Back from Starksville...some thoughts

aeromech

aeromech

Dodd-Like
Joined
Jan 14, 2007
Messages
16,338
Some observations in no particular order:

a) When did Josh learn to pass the long ball? I mean actually 'pass it', not throw it? Seemed like most of his better passes were after he rolled out rather than sitting in the pocket. (Maybe he has Dave Archeritis?) The passing game looked much improved.

b) GT fans don't travel well. Most of us there had a great time; but it seems like most GT fans prefer to watch tv instead of driving.

c) Speaking of TV's, you guys missed the opportunity to watch the biggest TV I'll probably ever see. Apparently MSU spent all their money on the big freakin TV and had none left over for bathroom facilities (more later).

d) The offense appears to have gelled. The only time MSU could stop it was when the offense stopped itself. Stopping itself usually required back to back penalties on a series of downs (or at least it seemed that way).

e) D. Thomas simply owned the DB trying to cover him. I don't think the DB covering Thomas was ever able to stop him. Typical play was: screen to Thomas, Thomas stiff arms DB to the ground, help arrives 7-8 yards later to tackle Thomas. I don't know why MSU didn't put someone else on Thomas because by the 3rd quarter it looked like the DB had simply given up.

f) Dwyer should be back next year, he simply isn't getting the stats he needs to jump early.

g) Indoor plumbing must be a new concept to MSU. I now have a greater appreciation for those who designed our stadium. Not only were the facilities primitive; but they were in short supply. They need about another 30-40 feet of trench.

h) MSU fans make good hosts. Nice people for the most part and a nice campus. MSU is in the sticks though, I can't think of a good reason for someone to go to school there unless you are from nearby.

i) Cowbells are overated. I did not notice the stadium being that loud, maybe the team has a different opinion. Seems like people get too focused on ringing their cowbell and forget to simply cheer. I think the way the stadium is shaped may have some effect of letting the noise out. There was no real attempt to keep cowbells out of stadium, which I'm really ok with; but I bet it gets them a costly penalty eventually.

j) Maybe our kickoff job should go to the guy who is the best open field tackler instead the deepest kicker in practice. Just a thought.
 
aeromech said:
h) MSU fans make good hosts. Nice people for the most part and a nice campus. MSU is in the sticks though, I can't think of a good reason for someone to go to school there unless you are from nearby.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more. I had no idea what to expect but those fans were incredible. The first one who said anything to our group said "Welcome to Mississippi, we're glad to have you." My jaw about dropped. Only 1 or 2 jeers but nothing in bad taste. A few calculator jokes though!
 
Great list, aero. We seem to have "found an identity" on offense. I like how mentally tough we are on 3rd downs, etc.

The defense looked extremely poor last night. Mullen did a good job mixing the run in with the pass. I was surprised at how bad we were at stopping the spread despite the fact that we practice against such a similar system every day.

A win is a win, though. We came up with the plays we needed to win the ballgame in hostile territory. The people at MSU were nice to us, and I can't wait to drive down and see us destroy the Criminoles!
 
It appears MSU has the 2nd largest video board on any campus.

U Texas has the largest.
 
MSU fans are the best. The students all greeted us from 'hi' to 'welcome to starkville'. (we say 'go jackets' to other jackets fans and they try to ignore us until we say it enough that they finally wave...) One of the freshmen let us into the dorm to use the facilities because they weren't in our initial lot. Alumni were even nicer. Our group of 6 got invited to a tailgate of one of our dad's golf buddies' brothers. We got lost on the way and got invited to 3 other tailgates, everyone helped us find them, and when we finally got there 2 hours of enjoying the tailgating elsewhere later...they were THE most friendly and welcoming people ever. Ignoring a few of the more 'passionate' MSU fans in the game who left early in disgust, they were friendly there too. Went back to the post-game tailgate and met an MSU player who was friends with our people. Great guy. Nothing but compliments.
 
P.S. their fans participated in "What's the Good Word?" when LSU went up at the end.
 
The only people who don't hate Georgia are Georgia fans. From everything I've heard most SEC fanbases dislike them.
 
