The unofficial online home for fans of the UAB Blazers. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(01-26-2013 01:02 PM)Memphis Blazer Wrote:  Can't we stop arguing the tired Watson vs Calloway argument. News flash: they're both gone.
News flash: They both sucked. It doesn't matter which sucked more.

Kill this debate, please.

And yes, 2006 was the low point, because during that calendar year, they were both coach at UAB.

I'll stop arguing it when Blazr stops insinuating that the revenue sports at UAB haven't gone down a steep hill since 2006. We were in a bowl game in 2004 and the NCAA tournament in 04, 05, 06. In 2004 UAB was on the verge of moving up in the college athletics landscape. It felt tantalizing close at the time. With a willing football head coach candidate in Jimbo Fisher and another NCAA trip we were still closer in 2006 than we are now. UAB football and basketball are at their lowest points in the history of both programs.

UAB just finished it's eighth straight losing season in football. How was year 2 in that streak the low point? To quote Uncle Blazer, "Don't piss on my head and tell me it's raining."

Do you really not remember the completely toxic atmosphere surrounding the program in '06?

3 wins. APR in the toilet. Coaches cursing at fans. Inmates running the asylum.

I'll take what we have now over that train wreck all day today and twice tomorrow.

Ditto that Smaug. It was actually worse than most folks could imagine.

(01-26-2013 12:59 PM)Smaug Wrote:  I still view 2006 as the low point of UAB football.

Ditto. And Attalla. When your house collapses around you because termites have been chewing at the wood for years, don't sue the kid who just knocked on the door.


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However, we didnt need a football coach to get the APR back in line.

Well, the AD sucked, too.

(01-26-2013 04:48 PM)Smaug Wrote:  Do you really not remember the completely toxic atmosphere surrounding the program in '06?

3 wins. APR in the toilet. Coaches cursing at fans. Inmates running the asylum.

I'll take what we have now over that train wreck all day today and twice tomorrow.

+1

Afterbirth, anyone?

Time to tie the tubes.

Being a fan was much more fun from 2000-2006 than the following period. In football we beat good teams, had winning seasons, and went to a bowl. Basketball had the best run since the 80's. Now we're staring at back to back losing basketball seasons and six more straight losing football seasons. UAB is the invisible man in conference realignment and is being effectively relegated to the Sun Belt.

Oh yeah, things are way better now.

The sky ain't falling, no programs are on the chopping block, and hope springs eternal. Even for cynical Blazer fans such as myself. I agreed with hiring both our new coaches. As long as we still bounce the ball and put the pads on I will continue to support both programs as best I can. But don't try to tell me that we're better off now than in the mid 2000s. These are the continuing Dark Days that we hope to tell our disbelieving grand-kids about as we tailgate for our eighth consecutive bowl game.

(01-26-2013 09:07 PM)BlazerGreen Wrote:  But don't try to tell me that we're better off now than in the mid 2000s.

Don't worry. I'm done trying.

(01-26-2013 09:07 PM)BlazerGreen Wrote:  Being a fan was much more fun from 2000-2006 than the following period.

We went 3-9 in 2006...with a full complement of players mind you and I would guess one of our Top 5 overall most talented football teams in the program's history. If you can say you had "much more fun" in 2006, even 2005 to be honest, then that explains the disconnect. For anyone who visited even just a few football practices in Watson's last couple of years or, gods forbid, had to wander through them...I'll just pass along Jake Seitz' quote to me after Callaway took over, "The Chiefs are in charge now, not the Indians."

My dad attended UAT and I held on to my familial loyalties about halfway through my undergrad years when certain events and circumstances convinced me that I could not be associated with the UAT program or her fans any longer for my own integrity. Those last two years under Watson, watching and listening behind the scenes, were the closest I have ever come to making the same determination about UAB football. Things were beyond the level of competitiveness and to the point of integrity and respect. I'm just going to really, really hope yours is a case of not having full knowledge of the facts rather than a gap in values.

(01-26-2013 10:48 PM)blazr Wrote:  We went 3-9 in 2006...with a full complement of players mind you and I would guess one of our Top 5 overall most talented football teams in the program's history. If you can say you had "much more fun" in 2006, even 2005 to be honest, then that explains the disconnect. For anyone who visited even just a few football practices in Watson's last couple of years or, gods forbid, had to wander through them...I'll just pass along Jake Seitz' quote to me after Callaway took over, "The Chiefs are in charge now, not the Indians."

My dad attended UAT and I held on to my familial loyalties about halfway through my undergrad years when certain events and circumstances convinced me that I could not be associated with the UAT program or her fans any longer for my own integrity. Those last two years under Watson, watching and listening behind the scenes, were the closest I have ever come to making the same determination about UAB football. Things were beyond the level of competitiveness and to the point of integrity and respect. I'm just going to really, really hope yours is a case of not having full knowledge of the facts rather than a gap in values.

It's more a case of not believing everything I read on the internet. Why should your "I was at practice!" stories be given any more respect than Gorilla's?

Watson sucked and I was against his hiring from the beginning. At least he did manage a few winning seasons and a bowl game. He ended poorly but hiring Callaway was like trying to save a drowning puppy by tying a brick to its neck. He achieved the barest minimum expected of any college head coach on any level: make the kids go to class. Hopefully Neal will be our only football coach to never have a winning season. That is what he will be remembered for. Not for laying some imaginary foundation.

