New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by aggies22 » July 11th, 2019, 8:26 am

YoungBloodAggie wrote:
July 10th, 2019, 9:09 pm
Turtle wrote:
July 10th, 2019, 9:07 pm
I'm not saying I don't enjoy Bridger's Battle, but as a 23 year old, my experience as an Aggie would say Boise is a bigger rival than Wyoming. I care about every game, but the one against Boise carries extra weight for me, and I don't think I'm alone, especially in my age demographic. I'd put the Boise rivalry on par with the BYU rivalry.
Yeah, but I don't think Boise feels the same way. Pretty sure we are way down the list for Boise for games they care about. Maybe 5th or 6th some years.
Boise fans aren't really going to care about our games with them until we start beating them on a regular basis. Once every five or more years isn't going to cut it. byu fans were loving life when they were routinely kicking the $hit out of us because it made them feel good about pounding an in-state team year in and year out. Especially when the outcome of their game with utah was never a sure thing. They liked having one team they could always look down on and unfortunately it was us. This year our game with byu is pivotal in our series because if we can make it three straight and do it in convincing fashion. Not only are byu fans going to have to take note but the local media will be forced to as well. A win every now and then is a fluke, three straight would be the start of a trend.
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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by gomretat » July 11th, 2019, 8:33 am

aggies22 wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 8:26 am
YoungBloodAggie wrote:
July 10th, 2019, 9:09 pm
Turtle wrote:
July 10th, 2019, 9:07 pm
I'm not saying I don't enjoy Bridger's Battle, but as a 23 year old, my experience as an Aggie would say Boise is a bigger rival than Wyoming. I care about every game, but the one against Boise carries extra weight for me, and I don't think I'm alone, especially in my age demographic. I'd put the Boise rivalry on par with the BYU rivalry.
Yeah, but I don't think Boise feels the same way. Pretty sure we are way down the list for Boise for games they care about. Maybe 5th or 6th some years.
Boise fans aren't really going to care about our games with them until we start beating them on a regular basis. Once every five or more years isn't going to cut it. byu fans were loving life when they were routinely kicking the $hit out of us because it made them feel good about pounding an in-state team year in and year out. Especially when the outcome of their game with utah was never a sure thing. They liked having one team they could always look down on and unfortunately it was us. This year our game with byu is pivotal in our series because if we can make it three straight and do it in convincing fashion. Not only are byu fans going to have to take note but the local media will be forced to as well. A win every now and then is a fluke, three straight would be the start of a trend.
Amen
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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by AggieFBObsession » July 11th, 2019, 9:02 am

aggies22 wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 8:26 am
Not only are byu fans going to have to take note but the local media will be forced to as well. A win every now and then is a fluke, three straight would be the start of a trend.
You overestimate byu fans and byu biased media. Nothing will ever change no matter what! That's why they're byu. They NEVER learn!
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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by Full » July 11th, 2019, 11:02 am

As I think about this I don’t care about individual teams as much as the race against teams this year. Nevada isn’t a rival, but their matchup against us was the game of the season in basketball.

In football our biggest game was against Boise, but Boise’s biggest game was against Fresno State and Fresno’s biggest game was likely Boise in the Conference Championship Game, but could have been the Vegas Bowl. Utah and BYU built their rivalry because they played the last game of the season for a conference championship. Boise and Fresno have a rivalry because they played together in three of the six championships played.



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by utaggies » July 11th, 2019, 11:31 am

Full wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 11:02 am
As I think about this I don’t care about individual teams as much as the race against teams this year. Nevada isn’t a rival, but their matchup against us was the game of the season in basketball.

In football our biggest game was against Boise, but Boise’s biggest game was against Fresno State and Fresno’s biggest game was likely Boise in the Conference Championship Game, but could have been the Vegas Bowl. Utah and BYU built their rivalry because they played the last game of the season for a conference championship. Boise and Fresno have a rivalry because they played together in three of the six championships played.
Nevada most certainly is the biggest basketball rival we have in the MWC and the rivalry dates back to the WAC. They’re just not a football rival as we’re not in the same division and haven’t met in any football game of consequence in years.



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by Tetonkatest » July 11th, 2019, 11:38 am

USU's biggest rivals will always be BYU and Utah (in that order).

The biggest game for our fans is always BYU more than any other team by a big margin.

For the MWC, there are a few potential rivalries, but each school already has a preferred rival ahead of us. Nevada has UNLV. Wyoming has CSU. Fresno has San Jose and SDSU.

