O
Owlfred
Guest
I think you might say that the Texans and the Rice Owls both completed their '05 seasons at the bottom of the barrel - and with only one win apiece.
The difference, though, was that the Texans, with the number one draft pick, were poised to make an immediate, major breakthrough towards competitiveness. The poor old Owls, on the other hand, were staring at the abyss -- smaller than ever fan support, lousier than usual media coverage, considered a 'dead-end' spot for any up-and-coming new coach.
And then Todd Graham came along.
Of course, Coach Graham hasn't won a single game for Rice yet. But what he HAS done has been to go out and raise $3.2 million, basically single-handedly, in his first 90 days on the job. With that money will come major upgrades in Rice Stadium, which some of you older types may recall that, on a pretty fall day, is still one the best places anywhere to watch a football game, and that includes Reliant.
The level of enthusiasm among long-time fallen-away supporters has been unparalleled, and they'veshown it by opening their checkbooks.
The team had a great spring practice session, appearing to improve in all phases of the game by virtue of the wide open offense and go-for-broke approach installed by the coaching staff -- of which Major Applewhite is a big component.
All I'm trying to lead to is this: a suggestion that, if you're frustrated with the Texans, and maybe wishing there was SOME kind of alternative for your football entertainment dollar in this town, why not come out to Rice Stadium on Saturday evening, September 2, and watch the Rice Owls and the Houston Cougars start off the season?
Rice is, in some ways, the ultimate underdog if youre inclined to cheer for the underdog. It graduates virtually all of its student athletes, it can only recruit the academic top 20 per cent of schoolboy stars due to enrollment restrictions, but yet in times past, and more recently in other sports (witness our 2003 national collegiate baseball championship), it has represented this city in an exemplary way, and one thats a very fine value for your entertainment dollar.
It's not the snobby, rich kids school that some of its competitors have tried to depict. It's no SMU or Vanderbilt, in that regard. The rank and file students, by and large, are a little nerdy -- but you know the entire population is by and large a little bit on the nerdy side. Like the movie said.
By the way, if your inclination would be to come out, but cheer on the Coogs, instead, that would be great. We just want more college football fans, period, in this city.
Old hands at Rice and UH nowadays do not consider each other the enemy; realizing, rather, that were both fighting the same tight fight with the same short stick against the A$Ms, Texa$es, and the rest of the BCS, whose athletics directors would just as soon choke athletics programs like ours to death. So, hard as it may seem to some of us old Owls and old Coogs, were actually cheering for each other when were not playing each other witness this great run Coach Nobles Cougar baseball team has had this spring to keep the Owls from simply running away with the CUSA title. We're cheering them on and can't wait for the weekend series at Reckling in mid-May.
We're not saying at all to support the Texans any less. Heck, Bob McNair is a big supporter of Rice athletics, and just a heck of a fine guy. But we ask, just give us a try, too just come on out September 2. The tailgaters will be firing up the grills, Rice Stadium will be all decked out (including new turf, jumbotron scoreboard and other stuff) and we think youll like what you see.
Enough to where your favorite football coach in this town just might immediate turn out to be Todd Graham.
See what Rice has been up to this spring: http://www.ricefootball.net
The difference, though, was that the Texans, with the number one draft pick, were poised to make an immediate, major breakthrough towards competitiveness. The poor old Owls, on the other hand, were staring at the abyss -- smaller than ever fan support, lousier than usual media coverage, considered a 'dead-end' spot for any up-and-coming new coach.
And then Todd Graham came along.
Of course, Coach Graham hasn't won a single game for Rice yet. But what he HAS done has been to go out and raise $3.2 million, basically single-handedly, in his first 90 days on the job. With that money will come major upgrades in Rice Stadium, which some of you older types may recall that, on a pretty fall day, is still one the best places anywhere to watch a football game, and that includes Reliant.
The level of enthusiasm among long-time fallen-away supporters has been unparalleled, and they'veshown it by opening their checkbooks.
The team had a great spring practice session, appearing to improve in all phases of the game by virtue of the wide open offense and go-for-broke approach installed by the coaching staff -- of which Major Applewhite is a big component.
All I'm trying to lead to is this: a suggestion that, if you're frustrated with the Texans, and maybe wishing there was SOME kind of alternative for your football entertainment dollar in this town, why not come out to Rice Stadium on Saturday evening, September 2, and watch the Rice Owls and the Houston Cougars start off the season?
Rice is, in some ways, the ultimate underdog if youre inclined to cheer for the underdog. It graduates virtually all of its student athletes, it can only recruit the academic top 20 per cent of schoolboy stars due to enrollment restrictions, but yet in times past, and more recently in other sports (witness our 2003 national collegiate baseball championship), it has represented this city in an exemplary way, and one thats a very fine value for your entertainment dollar.
It's not the snobby, rich kids school that some of its competitors have tried to depict. It's no SMU or Vanderbilt, in that regard. The rank and file students, by and large, are a little nerdy -- but you know the entire population is by and large a little bit on the nerdy side. Like the movie said.
By the way, if your inclination would be to come out, but cheer on the Coogs, instead, that would be great. We just want more college football fans, period, in this city.
Old hands at Rice and UH nowadays do not consider each other the enemy; realizing, rather, that were both fighting the same tight fight with the same short stick against the A$Ms, Texa$es, and the rest of the BCS, whose athletics directors would just as soon choke athletics programs like ours to death. So, hard as it may seem to some of us old Owls and old Coogs, were actually cheering for each other when were not playing each other witness this great run Coach Nobles Cougar baseball team has had this spring to keep the Owls from simply running away with the CUSA title. We're cheering them on and can't wait for the weekend series at Reckling in mid-May.
We're not saying at all to support the Texans any less. Heck, Bob McNair is a big supporter of Rice athletics, and just a heck of a fine guy. But we ask, just give us a try, too just come on out September 2. The tailgaters will be firing up the grills, Rice Stadium will be all decked out (including new turf, jumbotron scoreboard and other stuff) and we think youll like what you see.
Enough to where your favorite football coach in this town just might immediate turn out to be Todd Graham.
See what Rice has been up to this spring: http://www.ricefootball.net