Monday, December 08, 2008

Davis' rough homecoming and other links

Dominique Davis admits he wasn't in the right frame of mind for the ACC Championship Game. Coming home to friends and family proved to be a bit of a distraction. He says the right things about trying to get back next year.


Nashville is excited to have Vanderbilt involved in the game. It should help sell more tickets locally.


HD put BC at No. 3 in her Power Rankings.


BC still leads for Georgia Linebacker Joel Knight.


Fitchburg kid Keith Bourne is very excited about his future at BC.


Jacksonville feels vindicated by Tampa's attendance issues.

27 comments:

Laxman said...

After reading that article on Davis it tells me the coaches had good reason to stick with Crane for as long as they did. It was disappointing but not shocking.

Rob said...

I haven't checked the other matchups thoroughly but we have to be the winners of the Brain Bowl with us and Vanderbilt involved.

Laxman said...

Wake v. Navy in DC is up there in the Scholar Athlete category too...

Forward Command Center said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ScreamingEagle said...

Wow, there's more than one member of the Marching Band that reads this blog, and someone else had the same idea that I had. It would really mean a lot to everyone in the Marching Band if everyone could write or call athletics and plead for them to send the entire band. It would be highly embarrassing for Vanderbilt to have their entire band there, and for BC to have a much smaller representation.

BC wonders why no fans show up to bowl games and championships, but when they can't even bother to send the band to the game, it seems as though they could care less about the game. It pains me to say that, but I feel that is the impression that we give off by not sending the entire band. As people who bleed maroon and gold, let's help our university make the best showing possible at this game!

It would really mean a lot if everyone could help us out in any way possible. Thank you, and hopefully, the band will see you in Nashville!

Heights said...

Davis:

Are you kidding me? You were not mentally prepared for the game? You are a D-1 starting athlete for a solid program; that is just unacceptable. I just do not understand how an athlete is not focused on the game at-hand. You get a free education (I presume you have a full ride) and you did not do your job. Tell me that you had a bad day or that the other team was just too much to handle, but please do not claim that you were not prepared. That truly disappoints me and I am sure thousands of other BC faithful.

TAB

Heights said...

I would like to hear if anyone agrees or disagrees with me...

CT said...

Thomas, I agree with you to a certain extent. He should've, even if he didn't mean it, said something to the effect of, "Va. Tech played really well," rather than talk about how many family members were at the game. At the same time, he's 19, it was literally his second start, and nothing can take away from the fact that most of those incompletions were just embarrassingly bad overthrows. He redeemed himself a bit when he said that he never wants to feel that way again. But parsing his comments seems to me to be detracting from why we really lost: 19 year old, second-start QBs just don't win big games and we let Taylor beat us with his legs despite the fact that that's the only way he could beat us. I'm more disappointed with the defensive response to Taylor than to Davis' struggles.

Having said all that, I will send an e-mail to the Athletic Dept. about the band because it strikes me as remarkably disingenuous for BC officials to in one breath complain about our traveling reputation (well-earned and deserving) yet in the next breath reinforce the fact that we're a third-rate fanbase playing first-rate football by not sending the entire band. I'm sure Va. Tech's Orange Bowl bounty could help BC cover the trip. Even though the BC program appears to be on solid ground with Jags, the school does have some issues that transcend the ability of a green-gilled QB to complete a 15 yard in-pattern. Just my two cents.

EAGLE_IN_LA said...

The payout on the Music City Bowl is probably close to nothing. Factor in the team-related costs, I wonder if Boston College is even making money on attending this bowl game. Chances are, they are scraping even. It's unforunate that there isn't enough money to bring all the members of the marching band, but that's what happens when you end up going to a bowl with little financial payoff. This seems to be a theme every December ... honestly, I don't blame the athletics department. They aren't growing money on a money tree.

Ryan said...

EAGLE IN LA
I'm pretty sure bowl revenues are shared equally in the conference, it doesn't matter that our bowl payoff is low, we get the same share as everyone else for travel expenses, etc. Anyone else confirm that?

eagle1331 said...

Ryan is right. The ACC splits all bowl related revenue amongst its teams

Anonymous said...

and the ACC also provides a travel stipend.

Anfield10 said...

Anybody have an email address for us to send something to the athletic dept. to about the band? Is there someone in particular we should be emailing (apart, of course, from Defilipo whose email is unattainable i believe)

Ralph said...

Not true about Gene's email, its available on Agora. It is gene.d.1@bc.edu.

herzyfan said...

As a former band member, I too agree it would be best to send the whole band. One thing I do feel worth mentioning here, and it could be not a major reason, but from what I understand it is, the reason the entire band is not always sent is that way back when, when we went to the bowl game in Detroit, the band members "voted" to not go, due to it conflicting with Christmas plans.

In some ways I have to agree with Athletics here, it shouldn't be a "We want to go only if it is a good bowl game/the timing works for my schedule" type of option.

lizz said...

I am also a present member of the marching band. I have no idea what herzyfan is talking about. The entire band was planning on attending the game, it in no way interferes with Christmas, and maybe we are a little more enthusiastic about our football team than these band members you reference. You are really not helping the case of a bunch of highly enthusiastic fans who would love the chance to cheer their team on.

