Nice win

[hawktalkerParticipant]

Congratulations to the team for Saturday’s win. Offense balanced run and pass. Defense forced four turnovers and gave up the fewest points of the season. Bucknell is not the greatest team in the league but came into the game with more wins than anyone but Colgate. Maybe there is progress. A championship is still possible.
And yet…crickets on this board. I don’t get it

[Anonymous]

The school has to hype Lehigh football. Other schools have camp out nights on the field before games. Bon-fires. Honestly, the team gets zero hype. The media has all but disappeared. Yes, this all cost money and Lehigh football is just another sport within the school. I would love to see more hype. The band is great and the games have a pretty good atmosphere. Lehigh football is just missing something. Maybe being at the FCS level people think its B-footbalL??? I dont know what it will take but having 4-8k in attendance is tough. We have all been tough on this team. Misery loves company. People like to write when times are tough and they kind of hide when we win. It’s just the nature of sports. I think an over-hauling of the stadium field would help but it is still not the answer. When we play Lafayette the game day crowd is buzzing. Its real college football. Wish it was like that more often. Should be exciting this year with a lot riding on the line last game of the season. Thank god, no head injuries this week. Start getting those ring fingers sized. Its going to happen!!!

[GoLehighDadParticipant]

Hype and enthusiasm for games could be helped in a couple ways–three thoughts:

1. Game day experience would be cool if everyone all tailgated in a common location–bring everyone together! For example, PSU is a great place to tailgate because everyone is nearby–students aren’t set up in one end zone lot, alums in another, boosters in the far corner, and parents and ex-players in two other places.

In general, parties aren’t fun if everybody segregates into different corners. Would it be possible to use the lax/soccer fields in front of main stadium gate to create a great focal point of tailgate parties? Weather permitting of course, but then everyone can hang together. Maybe MoCo student parties on the edges (play music as loud as you want!), with players’ and parents’ near the middle? Last year, we had a great time in Lehigh parking lot at LeLaf game–parents, alums, students, great DJ, good food, perfect weather all in one place!

I know we can’t control the weather, but most days, we could all have a great time in front of Goodman’s main gate!

B. Early in the season, could the kickoffs be moved to 1:30? Gives students a chance to sleep in, or study a bit, before grabbing a bus to Goodman!

3. Lights. Expensive solution, but maybe that could help those who could travel for 3:30 kickoffs, or even a 7PM game! Would be a great day on campus leading up to the late kickoff!

Just some ideas…

[richb-1Participant]

When football was at Taylor Stadium, up until 1987, games started at 1:30. Of course, when I was there, classes sometimes did not end until noon Saturday. Also, with no TV time outs, no OT, games usually ended in 2.5 hours.

Again, sooner or later, we will have a post Daylight saving time game delayed by lightning and the game will be incomplete.

Lights. I would bet that since Lafayette lit Fisher Field a dozen years ago, there average attendance has increased by 1-2,000 average while it is down 2-3,000 at Goodman.

[sundayamqbParticipant]

Put Goodman back on campus and attendance would increase. Walking to games was a huge attraction/incentive … It’s not possible — unless you think big and bold — but …

Athletic facilities on main campus for regular students pale in comparison to many D-III schools I’ve been to.

1) I like the idea about a common tailgating area. You are right. The band does a great job pre-game now in certain areas. but not all.

2) Lights: The Mocos are ridiculous. Why not play at night, especially early in season? Use them for Bethlehem Steel Club soccer games …

3) Maybe this is done; maybe it’s not: Target-market groups to come. I’d imagine there are a lot of international students and maybe other students who have never been exposed to football. Hold fun sessions explaining the game. Have ambassadors take them to pre-game picnics and sit with them at games.

4) I have not been at a home game this year, but … why not do some more minor league baseball-type crazy contests and promotions during times-out, quarter breaks and the like?

Let’s see some young ladies push a sled, compete in field goal contests, etc., sponsored by a local business. Maybe we have have some students race through a tackling dummy course (and maybe we’ll find a new linebacker or DB)?

5) Invite more than just former athletes back for celebrations. How about reunions/anniversaries for this club or that club? This major or that major?

[lfnadminKeymaster]

Ten years ago, Delaware hosted Richmond and it was a very entertaining game between nationally-ranked teams and it was a crazy thriller that went to multiple OTs. The attendance was 21,187.

This year, Delaware hosted Richmond and it was a very entertaining game between nationally-ranked teams and it was a crazy thriller that went to multiple OTs. The attendance was 15,710.

Attendance at college football games is down across the country. It is my impression that more and more people are following college football than ever before, but fewer and fewer people are going to games. This is a systemic problem.

People still come to Lehigh/Lafayette because the game itself is an event. Not every game can elevate to that level of event, but more could be done to make the other regular-season games events. The best idea I’ve seen involves marching bands. Fordham’s game vs. Lehigh featured a local drumline from NJ that performed at halftime that everyone loved. Could Lehigh invite a local middle or high school marching band or drumline to perform at halftime to do something similar, or allow a local marching band to hang out and play alongside the Marching 97? Women’s hoops has that special day where local schools come out and watch their game, and that’s a tremendous idea that can and should be extended to a football game as well. Perhaps other promotions with local high school teams could also be considered – free admission? – which might be a good idea.

Lehigh football has been best when it’s worked hard to develop bonds with the local community. The closer that bond is, the more fans will show.

[richb-1Participant]

Even Lehigh Lafayette attendance is down. It was 19,300 at Taylor Stadium with a couple thousand temp seats on the baseball field(later parking lot). When Goodman was built there were 1,000 Aluminum seats underneath the Scoreboard. And they brought about 2300 temporary seats for the South (entrance) end of the Stadium. I remember those first years fans were even able to do the wave.

Then, around year 2000, the below scoreboard seats were moved to the pre-Ulrich Fields Soccer Fields. (a couple of years ago they disappeared entirely). Then the temps disappeared. Now attendance makes at 16,000. Even when Lehi-Laf was for the league title and the playoffs (like 4 years ago) temp seats were not brought in. I suspect no longer using temp seating has cost us maybe 5,000 in attendance over the last decade and a half.

[buckParticipant]

Lehigh v. Lafayette is your father’s rivalry (50’s – 60’s). Students couldn’t care less. If students tailgate they mostly leave before the game starts.

[richb-1Participant]

When I was in School, 60’s + 70’s there were two big football weekends. Lehi-Laf and Houseparty. If there is still Houseparty, I don’t hear about it. LU Students are probably more likely to show up at a game in Easton, than a non-Laf game at Goodman.

Obviously the percentage of students attending leh-laf is down from 10-30-50 years ago, but it is certainly the gaame most likely to be attended.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 5 months ago by  richb-1.

[marcoParticipant]

At the beginning of the year, I said (jokingly) that with this offense, all the defense had to do was “hold” teams to 28 – 30 points.

It seems that unfortunately, this was true.

My prediction for the next two games, based upon the defense’s propensity to make ordinary runners the second coming of Tony Dorsett, and low scoring offenses look high-powered:

November 11 – Lehigh 48 – Holy Cross 42

November 18 – Number 153 – Lehigh 42 – Lafayette 24

And yes, that means I think they’ll go to the playoffs.

[Author]

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