I don't believe going to class is expected at certain schools.

(01-26-2013 11:23 PM)BlazerGreen Wrote:  

(01-26-2013 10:48 PM)blazr Wrote:  We went 3-9 in 2006...with a full complement of players mind you and I would guess one of our Top 5 overall most talented football teams in the program's history. If you can say you had "much more fun" in 2006, even 2005 to be honest, then that explains the disconnect. For anyone who visited even just a few football practices in Watson's last couple of years or, gods forbid, had to wander through them...I'll just pass along Jake Seitz' quote to me after Callaway took over, "The Chiefs are in charge now, not the Indians."

My dad attended UAT and I held on to my familial loyalties about halfway through my undergrad years when certain events and circumstances convinced me that I could not be associated with the UAT program or her fans any longer for my own integrity. Those last two years under Watson, watching and listening behind the scenes, were the closest I have ever come to making the same determination about UAB football. Things were beyond the level of competitiveness and to the point of integrity and respect. I'm just going to really, really hope yours is a case of not having full knowledge of the facts rather than a gap in values.

It's more a case of not believing everything I read on the internet. Why should your "I was at practice!" stories be given any more respect than Gorilla's?

Watson sucked and I was against his hiring from the beginning. At least he did manage a few winning seasons and a bowl game. He ended poorly but hiring Callaway was like trying to save a drowning puppy by tying a brick to its neck. He achieved the barest minimum expected of any college head coach on any level: make the kids go to class. Hopefully Neal will be our only football coach to never have a winning season. That is what he will be remembered for. Not for laying some imaginary foundation.

I'm done trying to be civil with you. After what you've written over and over on here, I'm officially over it. You suck as a fan, and I highly doubt I'm the only one who feels that way.

(01-27-2013 01:26 AM)blazers9911 Wrote:  I'm done trying to be civil with you. After what you've written over and over on here, I'm officially over it. You suck as a fan, and I highly doubt I'm the only one who feels that way.

What I've written? Uh, ok.

You mean like: "Haase was a good hire"
"It will take another recruiting class before the program recovers"
"McGee was a good hire"
"It will take at least another recruiting class before the program improves"

There's not a whole lot else positive to say about UAB football and basketball right now. Anyone that cares enough to still support and talk about those programs is a GREAT fan. Brian Mackin would love to have 10,000 more like me, bitching and moaning but continuing to attend and write checks.

Blazers Men's Soccer, on the other hand, ROCKS. Guys go to class AND perform on the field, while most only getting a partial scholarship from UAB. It's great to follow that team and they don't get near enough credit for what they achieve.

I love this school. I love this athletic program. I call it like i see it.

GO BLAZERS

Otherwise, Ignore button. It's there for a reason.

Well said blazr.

Quote:For anyone who visited even just a few football practices in Watson's last couple of years or, gods forbid, had to wander through them

I never went to a Watson Brown practice, but I did have to deal with him on a professional level. I'd say that you saw his better side.

(01-27-2013 11:31 AM)58-56 Wrote:  

Quote:For anyone who visited even just a few football practices in Watson's last couple of years or, gods forbid, had to wander through them

I never went to a Watson Brown practice, but I did have to deal with him on a professional level. I'd say that you saw his better side.

Before I moved from Crestwood in 2003, I used to attend UAB practices with some frequency, and I noted that Watson Brown seemed to be totally devastated when UAB failed to win enough games to even be bowl eligible the year after the Hawai'i Bowl. He knew that with his "stud" QB and WR gone and his staff collapsing in disarray, there was little chance he would have as good a team any time soon, if ever. To me it appeared he just "mailed in" his last two years until he left for TN. UAB was fortunate that TN Tech offered him a place to move.

With RBs White, Burks and Elliot coming back and Williams at QB, I thought he had the perfect backfield for an option attack, but apparently, he never considered it so in spite of saying he would have a "run first" plan, he had Williams trying to throw 50 times per game like Hackney. Williams was no Hackney.

(01-28-2013 01:16 AM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  

(01-27-2013 11:31 AM)58-56 Wrote:  

Quote:For anyone who visited even just a few football practices in Watson's last couple of years or, gods forbid, had to wander through them

I never went to a Watson Brown practice, but I did have to deal with him on a professional level. I'd say that you saw his better side.

Before I moved from Crestwood in 2003, I used to attend UAB practices with some frequency, and I noted that Watson Brown seemed to be totally devastated when UAB failed to win enough games to even be bowl eligible the year after the Hawai'i Bowl. He knew that with his "stud" QB and WR gone and his staff collapsing in disarray, there was little chance he would have as good a team any time soon, if ever. To me it appeared he just "mailed in" his last two years until he left for TN. UAB was fortunate that TN Tech offered him a place to move.

With RBs White, Burks and Elliot coming back and Williams at QB, I thought he had the perfect backfield for an option attack, but apparently, he never considered it so in spite of saying he would have a "run first" plan, he had Williams trying to throw 50 times per game like Hackney. Williams was no Hackney.

You noticed all that but not the 10-20 "injured" players hanging out on the fences with their crews? Or you noticed but were more concerned that our team was putting the ball in the air 50x per game?