I don't think USU will ever have a featured rivalry in the MWC but the biggest potential is Boise State.



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by brownjeans » July 11th, 2019, 11:58 am

thegreendalegelf wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 7:52 am
Wyoming is a rival. No doubt about it. While the games haven't been meaningful, there is a major overlap of fans. Most of the biggest rivalries come from two teams playing at the same level, swapping wins, with fan bases that interact with each other consistently. While there are exceptions, this is the basic formula. In the last 4 years its 2-2. In the last 10 games (since 2003) its 5-5.

It is not a rivalry like vs BYU or Utah, but it is a small rivalry.

Also we should 100% be calling this "The Rodeo." That is an incredible rivalry name. I mean I Bridger's Battle, but the Rodeo is incredible.
But do we FEEL it?

I don't know that proximity, number of games, recent W/L records, and trophies matter as much as the way fans feel about it. I bet if you poll USU fans most don't feel rivalry feelings for Wyoming - and they won't until WYO and USU are taking things from each other.



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by NVAggie » July 11th, 2019, 12:06 pm

College sports doesn't care about rivalries unless they are making a bunch of money on them.



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by thegreendalegelf » July 11th, 2019, 12:15 pm

brownjeans wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 11:58 am
thegreendalegelf wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 7:52 am
Wyoming is a rival. No doubt about it. While the games haven't been meaningful, there is a major overlap of fans. Most of the biggest rivalries come from two teams playing at the same level, swapping wins, with fan bases that interact with each other consistently. While there are exceptions, this is the basic formula. In the last 4 years its 2-2. In the last 10 games (since 2003) its 5-5.

It is not a rivalry like vs BYU or Utah, but it is a small rivalry.

Also we should 100% be calling this "The Rodeo." That is an incredible rivalry name. I mean I Bridger's Battle, but the Rodeo is incredible.
But do we FEEL it?

I don't know that proximity, number of games, recent W/L records, and trophies matter as much as the way fans feel about it. I bet if you poll USU fans most don't feel rivalry feelings for Wyoming - and they won't until WYO and USU are taking things from each other.
I feel something... oh sorry that was just the Taco Bell from yesterday...



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by MWCFAN12 » July 11th, 2019, 1:20 pm

Tetonkatest wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 11:38 am
USU's biggest rivals will always be BYU and Utah (in that order).

The biggest game for our fans is always BYU more than any other team by a big margin.

For the MWC, there are a few potential rivalries, but each school already has a preferred rival ahead of us. Nevada has UNLV. Wyoming has CSU. Fresno has San Jose and SDSU.

I don't think USU will ever have a featured rivalry in the MWC but the biggest potential is Boise State.

I remember this being said about UNLV basketball in the late 80s early 90s

Things change it might be slow but things change



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by USU78 » July 11th, 2019, 1:43 pm

brownjeans wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 11:58 am
thegreendalegelf wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 7:52 am
Wyoming is a rival. No doubt about it. While the games haven't been meaningful, there is a major overlap of fans. Most of the biggest rivalries come from two teams playing at the same level, swapping wins, with fan bases that interact with each other consistently. While there are exceptions, this is the basic formula. In the last 4 years its 2-2. In the last 10 games (since 2003) its 5-5.

It is not a rivalry like vs BYU or Utah, but it is a small rivalry.

Also we should 100% be calling this "The Rodeo." That is an incredible rivalry name. I mean I Bridger's Battle, but the Rodeo is incredible.
But do we FEEL it?

I don't know that proximity, number of games, recent W/L records, and trophies matter as much as the way fans feel about it. I bet if you poll USU fans most don't feel rivalry feelings for Wyoming - and they won't until WYO and USU are taking things from each other.
I would say that home attendance is the best datum to look at. Here are the Wyo + CSU numbers since we joined the MWC;


11/23/2013: CSU, 20284
11/30/2013: Wyo, 21325
10/3/2015: CSU, 22059
10/30/2015: Wyo, 20964
10/7/2017: CSU, 18004
10/14/2017: Wyo, 22234

Avg: 20812; Wyo Avg: 21508; CSU Avg: 20116

Other than Boazy in-league, and the boogars and pukes out of league, does any other team touch these two in terms of attendance?
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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by AndroidAggie » July 11th, 2019, 1:49 pm

byu out earns us and outdraws us for crowds. i think inviting them into the conference would be a mistake.

regional peer institutions with reasonable parity of AD "power" in all respects are the best recipe for long term success for conference affiliation.
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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by JSHarvey » July 11th, 2019, 3:39 pm

The only problem I see with the MWC currently is Boise's sweetheart deal.