EAGLE_IN_LA said...

herzyfan is absolutely correct. In 2002, the football team went to Detroit for the Motor City Bowl against Toledo (back in the days of Brian St. Pierre and Derrick Knight). The game was played the afternoon of Dec. 26, and the marching band took it to a vote ... they choose not to attend the bowl game in Detroit. Honestly, the only thing that matters here is winning the damn football game. We're not going to hardly send any fans or sell any tickets ... just cut your losses and win the friggin game, put 2008 behind us, and get us moving toward 2009. Just keep the bowl streak intact.

matthew2 said...

thomas -- I agree with you. I got visibly angry when reading that article... I dont remember what he said, but in my head I hear "Oh shoot, I really should have prepared for this game, rather that just thinking we were going to win. Virginia Tech is pretty good, it turns out. Oh well, next time I am the starting QB playing in a championship game with a BCS birth on the line, I will study a little more film. Unless my girfriend is in town. Then I'll just get the next one."

OK, I'm being too harsh, but come on. He should not have left the film room all week, trying to figure out maybe half of what Bud Foster was going to throw at him. It is unacceptable that the kid treated it as a vacation, and it showed. I wonder if Logan was satisfied with his efforts. Let's see where he's at heading into spring practices...

Unknown said...

I feel bad for you bandos. This isn't the first time this has happened. As a four year member, I only got to go to one bowl game, and that was to Boise my senior year. Not exactly the tropical vacations they had sold me on. Don't get me wrong, I still loved being on the DT.

It's unfortunate that since we are not a part of athletics, we often get the short end of the stick. Many fans feel the band is a major part of the game day vibe, and I agree it won't make us look any better on TV with a 39 member ensemble. Doesn't help our "travel rep" if they don't even send the band. Some of you newer members have been very lucky over the oast 2 years to have gotten to go on a lot of great trips. This was not the case 5-6 years ago.

I would caution you guys about asking people to write in about this...a few years ago a former band member (that was still a student) wrote a Letter to the Editor in the Heights, and Dave was not pleased. Responses should come from the Bands department as a whole, so please be careful and think before you respond.

BCNorCal07 said...

Just to follow up on what Kristen said. If you want to send a letter or e-mail or make a call, call athletics. Call Gene. Don't call the band; it's out of their hands. Be supportive, mention the fact that bowl revenue is split. Write as a concerned alum or current student. And if you are currently in the marching band, DON'T SAY ANYTHING. It's a good way to make Dave very, very angry.

Eagle1 said...

"It was exciting from the beginning, but as I could see I didn't prepare myself like I should have for Saturday, I was too focused on how many people were going to be at the game and all this and that. I lost focus on today."

Yikes. Worrying about how many people are going to be at the game? That's right up there with worrying about what color pajamas to wear at the hotel or what the in-flight snack might be.

I'm wondering if this kid might eventually be in the 5% of the team that does not graduate.

Unknown said...

Thanks for backing me up, Joe! Don't want any band members feeling the Healey fury.

Unknown said...

Also, a correction of the 2002 Motor City Bowl game. I believe the issue was that athletics again would not send the whole band. And yes, it would have meant Christmas in Detroit. I think that it was decided that it would be all band or no band, because they didn't want to force just some people to miss the holiday at home with their families. Athletics opted for no band. That was my freshman year, and I don't remember taking a vote. I think ultimately it was the Director's decision.

Big Jack Krack said...

Come on, BC - come on, Gene - we need the entire band in Nashville. We want to put our best foot forward for sure. What about the MusicFest/Battle of the Bands presented by CMT - Tuesday, December 30, 6pm. Downtown on historic 2nd Ave. / Commerce Street. Admission to the bands performance is FREE. Bowl Patch holders receive special discounts at participating MusicFest restaurants and entertainment venues.

Come on BC - Come on GDF - Come on Director of the Band - let's do the right thing. Otherwise we will look really bad - maybe even pathetic....sending 39 members of the Marching Band to the Music City Bowl. Are you nuts?

Anonymous said...

If I were a booster, I would take away Davis' scholarship. How could you admit to the media that you were unprepared for the game????? What the hell were you doing the whole week????? And MORE IMPORTANTLY Why didn't the coaching staff figure that out??????

Sad Sad Sad. Bring back Dan Henning

BeantownBC85 said...

What's the difference between:

1) Davis saying he was not prepared
2) Davis not saying the above

Either way, he still looked unprepared. Doesn't matter if he says so or not.

Boyd said...

Thomas et al., you guys really sound like jerks.

Thomas: "The 19yr old redshirt freshman in his second start did not have the total perspective, and got carried away with the moment. He didn't appreciate how much extra prep would be necessary. He realizes his mistake, but that's not good enough for me. I had perspective on EVERYTHING when I was 19."

Brookline12: "You softie, Thomas. Kick his ass to the curb! Take away his scholarship!"

My advice: watch the NFL. They're professionals. Because your attitude toward a kid who didn't quite get it, realizes it, and looks to grow from it, is really kind of disgusting.