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Post by mm67 on Apr 10, 2024 10:32:34 GMT -5
How many games with Dartmouth? There was front sports page coverage in the defunct NY Journal American of HC- Dartmouth in '62 - "the two best backfields in the East." Certainly experienced a rivalry feel at a game in Hanover. My late wife(Columbia) was quite pissed at the mockery of HC by the Big Green band. At one time it was a big game at Fitton. In today's climate I doubt if any of the younger HC fandom or Dartmouth followers would care in the slightest. Too bad.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Apr 10, 2024 10:42:10 GMT -5
How many games with Dartmouth? There was front sports page coverage in the defunct NY Journal American of HC- Dartmouth in '62 - "the two best backfields in the East." Certainly experienced a rivalry feel at a game in Hanover. My late wife(Columbia) was quite pissed at the mockery of HC by the Big Green band. At one time it was a big game at Fitton. In today's climate I doubt if any of the younger HC fandom or Dartmouth followers would care in the slightest. Too bad. HC-Dartmouth during the Chesney era would've been good matchups, though I think we would've won the majority, especially the past couple years. It seems that over the past 30 years, Harvard has replaced Dartmouth as our primary New England Ivy rival. And now that the UNH series has become competitive again, Dartmouth has the local rivalry box checked off as well.
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Post by efg72 on Apr 10, 2024 10:58:06 GMT -5
It takes two to tango and two to be a rivalry
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Post by purplehaze on Apr 10, 2024 11:07:20 GMT -5
Our '24 schedule is clearly the best and most balanced in the PL - I like it
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Post by hc1996 on Apr 10, 2024 11:21:35 GMT -5
Our '24 schedule is clearly the best and most balanced in the PL - I like it Agree 100%. I like the ‘24 schedule! Let’s win!
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Post by KY Crusader 75 on Apr 10, 2024 12:02:08 GMT -5
It would be interesting to hear what teams former players see as rivals
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Post by longsuffering on Apr 10, 2024 12:08:49 GMT -5
Last year's schedule is clouded by the close losses which balance close wins in recent years. But it was about as ambitious as possible with FBS tilts against two great rivals that turned into events - that we would still be raving about if they were three point wins instead of three point losses.
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hc99
Crusader Century Club
Posts: 117
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Post by hc99 on Apr 10, 2024 13:13:02 GMT -5
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Post by longsuffering on Apr 10, 2024 13:20:33 GMT -5
Holy Cross Dining should handle all food and drink and make it outstanding. But I believe that puts a big strain on staffing for them.
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Post by Ignutz on Apr 10, 2024 13:21:00 GMT -5
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hc99
Crusader Century Club
Posts: 117
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Post by hc99 on Apr 10, 2024 13:27:38 GMT -5
Yeah, I don't get it either. Maybe Coach Curran is just so used to coaching on that sideline that he wanted to stay there. Doesn't make much sense to me.
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Post by efg72 on Apr 10, 2024 13:41:37 GMT -5
The schedule is a good PL schedule-- Obviously, the point I was trying to make remains unclear. Playing in a conference of convenience is the reality of who and what we are as an athletic program today. However, accepting an OOC schedule that easily could be more challenging, and calling it the best schedule in the PL is a low bar for evaluating the schedule and preparing us for the playoffs. Yes, I expect to win the PL every year because we are Holy Cross.
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Post by drjack on Apr 10, 2024 13:47:34 GMT -5
I'm guessing it's mainly due to the TV cameras just showing empty bleachers and a highway. Id have preferred moving the cameras across the field instead but maybe theres some reasons that's not possible.
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Post by kaftan12 on Apr 10, 2024 14:03:43 GMT -5
Change is not easy but better food service is a plus and on TV seeing a bigger audience would make sense for at least recruiting. A lot of smart people have been looking at this, I assume, so until proven wrong its a good move.
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Post by inhocsigno on Apr 10, 2024 14:42:10 GMT -5
Locker room is on that side as well. Makes sense.
