a positive — by saying, “This has been incredible so far — I hope it continues, but it will be tough. FOCUS PLAYERS and act like you’ve been there before.” Aside from the celebration foul after SJF’s second touchdown yesterday, the team did indeed act like its been there before.
There is no need to act with disdain toward the other team when you can benefit your program by acknowledging the opponent’s success and promoting your own team’s chances with caution. There’s a reason we play the games instead of vote for the winner. Mt. Union fans (and midwestern fans in general) are much more humble than Rowan fans, even through their tremendous success over the last decade. Don’t lose casual D3 football fans by being pompous on here — it almost happened last week when obnoxiousness reigned supreme in, of all places, the Liberty League Post Patterns board from certain SJF posters.
Finally, SJF fans, you represent all of the East Region fans right now. Represent us well. RPI and St. John’s fans came away as friends and rooters after their tussle in the Semis a few years back — that’s a great thing, and can happen here too. Relax, enjoy, bite your nails, travel well, represent your fellow fans and set a great example for your team this week.
And, by the way, incredible job by SJF yesterday, especially avoiding the mistakes they made in the second quarter of the Springfield playoff game. Best of luck this weekend in Alliance!
BC… good things do come in small packages, as they say…
Go Fisher College!! Exciting to travel… word is alumni are looking to host a small party Friday night for the parents at the Football Hall of Fame… will find out more info…
This is an exciting time for the Fisher Football Family, the institution and for Rochester, New York Football Fans! The best thing about Saturday’s game against Rowan was to see all of the people there representing other colleges in the area. Hobart, Ithaca, Cortland, U of R to name a few… Fisher is really representing some tremendous east region football teams this coming Saturday. As a graduate and former player for Coach Vos, I could not be more proud of my school and of this team!
This is why they play the games… what a feeling!!!!!!
here you go grad
Toe mae to vs. toe maaaah to
This game is beginning to look like Super Bowl 25… Bills vs Giants… Bills were supposed to run away with that game…. as so the experts said. Ya never know…
Ya GOTTA BELIEVE!!
Hey VOJ,
I should have acknowledged the rest of this post you made earlier:
“VOJ Says:
The 3rd of December, 2006 at 2:12 pm
So sorry for the misunderstanding…I do appreciate your viewpoint, even though it differs from mine at times. Thanks for paying respect to the West, where I tryly think a national semi final type game if not Stagg Bowl type game was played between SJU and UWW.”
I’m OK with the arguing and stuff if you are. I don’t mind, but I know it’s important that we all agree to keep what happens on the board, on the board.
I do respect the views of others; I also take pride in (it’s a borderline crusade) drawing out people’s most well-thought out views … if I am overbearing in that, I should apologize.
mmm k I have long read Daily Dose but never posted, but I am a frequent poster over on Post Patterns. Until recently I never found it necessary to post anything on Daily Dose but this is just rediculous. I have watched Fisher rise from being a terrible team to one of the best in the East and it has been great to see the transformation….Now with this glimpse of success comes many additional Fisher fans which is to be expected, but so far this week all the newcomers have done nothing but really make us look like uninformed jerks that will get the same lesson taught to us by Mount Union that many teams have gotten before us. Now I believe we have a shot against Mt. Union because I wouldn’t be much of a fan if I didn’t, but the lack of respect we are giving to a team that seems only to lose once every couply years is rediculous. Why not pick against Fisher? This is a team that dismantles other teams previously thought to be very good. Losing to Mount Union doesn’t make you bad, it just gives credence to their great program. I could go on and on about this but I don’t want the rest of the nation finally focusing in on Fisher to think all of the fans are like this. We really aren’t…
Frank Rossi,
Well said.
I hope the people who need to read that actually take the time to.
I’ve been thinking of starting a separate thread that demands a different level of thought and respect, but I was giving the populous (and myself) the benefit of the doubt, that we might not need it.
“Pat,
Also, fairly classy of you going after a parent of a player of SJFC. Leave them alone… ”
Perhaps they should take your advice too. Fairly classy is a 2-way street I think.
Can someone help me find where Fisher fans are being disrespectful to their opponents?
If we don’t dignify people’s disrespect with responses, that garbage will go away….
Hey, what is Mount Union’s Stadium like? Looking forward to seeing it. I heard it was first class all the way… somewhat like Fisher’s stadium.
Seats 5,800 and stands many more. The home grandstand is covered. The visitors side will contain many Mount Union fans as well. Press box is large and impressive.
Nice setup. I believe it beats Fisher.
How about this for an example?