In my opinion BYU should stay independent in football forever and just slowly wither away. As long as we keep beating them (on GC weekend - never late in the season again!) we get all the benefits of playing them without the headaches and potential risk they would introduce as members of the conference.

I don't care one bit whether certain teams are designated as rivals or not, I care about contending for conference championships - and national rankings. This past year was great! :-)
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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by sambonethegreat » July 11th, 2019, 7:03 pm

I take zero credit for the name change idea, but I’m pushing to make it official! Let’s rename Bridger’s Battle!!! It’ll be the Rodeo for USU-Wyo

Go vote and spread the word, please!




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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by dyedblue » July 12th, 2019, 7:07 am

sambonethegreat wrote:I take zero credit for the name change idea, but I’m pushing to make it official! Let’s rename Bridger’s Battle!!! It’ll be the Rodeo for USU-Wyo

Go vote and spread the word, please!




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The Rodeo???


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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by sneed » July 12th, 2019, 7:48 am

BYU is our #1 rival

#2 Boise took Utah’s place - we don’t play them anymore

#3 Wyoming

#4 CSU

Old rivalries I miss - NMSU, Nevada - hopefully Nevada rivalry is back for basketball.

We have the same problem with all our rivalries - we are not the #1 rivalry to any team. If we care and they don’t is it a rivalry? Like beating BYU lately it has helped but it would take a very long time (and will never happen) to become their #1.

I think the most likely candidate for a good rivalry is Boise but probably half the conference says that. Just win.

There is also a weird thing in Utah - you can only have one rivalry. I don’t get it. How many rivals does USC have? It makes it so much better to care about more games!.... Utahans are weird.

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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by newhouse9 » July 12th, 2019, 8:19 am

Cowboys riding Bulls...I like the Battle better.



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by sambonethegreat » July 12th, 2019, 8:33 am

I don’t know who on USU fans coined “The Rodeo”, but I think it would stick. It’s also self explanatory. Last couple of games have been close and tense.


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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by Zaggie07 » July 12th, 2019, 10:54 am

I like Bridger's Battle fine. I do like The Rodeo as a rivalry name. Maybe down the road for the Boise games once we've won a few more? (Broncos and Bulls are also both associated with rodeos)

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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by sambonethegreat » July 12th, 2019, 11:19 am

Zaggie07 wrote:I like Bridger's Battle fine. I do like The Rodeo as a rivalry name. Maybe down the road for the Boise games once we've won a few more? (Broncos and Bulls are also both associated with rodeos)

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Terrific idea. If Twitter poll ends with Bridger’s Battle as winner, then we’ll save Rodeo for that series.


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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by TheAKAggie » July 12th, 2019, 12:09 pm

USU BSU should be the “Beast of Burden Off”!


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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by LKGates » July 12th, 2019, 1:15 pm

AggieFBObsession wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 9:02 am
aggies22 wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 8:26 am
Not only are byu fans going to have to take note but the local media will be forced to as well. A win every now and then is a fluke, three straight would be the start of a trend.
You overestimate byu fans and byu biased media. Nothing will ever change no matter what! That's why they're byu. They NEVER learn!
That could be a great PR campaign for the Tigers; "Enroll at BYU-P, WE NEVER LEARN!"
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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by USU78 » July 12th, 2019, 1:18 pm

LKGates wrote:
July 12th, 2019, 1:15 pm
AggieFBObsession wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 9:02 am
aggies22 wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 8:26 am
Not only are byu fans going to have to take note but the local media will be forced to as well. A win every now and then is a fluke, three straight would be the start of a trend.
You overestimate byu fans and byu biased media. Nothing will ever change no matter what! That's why they're byu. They NEVER learn!
That could be a great PR campaign for the Tigers; "Enroll at BYU-P, WE NEVER LEARN!"
I'd like to propose a variation on the Tigers: the Milnesque "Tiggers." Have you ever seen one enter a room? Or leave it? Looks a lot like this:



You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by oleblu111 » July 12th, 2019, 1:33 pm

Maybe the folks in Wyoming might want a say in what this rival game should be called.



