UNI @ Drake Jan 7 7pm

[musiccitybulldog]

UNIfan could have a point to a degree...I saw what he speaks of happen last year at the MVC tournament where a fan started a goofy dance and a whole fan base joined in.

[UNIFanSince1983]

UNIfan could have a point to a degree...I saw what he speaks of happen last year at the MVC tournament where a fan started a goofy dance and a whole fan base joined in.

Obviously, creativity, like athletic ability, is not in abundance at Drake...

[Duan]

Love it!

UNIfan could have a point to a degree...I saw what he speaks of happen last year at the MVC tournament where a fan started a goofy dance and a whole fan base joined in.

[DUBulldog]

UNIfan could have a point to a degree...I saw what he speaks of happen last year at the MVC tournament where a fan started a goofy dance and a whole fan base joined in.

Well played, sir. Well played.

[PantherSigEp]

I didn't mean to spark a huge controversy but I every time I have watched UNI play at the Knapp Center the Drake student section pulls out some classy chants not limited to "Fire Phelps" and "B---s---" and go crazy over any foul or call against the Bulldogs. I'm not saying you can't be a bit of a homer, you really should be if you're a fan, but when two of your players mug an opponent on a layup you can either A) Understand that "Hey, that was probably a foul and I should accept that call" or B) Make a fool of yourself by yelling "Flop, flop, flop" and scream at the officials for the next 10 mins instead of enjoying the game. I haven't experienced this when I've traveled to Omaha, Carbondale (back when those stands were packed with students who actually cared), Peoria or Normal, and I don't see it from the other teams students in St. Louis for the tournament. Maybe it's because it's an in-state rivalry, I don't know but there is a difference from being loud, effective and respectful as a student section and being loud and annoying/ignorant as a student section. Most find a medium but Bulldog students usually rub me the wrong way.

And yes, I wouldn't say the UNI student section is much better with it's basketball IQ. A good portion of them don't stand and act like they want to be there, don't seem very invested in the team which is astounding considering all of the success we have had since any of them have started attending classes in recent years, and some of their chants like "U suck balls", "shake weight" and the "If you're losing and you know it" chant make me ashamed at times. It's embarrassing to look over at the student section and see a lot of empty seats when the Interlude is over or a bunch of students looking at there phones and not the game. Why even come? But I have to give the portion that do try to have a loud and respectful atmosphere credit because they have been able to put together some awesome student sections in the past. This season it remains to be seen.

Once again my apologies for offending some of my fellow posters, it was not my intent. I quoted DUBulldog because you seemed annoyed about the "Fire Phelps" chant and my annoyances with Drake students at these games appeared to by closely related.

[DUBulldog]

I didn't mean to spark a huge controversy but I every time I have watched UNI play at the Knapp Center the Drake student section pulls out some classy chants not limited to "Fire Phelps" and "B---s---" and go crazy over any foul or call against the Bulldogs. I'm not saying you can't be a bit of a homer, you really should be if you're a fan, but when two of your players mug an opponent on a layup you can either A) Understand that "Hey, that was probably a foul and I should accept that call" or B) Make a fool of yourself by yelling "Flop, flop, flop" and scream at the officials for the next 10 mins instead of enjoying the game. I haven't experienced this when I've traveled to Omaha, Carbondale (back when those stands were packed with students who actually cared), Peoria or Normal, and I don't see it from the other teams students in St. Louis for the tournament. Maybe it's because it's an in-state rivalry, I don't know but there is a difference from being loud, effective and respectful as a student section and being loud and annoying/ignorant as a student section. Most find a medium but Bulldog students usually rub me the wrong way.

And yes, I wouldn't say the UNI student section is much better with it's basketball IQ. A good portion of them don't stand and act like they want to be there, don't seem very invested in the team which is astounding considering all of the success we have had since any of them have started attending classes in recent years, and some of their chants like "U suck balls", "shake weight" and the "If you're losing and you know it" chant make me ashamed at times. It's embarrassing to look over at the student section and see a lot of empty seats when the Interlude is over or a bunch of students looking at there phones and not the game. Why even come? But I have to give the portion that do try to have a loud and respectful atmosphere credit because they have been able to put together some awesome student sections in the past. This season it remains to be seen.