D3 Keith & Pat
Coaching will win the Fisher/MCU game…not just the players. Remember that…
posted by Fisher57 at 6:13pm
They are being needlessly arrogant and there are Fisher fans coming out of nowhere posting at an inordinate amount and about 95% of it has no real reasoning or thought, it’s just a bunch of WE DON’T GET ANY RESPECT or WE WILL HANG UP 35 ON MOUNT UNION BABY!!! I think that’s what is annoying people, and it’s annoying me as well.
Pat: Wow!! Fisher is top notch, too… it will be interesting to compare. Mount Union fans on the visitor side??? I take it we should get there early??
BC: I don’t see that as too harsh…. this is why email etc., is tough because it could be taken in SO many different ways… thanks for finding that, though.
booby… those are just idiots… they’ll weed themselves out. Hey, ya never know… 35 on Mount Union… crazier things have happened…. I cannot wait until this weekend.
This Fisher run has reunited a lot of Fisher Alumni that played for Coach Vos througout the years and especially his first recruiting class 15 years ago…. CHRIST, i just dated myself!!! It has been exciting for all of us…. the morons not showing respect are really not indicative of what Fisher is all about, TRUST ME!
GOFISHER:
“Can someone help me find where Fisher fans are being disrespectful to their opponents?”
You really don’t have to look that hard to find it. But I’d start here … your boy is doing your boys no favors:
“If Mount Union is content with their position, their winning streak and their record in the semis…. they have NO idea what is about to hit them. Raiders, you better be ready.”
“If we don’t dignify people’s disrespect with responses, that garbage will go away…”
That’s one theory.
Another is that if we don’t, people might think that’s what passes for OK around here. Also, if there’s misinfomation included, it’s almost someone’s duty to clear the air … Remember, there are a lot of people who read but don’t post. If misinformation, etc. is posted unrebuked, there are people on these threads who may not know better who will believe it.
Allright,
I have stepped in here.
There is a new home for people who want to talk about the semifinals with other people who have something to offer; the goal is to keep it thoughtful and respectful there, and people who want to simply talk football and learn more about the teams they don’t know about, won’t have to waste a lot of time trying to explain what’s wrong about the posts they don’t like, etc.
For the folks who like it rough and mean-spirited, carry on …
The url coding didn’t take: http://www.d3football.com/dailydose/?p=282
Gofisher: I have never sat in the stands but I believe every seat is a reserved seat. You should have a section, row and seat number.
MUC fans can correct me if I’m wrong. But yes, some of the Mount season tickets are definitely on the side behind the visitors’ bench.
I just happened to be looking back through Around the Nation, and read my pick for the SJF-Rowan game:
Pick: The numbers say take St. John Fisher. But Rowan’s nearly dumbfounding knack for winning, even if they haven’t played all that well, is harder to ignore. Profs 23, Cardinals 21
That’s about as respectful you can be of the team you’re picking against 🙂
D3: Applause!! I am over on the other site.
Fisher57
D3 Keith… Isn’t #1 your job…expert? For being experts, you guys are much to defensive…. take some critisism and move on. It’s fun to see you guys carry on the way you do at times…
🙄
My number one job is to share my knowledge about Division III football with people who want to be informed. When you come on here adding next to nothing to the discussion, my job is to add something to it.
It’s no news flash that Pat and I like to mix it up on the boards. The thing is, the vast majority of people on here have earned our respect, through their attitude and their devotion to D3 football, as well as the insights they have on it. We learn something from the people who post on the boards probably every day.
The posters that draw our ire are inevitably the ones who come here spouting misinformation, an obnoxious attitude or both. You will never see Pat or myself get obnoxious with someone who hasn’t been obnoxious first.
Once you cross that line, it has long been our view that you get the amount of respect you give. You can dish it out, big man, why can’t you take it back?
I don’t mind the criticism one bit, I just don’t understand why being criticized automatically binds me to being silent. Don’t agree with that and never have. Would seem to me that’s the time you’d want to speak up.
The best discussions are often born out of conflict.
I’m glad it’s “fun” for you. Wouldn’t want you to take it any other way.
In the words of H Simpson” I like stories”
GOFISHER,
MUC fans usually occupy all parts of the stadium except for a small section on the visitors side but not directly behind the players. Yes, it would be wise to get there early. Plenty of restaurants in the vicinity.
Boobie,
And yes someone did hang 35 points on MUC in the playoffs. It was Widener a few years ago. However, MUC hung 70 points on them and their all American defensive backs who stated they would shut down the MUC receivers.
Ohio is football country!
Good luck to all four teams this weekend. My predictions are-UWW-28 Wesley 14, MUC 34 SJF 17.
I’m pretty sure you’re mistaken about that Widener team. They had a good safety, but its All-Americans were on offense, I believe.
D3Keith
I may be wrong but I sem to recall the All-American receivers playing DB as well. Anyways, it was a fun day in Alliance with 15 touchdowns being scored. Gary Zmeck to Adam Marino all day.