Patriot League Offseason: Fordham

[Lehigh Football Nation]

http://lehighfootballnation.blogspot.com/2008/08/patriot-league-offseason-2008-fordham.html

My analysis of the offseason of *your* Fordham Rams.

[Go...gate]

I agree with everything you said except that about Bill Bradley. On that Knicks team, he was a star. He made everyone else better. They all did for each other.

[TheValleyRaider]

The one new name is a familiar one to Patriot League fans: Shawn Johnson, who nearly transferred to Fordham in 2003 when he graduated from Duke but still had a year of eligibility. Unfortunately for Colgate, the folks at Fordham steered him to Delaware where Johnson helped the Blue Hens trounce the Raiders in the I-AA Championship game 40-0.

You just had to go there, didn't you? xnonox xbangx ;)

And I'll just let JoltinJoe pick apart your clearly mistaken notions about NY sports xwhistlex ;)

I do love a good Meat Loaf reference though xlolx xthumbsupx

[JoltinJoe]

And I'll just let JoltinJoe pick apart your clearly mistaken notions about NY sports xwhistlex ;)


Anyone who thinks Yankee fans are rude and vulgar fans who yell out, "____ sucks" all the time, and are looking to start fights, has never been to Yankee Stadium. Yankee fans are among the most positive in sports, very supportive of the home team but also willing to give due to the opposition. Here's what one top ballplayer said not long ago.

"It's different from New York," said [Gary] Matthews, Jr.. "Yankee fans are passionate about their teams, but they're a little more couth. They have a little more class than Boston fans. At least in New York they appreciate guys who play the game hard and play the game right and they let you know it. In Boston, they just smack you for three straight days. They're just dogging you there the whole time. It's a different place."

And here's a column by Boston sports fan/columnist Jim Caple. One weekend, a few years ago, he wore a Red Sox shirt to to Yankee Stadium, expecting to be threatened. But nothing happened. He also wore a Yankee shirt to Fenway, and did in fact get some noticeable hostile reaction.

Welcome to the Terrordome (http://espn.go.com/page2/s/caple/031014.html)
I wore a Red Sox T-shirt in the Yankee Stadium bleachers and a Yankees T-shirt in the Fenway Park bleachers during the playoffs this past week. And having done so, an apology might be in order for all the Yankees fans I have gleefully insulted over the past few years.

Not that I actually WILL apologize, mind you. I'm just saying that an apology would be in order if I was a bigger man.

I wore the Boston shirt on the subway to Yankee Stadium for Game 2. And I wore it for an hour outside the stadium. And I wore it in the bleachers for three innings. And no one offered so much as a single unpleasant remark. Not one. In fact, one Yankee fan even held the door open for me at the McDonald's across from the stadium.

They were so damn pleasant about it that I don't think I was even in New York.

In contrast to other cities, New York sports fans can celebrate a championship and not have a riot. The Giants just won the Super Bowl. We had massive celebrations, but no riots. No violence. No deaths.

The Yankees have won four World Series sincen 1996. Again massive celebrations, but no riots, no deaths. In fact, I was at game #6 of the 1996 World Series. Once the game was over, our initial instincts were to get away from the Stadium as quickly as possible. But by the time we made 161st Street, the streets and Macomb Dams Parks were already filled with people. Amazing. Privileged white people, who had access to World Series tickets, leaving the stadium were mingling with blacks and Hispanics from the neighborhood for what had turned into an instantaneous inter-racial party. Music was blasting from apartment windows, people wild with enthusiam, blacks and whites exchanging high fives ....

I'd like to see that happen in some other cities. And not a hint of violence. Everyone celebrating a World Series title, having fun, and getting along.

Don Mattingly belongs in the Hall of Fame. His numbers are virtually identical to Kirby Puckett.

I agree with Go...Gate about Bill Bradley -- the ultimate team player.

Good write-up about Fordham, though.