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Post by hchoops on Apr 10, 2024 14:49:52 GMT -5
Makes little sense I presume the home bleachers will remain the same. Do many-(any) teams have their bench opposite their fans ? Seems doubtful.
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Post by Ignutz on Apr 10, 2024 15:14:43 GMT -5
I'm guessing it's mainly due to the TV cameras just showing empty bleachers and a highway. Id have preferred moving the cameras across the field instead but maybe theres some reasons that's not possible. My recollection is that there was talk of moving TV, etc. to the visitors' side last year, but the cost was alleged to be in the $1M range. Unless we get BC or Notre dame to come to Fitton, the view of the big stands is going to be ridiculous - a few hundred fans in a space that probably holds 10-12 thousand! Literally 95+% empty.
Question: What are the restroom and concession areas like on the small side of the house? The visiting fans certainly won't have to wait for an open urinal!
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Post by sader81 on Apr 10, 2024 15:22:01 GMT -5
I’ve been sitting on the north stands (visitors side) for the past 15 or so years. It “seems” like you are closer to the action, is a shorter walk from the baseball field, and have a warmer experience on cold, sunny November days (although too much on warm September days!) I had that side pretty much to myself when we scheduled teams without much of a following. It will look better on tv with more fans in the those stands.
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Post by longsuffering on Apr 10, 2024 15:58:54 GMT -5
The schedule is a good PL schedule-- Obviously, the point I was trying to make remains unclear. Playing in a conference of convenience is the reality of who and what we are as an athletic program today. However, accepting an OOC schedule that easily could be more challenging, and calling it the best schedule in the PL is a low bar for evaluating the schedule and preparing us for the playoffs. Yes, I expect to win the PL every year because we are Holy Cross. Conference of Convenience has a nice ring to it and my interpretation is you mean it's more convenient and comfortable to play the same opponents every season rather than challenge ourselves to play thd best who will play us, like we did last year with both BC and Army. But the PL was an intentional creation that brought schools together not in convenient locations to each other and often with no history of playing each other, because of shared values and also imo as a sort of mutual defense pact.
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Post by Ignutz on Apr 10, 2024 16:06:37 GMT -5
I’ve been sitting on the north stands (visitors side) for the past 15 or so years. It “seems” like you are closer to the action, is a shorter walk from the baseball field, and have a warmer experience on cold, sunny November days (although too much on warm September days!) I had that side pretty much to myself when we scheduled teams without much of a following. It will look better on tv with more fans in the those stands. In September, one should sit on one side for the first half and the other side for the second half (I've done this) in order to even-out the sunburn on your face.
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Post by longsuffering on Apr 10, 2024 16:23:47 GMT -5
The visitor's side has been sparsely populated enough to plop yourself down before each play staring straight down the no man's land along the line of scrimmage and watch the two lines surge together when the ball is snapped. The moderate elevation allows you to look over the heads of the team on the sidelines and see the ball being snapped like you're from NFL Films. You generally can do this right up and down the field as a drive progresses.
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Post by timholycross on Apr 10, 2024 17:28:12 GMT -5
Do you think that's perhaps the first step towards reducing the footprint on the (former) home side and finally (is the guy that always used to comment on this still on the board) replacing the press box that Father Brooks et. al. didn't see fit to replace even though it was obsolete in 1984? The skeleton underneath is quite old versus the new home side, which was erected in 1985.
I'm assuming the tv cameras are going to stay put; otherwise, looking at more empty seats seems foolhardy.
As far as the new home side:
1. Warmer on a sunny day; which works in two directions 2. So close to the field that it's tough to see a big play on the sidelines, especially near each goal line. 3. Unless I'm misremembering; there is no aisle at the bottom of the bleachers (so no walking back and forth in front of the action, which I sometimes found annoying).