I was also extremely impressed with the Miss State fans. They were welcoming and kind both before and after the game (I didn't really interact with any during the game). We were walking back to the car after the game when one of their fans sitting in traffic thanked us for coming and wished us the best. We made sure to let him know how much we enjoyed our trip and thank them for their hospitality. They really made it an incredible trip, definitely something I'll remember.

Conversely, some of our fans were not so kind. I was standing in the 3rd or 4th row of the GT section with a bunch of friends from Swarm, ahead of us were some drunk GT fans who were dressed up (they appeared to be from fraternities, but I can't be sure). It didn't take more than a 7 point GT lead for them to think the game was in the bag. They taunted the MSU fans, chanting "Where's the cowbell?" and generally trying to pick a fight. It only got worse when MSU fans started to exit the game, since they walked directly in front of the GT section. They generally treated people with no respect, and when I tried to talk to them about some of their actions, they pushed me off of the bleacher. They made me truly embarassed to represent GT, especially since MSU fans were so great.

Overall, it was an awesome experience, but improvements still need to be made among GT fans in the area of sportsmanship.
 
Yep there are always some rotten eggs in every bunch. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip to Miss State. Thanks for representing for those of us who couldn't make it.
 
manellis said:
Conversely, some of our fans were not so kind. I was standing in the 3rd or 4th row of the GT section with a bunch of friends from Swarm, ahead of us were some drunk GT fans who were dressed up (they appeared to be from fraternities, but I can't be sure). It didn't take more than a 7 point GT lead for them to think the game was in the bag. They taunted the MSU fans, chanting "Where's the cowbell?" and generally trying to pick a fight. It only got worse when MSU fans started to exit the game, since they walked directly in front of the GT section. They generally treated people with no respect, and when I tried to talk to them about some of their actions, they pushed me off of the bleacher. They made me truly embarassed to represent GT, especially since MSU fans were so great.
Click to expand...

*sigh* They truly were an embarrassment to the GT community, especially after the way the Miss. St. fans had treated us so well.
 
aeromech said:
Some observations in no particular order:

a) When did Josh learn to pass the long ball? I mean actually 'pass it', not throw it? Seemed like most of his better passes were after he rolled out rather than sitting in the pocket. (Maybe he has Dave Archeritis?) The passing game looked much improved.

b) GT fans don't travel well. Most of us there had a great time; but it seems like most GT fans prefer to watch tv instead of driving.

c) Speaking of TV's, you guys missed the opportunity to watch the biggest TV I'll probably ever see. Apparently MSU spent all their money on the big freakin TV and had none left over for bathroom facilities (more later).

d) The offense appears to have gelled. The only time MSU could stop it was when the offense stopped itself. Stopping itself usually required back to back penalties on a series of downs (or at least it seemed that way).

e) D. Thomas simply owned the DB trying to cover him. I don't think the DB covering Thomas was ever able to stop him. Typical play was: screen to Thomas, Thomas stiff arms DB to the ground, help arrives 7-8 yards later to tackle Thomas. I don't know why MSU didn't put someone else on Thomas because by the 3rd quarter it looked like the DB had simply given up.

f) Dwyer should be back next year, he simply isn't getting the stats he needs to jump early.

g) Indoor plumbing must be a new concept to MSU. I now have a greater appreciation for those who designed our stadium. Not only were the facilities primitive; but they were in short supply. They need about another 30-40 feet of trench.

h) MSU fans make good hosts. Nice people for the most part and a nice campus. MSU is in the sticks though, I can't think of a good reason for someone to go to school there unless you are from nearby.

i) Cowbells are overated. I did not notice the stadium being that loud, maybe the team has a different opinion. Seems like people get too focused on ringing their cowbell and forget to simply cheer. I think the way the stadium is shaped may have some effect of letting the noise out. There was no real attempt to keep cowbells out of stadium, which I'm really ok with; but I bet it gets them a costly penalty eventually.

j) Maybe our kickoff job should go to the guy who is the best open field tackler instead the deepest kicker in practice. Just a thought.
Click to expand...


Try sitting in a sea of them...they're LOUD!!!! I was across from the GT section( a few sections over from the band) and Im still hearing ringing in my ear.
 