[TheValleyRaider]

Start spreadin' the news... xwhistlex

xbowx

[carney2]

Since Joe took this thread to Yankees-Red Sox - as if ESPN doesn't give us enough of that crap - I don't feel particularly out of place or even self absorbed with the following set of questions:

I'm thinking of making Fordham one of my road trips this year - weather permitting, of course.

How difficult is it to get to Coffey?

Is there convenient parking?

What are chances of getting a decent seat for a walk-up purchaser in a (hopefully) meaningful League game hosted by the defending champs?

[JoltinJoe]

Since Joe took this thread to Yankees-Red Sox - as if ESPN doesn't give us enough of that crap - I don't feel particularly out of place or even self absorbed with the following set of questions:

I'm thinking of making Fordham one of my road trips this year - weather permitting, of course.

How difficult is it to get to Coffey?

Is there convenient parking?

What are chances of getting a decent seat for a walk-up purchaser in a (hopefully) meaningful League game hosted by the defending champs?

It's not as difficult to drive to Fordham as you might think. Where are you coming from?

[Lehigh Football Nation]

The environment around Coffey is breathtaking - you walk through part of picturesque campus to get to the field. Parking is ample at Coffey - there's a large parking lot with plenty of room for tailgating. The only problem is that all the stands are on one side of the stadium since it's a multi-use field.

It's a lot easier to get to from the North (I-95 south to the Pelham Parkway) than the South (I think you get off at the Bronx River Parkway, take a bunch of different streets, and end up at the Fordham Campus from the other side).

I never had problems buying tickets back in the day - of course, I didn't buy a ticket for Holy Cross/Fordham, so I'm not 100% sure.

[JoltinJoe]

The environment around Coffey is breathtaking - you walk through part of picturesque campus to get to the field. Parking is ample at Coffey - there's a large parking lot with plenty of room for tailgating. The only problem is that all the stands are on one side of the stadium since it's a multi-use field.

It's a lot easier to get to from the North (I-95 south to the Pelham Parkway) than the South (I think you get off at the Bronx River Parkway, take a bunch of different streets, and end up at the Fordham Campus from the other side).

I never had problems buying tickets back in the day - of course, I didn't buy a ticket for Holy Cross/Fordham, so I'm not 100% sure.

BTW, if you are using a GPS to get to Fordham, set it for the "New York Botanical Garden." Then, when it tells you to make a right into the NYBG, make a left into the Fordham entrance instead.

Setting the GPS for "Fordham" takes you to the gate near the main university street address; but that is only a pedestrian entrance.

Of course, if you get there early, you may want to turn right into the NYBG, park there, and then spend some time at the gardens before th game. You can leave your car parked at the NYBG.

Coffey is right across the street from the NYBG.

[Fordham]

Since Joe took this thread to Yankees-Red Sox - as if ESPN doesn't give us enough of that crap - I don't feel particularly out of place or even self absorbed with the following set of questions:

I'm thinking of making Fordham one of my road trips this year - weather permitting, of course.

How difficult is it to get to Coffey?

Is there convenient parking?

What are chances of getting a decent seat for a walk-up purchaser in a (hopefully) meaningful League game hosted by the defending champs?

Very easy to get to.

Plenty of parking a short walk from the stadium.

History would say you can get the best seats in the house walking up to the stadium right around 1pm for a 1:05 kickoff. With students getting in free this year and our HC game last year showing that we could pack the house, make sure to check in again leading up to the game, though. In the few games over the years where we had a capacity-type crowd, we usually had a good idea in the week leading up to it that it was going to happen so you'll know if you need to grab some in advance.

[ngineer]

Since Joe took this thread to Yankees-Red Sox - as if ESPN doesn't give us enough of that crap - I don't feel particularly out of place or even self absorbed with the following set of questions:

I'm thinking of making Fordham one of my road trips this year - weather permitting, of course.

How difficult is it to get to Coffey?

Is there convenient parking?

