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Post by rgs318 on May 20, 2021 6:31:12 GMT -5
Might the game be shown on the new video screen at Fitton?
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Post by nycrusader2010 on May 20, 2021 6:54:21 GMT -5
Why the vitriol? Georgetown has been playing football since 1874 and is no more or less visible than Fordham football (at least until its date in Lincoln this fall). Does Fordham have a Division I football team? There has always been an element of the HC fan base that doesn't want Georgetown in the PL, for grievances unrelated to the field of play. If you agree, petition the College to vote them out at the 2021 presidents meeting, whereupon Georgetown can move to the NEC. DFW HOYA I’m one of the ones that has a problem with Georgetown being in the Patriot League. I feel the same way towards Army and Navy. Why because each of these institutions conveniently uses the Patriot League when it suits them. When was the last time Georgetown basketball invited Holy Cross to play. We have to beg Army and Navy to play us in football but they show up for all of the other sports. No vitriol just fact. Back when I played Georgetown was a club football team. Incorrect on Army and Navy. Since the PL went scholarship, both the academies have been very loyal scheduling Patriot League teams. Navy only has ONE open game each season (8 AAC, Army, Air Force, Notre Dame take up 11 of the 12 games). And they've opened with the Patriot League probably 6 of the last 7 seasons. They were supposed to play Lafayette last fall before COVID. Unlike Army, Navy didn't really have much football history with the PL prior. Our game in Annapolis was the first Navy-Holy Cross football matchup in history, so we didn't even play them back in the glory days. Army is an independent and typically plays 2 FCS teams per year, one of which is almost always a Patriot League team. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to book a return trip to Michie just yet -- hopefully sometime in the 2020's. The best opportunity would be in a year where we get stuck with the PL end-of-season "bye" week. Oftentimes, Army plays that PL team in the final week of the FCS regular season. As far as Fordham, it's absolutely ridiculous that we don't have a home-and-home series going in Men's Basketball. Or at least 2 out of every 4 years. Because Fordham is somehow able to get one-off games at Rose Hill against the Maryland-Eastern Shore, St. Francis (NY), James Madison and Maine's of the world, they won't agree to a home-and-home with us. Because football is the most visible sport at Fordham as far as alumni involvement and following, most Fordham alum I know view HC as their rival school. A basketball series would draw interest. Georgetown -- Without combing through the last 20 years of MBB schedules, I believe they do schedule PL teams at least somewhat frequently but typically the schools in driving distance. I know Navy beat them this past year. While a Holy Cross game at the Verizon Center would be fun, it may be that we prefer to play big-time teams that offer a larger payout, like Kansas, Michigan, UCONN and Maryland. I like having Georgetown in the football league because they maintain the league's DC-area footprint for us in football. And having a great institution like Georgetown in the conference is good for the league IMO, just like having the service academies for other sports. Would be nice if their admin would commit just a little more towards becoming competitive in football. The last 10 years, they've actually performed pretty well given the chasm in scholarships. Georgetown getting better at football would = the PL getting better at football. If you look at league history, Fordham was basically the Georgetown of the league the first 12 years or so that the conference existed. And now Fordham is a core football member. Hopefully Georgetown can find a way to get up there.
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Post by A Clock Tower Purple on May 20, 2021 7:04:58 GMT -5
Might the game be shown on the new video screen at Fitton? ? For who? The mice and squirrels who call Fitton home and can't make it two miles down the road or for the thousands who will want to go but can't get a ticket?
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Post by rgs318 on May 20, 2021 7:30:49 GMT -5
For whom? I would say the latter (although hundreds rather than thousands). After all, for parents weekend isn't showing off the campus a big part of that event?
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Post by thecrossisback on May 20, 2021 7:33:45 GMT -5
The people driving by on the highway.
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Post by trimster on May 20, 2021 7:44:06 GMT -5
Might the game be shown on the new video screen at Fitton? ? For who? The mice and squirrels who call Fitton home and can't make it two miles down the road or for the thousands who will want to go but can't get a ticket? I am going with the former since this place doesn’t look like Tuscaloosa, Toto.
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Post by timholycross on May 20, 2021 10:58:08 GMT -5
Maybe if there was a new video board in the Hart Center gym I'd say it would be nice to have that game on it; but, let's face it, who'd sit in a dark, cold stadium to watch a game like that? No lights there, remember?