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by LKGates » July 12th, 2019, 10:43 pm

MWCFAN12 wrote:
July 10th, 2019, 11:13 pm
LKGates wrote:
July 10th, 2019, 1:14 pm
Man, we've had this discussion SO many times. Objectively, yes, BYU would bring some value to the conference. And you could argue that bringing them into the conference would be an opportunity to renegotiate the entire conference arrangement, including BSU's ridiculous financial arrangement. BUT, I think the intangible negatives outweigh the positives. They are an unreliable conference mate, and have been at the center of the disruption of three conferences. And the biggest impediment, as noted, is that they want nothing to do with it. I'd be happy to see BYU-P get Bednar'd (though I acknowledge it probably won't happen). Then we could stop having this discussion, and we could replace them on the cowardly Utes' schedule.

With regards to rivalries with other schools, I think that's coming along nicely. As mentioned, we've reopened some historic rivalries like CSU (34 - 39 - 2) and Wyoming (39 - 26 - 4) that are warming up nicely. We also have some more recent rivalries carried over from the WAC and even the Big West, with Nevada (6 - 18), and Boise (5 - 18). We really should be Boise's natural rival. We're physically closer to them than any other school. We just need to win more games.

Give it time.
I think there is more to being rival than just geography. Yes it plays a part.

I think our most natural rivalry is CSU. We have the most in common with them.

Land grand school. *
Agriculture school. *
Research school. * ( they out do us here last time I looked )
College town. *
Douche P5 school in state *
Private G5 school in state. *
Several extensions in state. *
Strong aerospace engineering field. *
Overlooked by media own state. *
Conservative compared to P5 in their state *
Is really the best school in state. *


I have always felt they were nearly a sister school.
I actually agree with this. On paper, CSU should be our natural rival. So, if this ever organically evolved into a rivalry, and both schools and/or the conference decided to put a name on it, what would you call it?

The Great Divide?
Rumble in the Rockies?
Showdown of the States?
The Mountain Meadows Massacre? (Sorry, I should have stayed away from that one.)
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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by sambonethegreat » July 13th, 2019, 11:30 am

LKGates wrote:
MWCFAN12 wrote:
July 10th, 2019, 11:13 pm
LKGates wrote:
July 10th, 2019, 1:14 pm
Man, we've had this discussion SO many times. Objectively, yes, BYU would bring some value to the conference. And you could argue that bringing them into the conference would be an opportunity to renegotiate the entire conference arrangement, including BSU's ridiculous financial arrangement. BUT, I think the intangible negatives outweigh the positives. They are an unreliable conference mate, and have been at the center of the disruption of three conferences. And the biggest impediment, as noted, is that they want nothing to do with it. I'd be happy to see BYU-P get Bednar'd (though I acknowledge it probably won't happen). Then we could stop having this discussion, and we could replace them on the cowardly Utes' schedule.

With regards to rivalries with other schools, I think that's coming along nicely. As mentioned, we've reopened some historic rivalries like CSU (34 - 39 - 2) and Wyoming (39 - 26 - 4) that are warming up nicely. We also have some more recent rivalries carried over from the WAC and even the Big West, with Nevada (6 - 18), and Boise (5 - 18). We really should be Boise's natural rival. We're physically closer to them than any other school. We just need to win more games.

Give it time.
I think there is more to being rival than just geography. Yes it plays a part.

I think our most natural rivalry is CSU. We have the most in common with them.

Land grand school. *
Agriculture school. *
Research school. * ( they out do us here last time I looked )
College town. *
Douche P5 school in state *
Private G5 school in state. *
Several extensions in state. *
Strong aerospace engineering field. *
Overlooked by media own state. *
Conservative compared to P5 in their state *
Is really the best school in state. *


I have always felt they were nearly a sister school.
I actually agree with this. On paper, CSU should be our natural rival. So, if this ever organically evolved into a rivalry, and both schools and/or the conference decided to put a name on it, what would you call it?

The Great Divide?
Rumble in the Rockies?
Showdown of the States?
The Mountain Meadows Massacre? (Sorry, I should have stayed away from that one.)
Rumble in the Rockies is the name of Utah-Colorado game.

Great divide is not bad.


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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by brownjeans » July 13th, 2019, 4:22 pm

USU78 wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 1:43 pm
brownjeans wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 11:58 am
Do we FEEL it?