What are chances of getting a decent seat for a walk-up purchaser in a (hopefully) meaningful League game hosted by the defending champs?


Not bad drive. Just go over the GW bridge. It's a few miles beyond that, that you'll exit. Signs for Bronx Zoo. Good parking. Walk up tickets should not be a problem.

[Fordham]

Great write-up as usual, LFN.

A few comments overall:

*I'd say without a doubt that punter Ben Dato is the hardest guy to replace. He gave us tremendous field position advantages all year, both from him booming kickoffs to his consistent booming punts. A note from our first pre-season scrimmage (http://fordhamsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/082308aaa.html) shows that frosh "replacement" Cameron Dean had a 37.5 yd average on 10 punts. Losing those 10 yards throughout the course of the game can be huge, not to mention the impact of fewer touchbacks on KO's.

As far as losing Hudnell and Owens - they were tough guys who will be hard to replace but in conversations with people surrounding the program, they feel that LB will be one of our strengths this year and overall the speed at LB will markedly increase this year with Crockett, Mageira, Delaire and D'Arcy handling the duties. Time will tell but it's moreso the kicking game that could really impact us in close games this year.

*Interesting call on Whiting as the big name in the frosh class. Could very well be and, not that I put THAT much stock in that first scrimmage, but he really had a great start. Other names to keep an eye on are 6'1 325lb NG Wes Perryman from Plano, TX, who had an offer from Air Force. He fills a big a position of need, given how our Dline was pushed around by UMASS. Also, Jamir Livingston, a TB with an offer from Army, was our most highly publicized recruit and could certainly play a key role for us as well.

*I had trouble following the fans section part a bit. I don't know of any Fordham fans who remember the good ol' top 10 days, let alone think there's any chance of rekindling them. There is complete acceptance of where we are and if anything, I think there's a split between fans who want us to upgrade our facilities to something in the same ballpark of Lehigh/Lafayette and consistently compete for PL league titles and those that think we should aspire to whatever full scholly league forms once the CAA north schools leave (assuming that happens). I just think there's much more overall acceptance of where our program fits in the NY sports pantheon than discussed in your article. We'd love some more coverage but no one is expecting back page Daily News type stuff.

Again, great stuff, LFN. Interested in the Gtown write-up next.

[Lehigh Football Nation]

Great write-up as usual, LFN.

A few comments overall:

*I'd say without a doubt that punter Ben Dato is the hardest guy to replace. He gave us tremendous field position advantages all year, both from him booming kickoffs to his consistent booming punts. A note from our first pre-season scrimmage (http://fordhamsports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/082308aaa.html) shows that frosh "replacement" Cameron Dean had a 37.5 yd average on 10 punts. Losing those 10 yards throughout the course of the game can be huge, not to mention the impact of fewer touchbacks on KO's.

...

*Interesting call on Whiting as the big name in the frosh class. Could very well be and, not that I put THAT much stock in that first scrimmage, but he really had a great start. Other names to keep an eye on are 6'1 325lb NG Wes Perryman from Plano, TX, who had an offer from Air Force. He fills a big a position of need, given how our Dline was pushed around by UMASS. Also, Jamir Livingston, a TB with an offer from Army, was our most highly publicized recruit and could certainly play a key role for us as well.

Glad you liked it... I thought about calling Dato the guy that will be the most missed but I think Hudnell and Owens might have a larger impact than anyone thinks. They both had a ridiculous number of tackles for loss last year - maybe other LBs will be able to just jump in and pick up where they left off, but I'm not so certain. In any event, I agree that Dato was a major weapon in field position and he too will be missed.

In your incoming class, I also really like the QB Taafe a *lot*, but like you I also noted Perryman who has the potential to be great. But I also think Whiting is just the absolute perfect fit for what you guys do. He wouldn't work as well at Colgate, Lafayette or Lehigh, but at Fordham he's the perfect fit. Plus, he fits the bill as a local guy who just "fell below the radar".