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Post by longsuffering on May 20, 2021 15:24:37 GMT -5
If they still have the dorm social rooms (and if the spilled beer smell has lifted) each dorm could set up a reception to watch the game with visiting family on a flat screen TV since it will be televised.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on May 20, 2021 15:45:18 GMT -5
The number of people who WANT to attend the Polar Park game but find themselves unable to get a ticket could probably fit into Brew City on Shrewsbury Street. They can watch the game there.
9,000 seats is just about the perfect size venue for HC-Colgate in Worcester.
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Post by bfoley82 on May 20, 2021 15:47:40 GMT -5
If they still have the dorm social rooms (and if the spilled beer smell has lifted) each dorm could set up a reception to watch the game with visiting family on a flat screen TV since it will be televised. Noone ever used those when I was in college and that was 20 years ago!
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Post by hcgrad94 on May 20, 2021 16:32:17 GMT -5
The number of people who WANT to attend the Polar Park game but find themselves unable to get a ticket could probably fit into Brew City on Shrewsbury Street. They can watch the game there. 9,000 seats is just about the perfect size venue for HC-Colgate in Worcester. Of course it is. If there’s a little urgency for people to get their tickets and be part of the event, that’s a good thing we haven’t had since a few Willard era BB games.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on May 20, 2021 16:36:27 GMT -5
The number of people who WANT to attend the Polar Park game but find themselves unable to get a ticket could probably fit into Brew City on Shrewsbury Street. They can watch the game there. 9,000 seats is just about the perfect size venue for HC-Colgate in Worcester. Of course it is. If there’s a little urgency for people to get their tickets and be part of the event, that’s a good thing we haven’t had since a few Willard era BB games. We did sell out for MBB Homecoming against BU in January 2017. I was there, that was a fun day!
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on May 20, 2021 20:17:59 GMT -5
The number of people who WANT to attend the Polar Park game but find themselves unable to get a ticket could probably fit into Brew City on Shrewsbury Street. They can watch the game there. 9,000 seats is just about the perfect size venue for HC-Colgate in Worcester. There are not 9,000 seats at Polar Park, seating is about 30 percent less. As ithe game is apparently Parents Weekend, if 1,000 students bring two parents, there is 3,000 seats right there.
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Post by CHC8485 on May 20, 2021 20:41:30 GMT -5
The number of people who WANT to attend the Polar Park game but find themselves unable to get a ticket could probably fit into Brew City on Shrewsbury Street. They can watch the game there. 9,000 seats is just about the perfect size venue for HC-Colgate in Worcester. 3 of the last 5 Family weekend games drew over the published capacity of Polar Park. One of the Lehigh games was played in a monsoon (I think it was the 2019 game) and I'm pretty sure the other game was pretty wet as well. If the weather is decent, selling out Polar Park should not be an issue. Year | Opponent | Attendance | 2015 | Lafayette | 10,725 | 2016 | Lehigh | 3,668 | 2017 | Georgetown | 9,063 | 2018 | Lehigh | 1,779 | 2019 | Colgate | 10,926 |
| Average | 7,232 |
In my view as an alum and a parent of recent graduates, family weekend has become over scheduled with lots of activities that will interest many people but forces families to choose one activity vs. another which creates pockets of those with common interests rather than a community gathering. For example there is no longer a Family Weekend Ball on Saturday night. Just 3 or 4 things to choose to do on campus Saturday night. I hope the scheduling of this game at night, is an attempt to create a single event for Family Weekend that will bring a large cross section of the HC community (students, families, alumni, etc.) together for a shared celebration of being part of the larger Holy Cross Family. And holding it in town enables the greater Worcester community to be part of that as well. Will be interested to see how the Inauguration of President Rougeau overlays all the other activities.
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Post by Crucis#1 on May 21, 2021 8:39:16 GMT -5
I have a hunch, that the Inauguration will be on Sunday morning, as the closing event for Family Weekend at Fitton. The shared celebration that you mentioned will be the Inauguration.
One of the reasons I believe the football game will be off campus, is to allow the set up with the proper staging of Fitton as the venue for the Sunday ceremony. Not saying this is fact, just speculating based on attending several College and University Presidential Inaugurations at HC and other institutions.
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Post by longsuffering on May 21, 2021 10:38:59 GMT -5
I have a hunch, that the Inauguration will be on Sunday morning, as the closing event for Family Weekend at Fitton. The shared celebration that you mentioned will be the Inauguration. One of the reasons I believe the football game will be off campus, is to allow the set up with the proper staging of Fitton as the venue for the Sunday ceremony. Not saying this is fact, just speculating based on attending several College and University Presidential Inaugurations at HC and other institutions. It certainly could have been a major one of many considerations. I thought Harvard being in the same TV market as Worcester would be a good candidate as they have seen much of the park construction, opening etc, news coverage but the set up factor makes sense.