I don't know that proximity, number of games, recent W/L records, and trophies matter as much as the way fans feel about it. I bet if you poll USU fans most don't feel rivalry feelings for Wyoming - and they won't until WYO and USU are taking things from each other.
I would say that home attendance is the best datum to look at. Here are the Wyo + CSU numbers since we joined the MWC;


11/23/2013: CSU, 20284
11/30/2013: Wyo, 21325
10/3/2015: CSU, 22059
10/30/2015: Wyo, 20964
10/7/2017: CSU, 18004
10/14/2017: Wyo, 22234

Avg: 20812; Wyo Avg: 21508; CSU Avg: 20116

Other than Boazy in-league, and the boogars and pukes out of league, does any other team touch these two in terms of attendance?
I'm not convinced "rivalry" can be measured - feelings are personal.
I think using attendance for the case of Wyoming and CSU as our rival is flawed. First, it's a very small sample size. Second, a lot more goes into attendance than the opponent. I think the most influential is how good USU is and the weather.
Our MWC Mountain Division opponent drawing the highest attendance when playing in Logan is Air Force with an average of 23,283. I don't think anyone thinks of them as our rival. Our average attendance at Weber state games is 24,260.5 - are they are biggest rival outside of UofU, BYU, and Boise?



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by oleblu111 » July 13th, 2019, 4:58 pm

brownjeans wrote:
July 13th, 2019, 4:22 pm
USU78 wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 1:43 pm
brownjeans wrote:
July 11th, 2019, 11:58 am
Do we FEEL it?

I don't know that proximity, number of games, recent W/L records, and trophies matter as much as the way fans feel about it. I bet if you poll USU fans most don't feel rivalry feelings for Wyoming - and they won't until WYO and USU are taking things from each other.
I would say that home attendance is the best datum to look at. Here are the Wyo + CSU numbers since we joined the MWC;


11/23/2013: CSU, 20284
11/30/2013: Wyo, 21325
10/3/2015: CSU, 22059
10/30/2015: Wyo, 20964
10/7/2017: CSU, 18004
10/14/2017: Wyo, 22234

Avg: 20812; Wyo Avg: 21508; CSU Avg: 20116

Other than Boazy in-league, and the boogars and pukes out of league, does any other team touch these two in terms of attendance?
I'm not convinced "rivalry" can be measured - feelings are personal.
I think using attendance for the case of Wyoming and CSU as our rival is flawed. First, it's a very small sample size. Second, a lot more goes into attendance than the opponent. I think the most influential is how good USU is and the weather.
Our MWC Mountain Division opponent drawing the highest attendance when playing in Logan is Air Force with an average of 23,283. I don't think anyone thinks of them as our rival. Our average attendance at Weber state games is 24,260.5 - are they are biggest rival outside of UofU, BYU, and Boise?

Where did you get that average attendance number for Weber State ? Weber is not on the list for top attendance games at USU which lists all the way down to 25, 500. I remember many of those games with a stadium that was at best half full.



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by brownjeans » July 13th, 2019, 8:01 pm

oleblu111 wrote:
July 13th, 2019, 4:58 pm
Where did you get that average attendance number for Weber State ? Weber is not on the list for top attendance games at USU which lists all the way down to 25, 500. I remember many of those games with a stadium that was at best half full.
Those are the attendance numbers from ESPN for the two Weber games which were played during the same time period that USU78 and I are discussing (since 2013)



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by oleblu111 » July 14th, 2019, 9:18 am

brownjeans wrote:
July 13th, 2019, 8:01 pm
oleblu111 wrote:
July 13th, 2019, 4:58 pm
Where did you get that average attendance number for Weber State ? Weber is not on the list for top attendance games at USU which lists all the way down to 25, 500. I remember many of those games with a stadium that was at best half full.
Those are the attendance numbers from ESPN for the two Weber games which were played during the same time period that USU78 and I are discussing (since 2013)
Your numbers are correct. My bad



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by AndroidAggie » July 14th, 2019, 4:37 pm

brownjeans wrote:
July 13th, 2019, 4:22 pm
I'm not convinced "rivalry" can be measured - feelings are personal.
I think using attendance for the case of Wyoming and CSU as our rival is flawed. First, it's a very small sample size. Second, a lot more goes into attendance than the opponent. I think the most influential is how good USU is and the weather.
Our MWC Mountain Division opponent drawing the highest attendance when playing in Logan is Air Force with an average of 23,283. I don't think anyone thinks of them as our rival. Our average attendance at Weber state games is 24,260.5 - are they are biggest rival outside of UofU, BYU, and Boise?
ooohhhh... cool idea... how *do* we measure a rivarly?

history - relevant history. it could be 1 or 2 seasons if things were particularly nasty for some fun reason. it could be hundreds of years. it could have been 50+ years ago, but as long as it matters.
parity - best if established over the relevant history of the rivalry
interesting opponent - lay claim to same geospatial territory, cultural overlap, or they're just ugly and we're beautiful.

each one of those is personal and subjective, but at least we can label them!

while i think you're making great points, i also think that afa, wyo, and csu qualify on parity and interesting opponent. for afa, i'd give parity a 10, history a 5, and interesting opponent a 5. no, afa isn't a rival, they sorta smell like one.