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Post by efg72 on Apr 10, 2024 17:46:48 GMT -5
The schedule is a good PL schedule-- Obviously, the point I was trying to make remains unclear. Playing in a conference of convenience is the reality of who and what we are as an athletic program today. However, accepting an OOC schedule that easily could be more challenging, and calling it the best schedule in the PL is a low bar for evaluating the schedule and preparing us for the playoffs. Yes, I expect to win the PL every year because we are Holy Cross. Conference of Convenience has a nice ring to it and my interpretation is you mean it's more convenient and comfortable to play the same opponents every season rather than challenge ourselves to play thd best who will play us, like we did last year with both BC and Army. But the PL was an intentional creation that brought schools together not in convenient locations to each other and often with no history of playing each other, because of shared values and also imo as a sort of mutual defense pact. Hypothesis It was a league designed to bring schools together, focused on academics, but needed to offer alumni an FCS/Div 1 platform at the lowest possible cost. So conveniently they created a league that allows some interested in athletics to invest in major sports, but give the members a comfort level of offering Olympic sports. It has no standards as a league to promote athletic excellence and allows schools to invest as they please in whatever sport their alumni care about. So it is a league of convenience that uses the academic platform as a rationale for its existence, but in reality i doubt any school President is overly concerned about the commitment to academic and athletic excellence. For most, if not all, they would say the conference has been a smashing success. Please attacks you see fit, but offer real word data and evidence to support your position
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Post by longsuffering on Apr 10, 2024 18:40:42 GMT -5
Conference of Convenience has a nice ring to it and my interpretation is you mean it's more convenient and comfortable to play the same opponents every season rather than challenge ourselves to play thd best who will play us, like we did last year with both BC and Army. But the PL was an intentional creation that brought schools together not in convenient locations to each other and often with no history of playing each other, because of shared values and also imo as a sort of mutual defense pact. Hypothesis It was a league designed to bring schools together, focused on academics, but needed to offer alumni an FCS/Div 1 platform at the lowest possible cost. So conveniently they created a league that allows some interested in athletics to invest in major sports, but give the members a comfort level of offering Olympic sports. It has no standards as a league to promote athletic excellence and allows schools to invest as they please in whatever sport their alumni care about. So it is a league of convenience that uses the academic platform as a rationale for its existence, but in reality i doubt any school President is overly concerned about the commitment to academic and athletic excellence. For most, if not all, they would say the conference has been a smashing success. Please attacks you see fit, but offer real word data and evidence to support your position The data confirms that the PL is a low major, low cost D-1 conference like you say that has to pick it's shots, like HC in FB under Chesney and hopefully Curran, Basketball under Willard and Magarity and now hopefully under Paulsen and hopefully hockey under Riga and W.Lax under Belichick, and the baseball bats are making contact now, too. The low cost of athletics necessity is obvious to me because the PL member schools are so expensive already it's hard to jack up tuition and fees anymore than the recent above inflation trend, the endowment has a fixed payout with academics, athletics, plant etc., each getting their relatively fixed allocation and alumni giving is already higher per alumnus than many state universities ahead of us in athletics. PL schools just don't have as many alumni as most D-1 schools and can't grow them fast while remaining small liberal arts colleges. So I agree with you except I just don't understand where these extra millions to invest in all the sports you often call for would come from. Now NIL has become a practical necessity and will get it's piece of the donations pie. If we can get a whale to fund a new hockey arena or endow some head coaches, fabulous. But for regular operating expenses I think the PL has to be on the low cost end of D-1.
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Post by longsuffering on Apr 10, 2024 21:01:47 GMT -5
To be fair, Worcester doesn't have industry like Tyson foods and Walmart to underwrite the local D-1 athletic programs like Arkansas has. The PL doesn't have major TV/streaming/radio contracts, it doesn't have significant ticket revenue, seat licenses, club seats, luxury boxes, huge public apparel sales, subway alumni, endowed coaches. The PL has the PennFed Credit Union, and that's about it.
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