Once again my apologies for offending some of my fellow posters, it was not my intent. I quoted DUBulldog because you seemed annoyed about the "Fire Phelps" chant and my annoyances with Drake students at these games appeared to by closely related.

Thanks, SigEp for explaining. I have a much better understanding now of where you're coming from. There is a segment of the UNI fan base that seems to very much enjoy bashing Drake at every opportunity, and I wasn't sure if that was how to read your post. To be fair, it goes both ways, and there are Drake fans who enjoy bashing UNI for no reason at all.

I was hoping you weren't basing your opinion on the Drake student section based on last night's game. Because school is not in session, most of the students aren't around, and many who sat in that section are not Drake students.

As far as the "Fire Phelps" chant, I wasn't irritated, but actually amused. It is a sentiment shared by many Drake fans, and it was actually refreshing to hear, from the point of view that it was nice to know they cared enough to express that sentiment. I'm not sure it's really appropriate to chant that at a game, but I hope it caught the attention of the administration at Drake. When a fanbase is disillusioned, the people with decision making power are often the last to realize it. Of course, they'd have to be absolutely blind to not notice the huge decrease in attendance since Phelps took over.

[Drakey]

I think DUBulldog understates the sentiments of the average Drake Fan regarding Phelps. I personally know nobody who thinks Phelps should not be fired. There is one poster on the Drake message board who appears to be a big Phelps fan, but that poster has also mentioned attending practices, so my guess is that he is too close to the situation to be objective.

[PantherSigEp]

Considering the job he has done recruiting talent that is apparently equal to Jacobson, despite much less success in the past 4 seasons, perhaps "Demote Phelps" would be more appropriate? He can't be doing everything wrong if you have guys like Rice, Simons and Jeffers playing so well, unless it's in spite of him.

[DUBulldog]

Considering the job he has done recruiting talent that is apparently equal to Jacobson, despite much less success in the past 4 seasons, perhaps "Demote Phelps" would be more appropriate? He can't be doing everything wrong if you have guys like Rice, Simons and Jeffers playing so well, unless it's in spite of him.

Drake fans have never questioned Phelps' ability to recruit. If there was a way he could be kept on staff as a recruiter, and let somebody else do the actual coaching, I think most Drake fans would be ok with that.

Here's an article from today about one of Drake's incoming recruits for next season...

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/highschool/s_775637.html

I love this quote

Mason recently surpassed the career point total of one of the area's all-time greats, former Valley star B.B. Flenory, who also played at Duquesne University and tried out for the NBA. Flenory is impressed with Mason.

"I tell people this all the time," Flenory said. "He is the best shooter I have ever seen. Now you must take into consideration I was in (Celtics) camp with the great Larry Bird, Pistol Pete Maravich, Nate Archibald, and I wasn't bad myself.

Anyway, I think I understand the point you're making, but this might help put into perspective the Drake fans' opinions about him. He took over a team that had finished 28-5 the season before, and finished the season ranked somewhere around #15 in the nation. Drake returned 2 all-conference players from that team, including the school's all-time leading scorer. Now, no realistic Drake fan expected him to match the 28 victories from the season before, but I don't think even the most pessimistic fan expected Drake to play on Thursday night in St Louis. This is year four for Phelps, and he has yet to lead a Drake team that hasn't had to play on Thursday night in St. Louis.

Drake fans know where Drake has been historically, but after the 2007-08 season, fans saw a chance to build on a great season, with the right hire. But, instead of maintaining, or coming close to maintaining what they did that season, attendance, interest and media coverage is at a level similar to the Kanaskie years, the lowest point in Drake's basketball history. It's almost like the 2007-08 season never happened. A lot of Drake fans knew that Phelps was in over his head after his very first game. Unfortunately, he hasn't done anything since then to prove them wrong.

[PantherSigEp]

Valid point.