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by brownjeans » July 14th, 2019, 10:51 pm

AndroidAggie wrote:
July 14th, 2019, 4:37 pm
brownjeans wrote:
July 13th, 2019, 4:22 pm
I'm not convinced "rivalry" can be measured - feelings are personal.
I think using attendance for the case of Wyoming and CSU as our rival is flawed. First, it's a very small sample size. Second, a lot more goes into attendance than the opponent. I think the most influential is how good USU is and the weather.
Our MWC Mountain Division opponent drawing the highest attendance when playing in Logan is Air Force with an average of 23,283. I don't think anyone thinks of them as our rival. Our average attendance at Weber state games is 24,260.5 - are they are biggest rival outside of UofU, BYU, and Boise?
ooohhhh... cool idea... how *do* we measure a rivarly?

history - relevant history. it could be 1 or 2 seasons if things were particularly nasty for some fun reason. it could be hundreds of years. it could have been 50+ years ago, but as long as it matters.
parity - best if established over the relevant history of the rivalry
interesting opponent - lay claim to same geospatial territory, cultural overlap, or they're just ugly and we're beautiful.

each one of those is personal and subjective, but at least we can label them!

while i think you're making great points, i also think that afa, wyo, and csu qualify on parity and interesting opponent. for afa, i'd give parity a 10, history a 5, and interesting opponent a 5. no, afa isn't a rival, they sorta smell like one.
Also, the teams and/or fan bases need to steal something from the other - or betray the other. Stolen things could be championships, bowl eligibility, conference association, destruction of school mascots/symbols (oak trees anyone?), etc.

The more theft/betrayal on both sides, the deeper the bitterness.



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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by USU78 » July 15th, 2019, 11:52 am

brownjeans wrote:
July 13th, 2019, 4:22 pm
I'm not convinced "rivalry" can be measured - feelings are personal.
I think using attendance for the case of Wyoming and CSU as our rival is flawed. First, it's a very small sample size. Second, a lot more goes into attendance than the opponent. I think the most influential is how good USU is and the weather.
Our MWC Mountain Division opponent drawing the highest attendance when playing in Logan is Air Force with an average of 23,283. I don't think anyone thinks of them as our rival. Our average attendance at Weber state games is 24,260.5 - are they are biggest rival outside of UofU, BYU, and Boise?
Almost thou persuadest me. I did a little more number crunching. During the MWC era of USU Football, here are the attendance rankings for those schools played more than once:

1. Weebe (24,261 avg -- 2 games)
2. stench (24,045 avg -- 3 games)
3. Air Force (23,287 avg -- 3 games)
4. Boazy (22,345 avg -- 3 games)
5. Wyoming (21,508 avg -- 3 games)
6. Vegas (20,683 avg -- 2 games, both Homecoming)
7. CSU (20,116 avg -- 3 games)
8. Ida St (19,944 avg -- 2 games)
9. Hawai'i (19,539 avg -- 2 games)
10. San Jose (18,723 avg -- 2 games)
11. New Mexico (16,974 avg -- 3 games)

Color me surprised by Weebe coming in 1st; Air Force for beating out Boazy, Vegas beating out CSU (even if they're our favorite homecoming fodder), and San Jose beating out New Mexico.

On the other hand, as others have stated, CSU and Wyoming are our oldest out-of-state rivals. Only in-state politics kept us from playing them much 1978-2010. That's a longish drought, and I understand why others with no individual memory of the good old days of playing them and both southern stench every season, but those of us that do feel them as (mostly friendly) rivals more than anybody. The longer we're together again, the better it'll be. Just this guy's take.
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You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

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Re: New MW Connection Article: MWC Rivalries Stink

Post by BearLakeMonster » July 15th, 2019, 1:14 pm

USU78 wrote:
July 15th, 2019, 11:52 am


Color me surprised by Weebe coming in 1st; Air Force for beating out Boazy, Vegas beating out CSU (even if they're our favorite homecoming fodder), and San Jose beating out New Mexico.
I'm also surprised by Vegas and SJSU being so high, but I think Weber comes in top because they're usually the first home game of the year. Lots of anticipation, good weather, beatable opponent. Stuff like that.

Air Force only beats Boise because we usually play the donks in November.


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