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Post by hcgrad94 on May 21, 2021 14:02:13 GMT -5
The number of people who WANT to attend the Polar Park game but find themselves unable to get a ticket could probably fit into Brew City on Shrewsbury Street. They can watch the game there. 9,000 seats is just about the perfect size venue for HC-Colgate in Worcester. There are not 9,000 seats at Polar Park, seating is about 30 percent less. As ithe game is apparently Parents Weekend, if 1,000 students bring two parents, there is 3,000 seats right there. The capacity of the park, the only number that matters, is 9,508. Where are you getting your information?
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on May 21, 2021 16:52:14 GMT -5
The original scheme. The revised scheme As built The right field stands were eliminated, and replaced with standing room. The stands on the first base side of the field end at the infield. The stands on the third base side end at about 140-150 feet from home plate. Yes, 9,500 or thereabouts is capacity -- as promised --, but only 6,000 or thereabouts is seated. The rest (3,000+) is standing room along the concourses (e.g., see right field photo above) or a grassy mound in center/left field, where fans can bring blankets and watch. Notice the standees along the left field line. For comparison, Hanover Park at Fitton field has a capacity of 3,000. I do not know if that includes concourse standing room along the right field line.
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Post by longsuffering on May 21, 2021 17:20:10 GMT -5
Replace seats with standing room at your peril. Standing room has been the runt of the ticket pyramid in America's national pastime since Abner Doubleday hit the first little bingo in Cooperstown NY. Was this a last minute expense reduction? Standing can't be the new sitting when portly America spends hard cash for a night of entertainment. My feet are sore just thinking of three hours standing.
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Post by Pakachoag Phreek on May 21, 2021 18:24:45 GMT -5
Replace seats with standing room at your peril. Standing room has been the runt of the ticket pyramid in America's national pastime since Abner Doubleday hit the first little bingo in Cooperstown NY. Was this a last minute expense reduction? Standing can't be the new sitting when portly America spends hard cash for a night of entertainment. My feet are sore just thinking of three hours standing. No one has explained what the rectangles outlined in purple represent. If these are temporary bleachers, they need to be elevated enough to see beyond the backs of the Colgate football team. If temporary bleachers, that could increase seating significantly. The grassy blanket zone looks to be 15-20 feet wide, but offers a marvelously close-up view of the play at that end of the field. Holy Cross students, not with their parents, will probably gravitate to the concourse areas and treat these as a tailgate. On the right field concourse, they're as close to the action as they are when partying on the baseball field. (It will be interesting to see how many tailgaters at Fitton elect to watch the entire game on ESPN+, glancing at a tablet while remaining rooted on the baseball field.) Mom and Dad, being in their late 40s/50s aren't about to stand for three hours at an early evening football game in late October in Worcester MA.
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Post by longsuffering on May 21, 2021 18:40:49 GMT -5
The game could be decided on a goal line sand, er goal line stand on the base path.
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Post by Crucis#1 on May 21, 2021 19:25:51 GMT -5
Wonder if they will turf the infield for the game? If not, another reason not to play football on a baseball field. Footing could be an issue. Let’s hope we don’t have an early snow storm.
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Post by timholycross on May 21, 2021 20:13:30 GMT -5
Certainly that's the implication from the rendition. The mound, of course, has to go. Sod for something so short term tends to not stay in place either.
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Post by Crucis#1 on May 21, 2021 20:37:43 GMT -5
I fully understand why playing the game at Polar Park is taking place this year. It will certainly help HC athletics in branding, marketing and outreach to the Worcester Community.
I applaud leadership for the push for innovation, no matter how incremental the step. Too many years, many of us pushed for better engagement at games, only for our request to be rejected.
Let’s hope the footing will not be compromised. Remember some of the games at Fitton, before a new sod was installed?
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Post by bfoley82 on May 21, 2021 22:41:51 GMT -5
I fully understand why playing the game at Polar Park is taking place this year. It will certainly help HC athletics in branding, marketing and outreach to the Worcester Community. I applaud leadership for the push for innovation, no matter how incremental the step. Too many years, many of us pushed for better engagement at games, only for our request to be rejected. Let’s hope the footing will not be compromised. Remember some of the games at Fitton, before a new sod was installed? I bet they host many Thanksgiving day high school games in the coming years at Polar Park.
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