RoswellWreck said:
Try sitting in a sea of them...they're LOUD!!!! I was across from the GT section( a few sections over from the band) and Im still hearing ringing in my ear.
Click to expand...

You can thank our defensive performance for keeping those cowbells a'ringin.
 
manellis said:
Conversely, some of our fans were not so kind. I was standing in the 3rd or 4th row of the GT section with a bunch of friends from Swarm, ahead of us were some drunk GT fans who were dressed up (they appeared to be from fraternities, but I can't be sure). It didn't take more than a 7 point GT lead for them to think the game was in the bag. They taunted the MSU fans, chanting "Where's the cowbell?" and generally trying to pick a fight. It only got worse when MSU fans started to exit the game, since they walked directly in front of the GT section. They generally treated people with no respect, and when I tried to talk to them about some of their actions, they pushed me off of the bleacher. They made me truly embarassed to represent GT, especially since MSU fans were so great.

Overall, it was an awesome experience, but improvements still need to be made among GT fans in the area of sportsmanship.
Click to expand...

Section V? If so, the large group (15-20) was a fraternity. I was with a small group front row of section U. We were being loud, but not terribly obnoxious. When their fans started exiting there were two of them that tried to start fights while we were singing the fight song. Unfortunately, that riled up some of us and the surrounding fans and we weren't so cordial for a short while after. All was well outside the stadium though.
 
aeromech said:
Some observations in no particular order:

a) When did Josh learn to pass the long ball? I mean actually 'pass it', not throw it? Seemed like most of his better passes were after he rolled out rather than sitting in the pocket. (Maybe he has Dave Archeritis?) The passing game looked much improved.

b) GT fans don't travel well. Most of us there had a great time; but it seems like most GT fans prefer to watch tv instead of driving.

c) Speaking of TV's, you guys missed the opportunity to watch the biggest TV I'll probably ever see. Apparently MSU spent all their money on the big freakin TV and had none left over for bathroom facilities (more later).

d) The offense appears to have gelled. The only time MSU could stop it was when the offense stopped itself. Stopping itself usually required back to back penalties on a series of downs (or at least it seemed that way).

e) D. Thomas simply owned the DB trying to cover him. I don't think the DB covering Thomas was ever able to stop him. Typical play was: screen to Thomas, Thomas stiff arms DB to the ground, help arrives 7-8 yards later to tackle Thomas. I don't know why MSU didn't put someone else on Thomas because by the 3rd quarter it looked like the DB had simply given up.

f) Dwyer should be back next year, he simply isn't getting the stats he needs to jump early.

g) Indoor plumbing must be a new concept to MSU. I now have a greater appreciation for those who designed our stadium. Not only were the facilities primitive; but they were in short supply. They need about another 30-40 feet of trench.

h) MSU fans make good hosts. Nice people for the most part and a nice campus. MSU is in the sticks though, I can't think of a good reason for someone to go to school there unless you are from nearby.

i) Cowbells are overated. I did not notice the stadium being that loud, maybe the team has a different opinion. Seems like people get too focused on ringing their cowbell and forget to simply cheer. I think the way the stadium is shaped may have some effect of letting the noise out. There was no real attempt to keep cowbells out of stadium, which I'm really ok with; but I bet it gets them a costly penalty eventually.

j) Maybe our kickoff job should go to the guy who is the best open field tackler instead the deepest kicker in practice. Just a thought.
Click to expand...

Thanks for representing, nice report.

Have you been listening to Les Miles pronounce the location?
 
RoswellWreck said:
Try sitting in a sea of them...they're LOUD!!!! I was across from the GT section( a few sections over from the band) and Im still hearing ringing in my ear.
Click to expand...

I'll give you that, a cowbell is loud up close; but I was commenting more on the stadium as a whole. Even with the extra emphasis on cowbells (Mullen reportedly had a 'fever and the only cure was more cowbell'), I didn't find the stadium that exceptionally loud. I wonder if 40 yards away out on the field if it was a problem to the players.
 
hdtvfan said:
Thanks for representing, nice report.

Have you been listening to Les Miles pronounce the location?
Click to expand...

Ha, ha, no; but I have been calling this place Starkspatch. Don't know why I keep adding the extra 's'. I used to call Croom 'Crooms' too. :laugher:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top