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Post by Whup Em All on Feb 8, 2024 13:45:28 GMT -6
I'll keep this uncharacteristically short and to the point:
Some folks on the CUSA forum don't consider JSU-KSU a true rivalry, since we've only played (in football) a handful of times.
What's your opinion?
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Post by smith79jordan on Feb 8, 2024 14:24:02 GMT -6
If you don't think Kennesaw State is our rival, spend five minutes talking to Jones and ask yourself which team you hate the most.
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Post by cockygolfer on Feb 8, 2024 14:49:02 GMT -6
If you don't think Kennesaw State is our rival, spend five minutes talking to Jones and ask yourself which team you hate the most. Who do you think is our rival?
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Post by cockygolfer on Feb 8, 2024 14:51:24 GMT -6
In such a short period of time, I have to think about the schools I got and will get most excited about playing. 1) Liberty 2) WKU 3) MTSU - NMSU (tie)
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Post by Deleted on Feb 8, 2024 15:53:24 GMT -6
There were people calling it a rivalry after they beat us three times in a row or whatever. I bet we run all over them the next few years. It's going to be hard to call them a rival until we're on even footing.
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Post by Whup Em All on Feb 8, 2024 16:50:17 GMT -6
In such a short period of time, I have to think about the schools I got and will get most excited about playing. 1) Liberty 2) WKU 3) MTSU - NMSU (tie) I agree with this list, except heading into CUSA, I originally expected MTSU to be #2 (if not #1). We had a short but heated history with them back in the 90s. But Liberty is the team to beat, and they have great, active, friendly, engaged fans, who turn instantly whiny when things don't go their way. Other than the extreme distance, it's a perfect conference rival! LOL. WKU stumbled a bit out of the gate in 2023, but they are also the team to beat. Like Liberty, they also have active, friendly, engaged fans. They're just a bit more grounded when things go south. If they weren't so focused on MTSU (and now Liberty) we'd probably have the beginnings of a great rivalry here. I'm fairly indifferent to NMSU in football, other than the fact I want revenge for them beating us last fall. As for KSU, I was born in Atlanta and raised in Marietta, and attended both Southern Tech and Kennesaw College however briefly during a break from Jax State, so I have personal reasons for getting up for this game which have nothing to do with the greater Jax State fan base. But every interaction I've had with students and younger alumni (primarily under 30) seems to indicate the Owls have moved into the top spot as our chief rival in their minds. When it comes to more traditional rivals, it appears they've mostly forgotten about Chattanooga, they're excited (but not overly so) about UAB, they're totally indifferent toward UNA, and, well, that school down in Pike County? They still want to whup 'em. But it's been so long since we've played them -- and been even longer since we were competitive with them -- that none of them were even alive when the rivalry was really hot. They know them as a historical rival, and that's about where it ends. I agree with the sentiment that KSU needs to turn things around -- and quickly -- if they want to hold onto that top spot. If we humiliate them every game, they'll take on more of a "West Georgia" role in the minds of JSU students. And if you were around for the old Gulf South Conference in the 80s and early 90s, you know that's not a good place to be. The thing is, I fully expect them to turn it around. They've already begun to catch up in basketball. They're always tough in diamond sports. I don't think they'll be content to be doormats in football. They do need to hurry up and build a new stadium, though. What they have, nice as it is, just won't cut it as the place to build an FBS rivalry.
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Post by toooldtocare on Feb 8, 2024 17:31:50 GMT -6
Troy is our rival. The fact that they don’t play us anymore in football is irrelevant.
It’s hard to think kennesaw is a rival. Most people I know have never heard of kennesaw and can’t tell you where it is located.
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Post by smith79jordan on Feb 8, 2024 19:03:48 GMT -6
If you don't think Kennesaw State is our rival, spend five minutes talking to Jones and ask yourself which team you hate the most. Who do you think is our rival? It's Kennesaw State. There aren't enough words to express how much I despise those owls... But I'll try anyway. If Kennesaw State has 1 million haters, I am among them. If Kennesaw State has one hater, I am him. If Kennesaw State has no haters on this earth, it's because a young carpenter from Bethlehem called me home. I will never forgive the rain that watered the dirt that grew the grass that Kennesaw State was built upon. Nobody else makes me feel that way. I respect the rivalry with troy state, and hope we get the bell back, but it was before my time. I remember inexplicable losses to Eastern Kentucky and Chattanooga, but they don't move the needle for me the way Kennesaw does. I will always have a sour taste in my mouth for UAB after they stole Dollar Bill, and I'd love to regularly see them on our football and basketball schedule. But they wouldn't consider us rivals. They're still chasing what they once had with Memphis and troy state. As for our current conference mates, I don't consider them rivals, but there are a few I look forward to playing. Liberty is always a good time because winning requires us to punch well above our weight (Budget). We have picked up some wins in basketball and played them close in football. And their fans are easily the most passionate in our league. Western Kentucky initially rubbed me the wrong way with the whole MAC thing. I've since warmed up to them, especially after we beat them last fall. New Mexico State has our number so far. They got us in football and basketball, but those were such great games. I enjoyed bonding with their fans and WKU's fans while we rallied around Liberty's NY6 push.
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Post by Cleburneslim on Feb 8, 2024 19:29:24 GMT -6
In order to be a rivalry it must be one a highly contested competitive game that is consequential year in year out.
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Post by smith79jordan on Feb 8, 2024 19:43:56 GMT -6
In order to be a rivalry it must be one a highly contested competitive game that is consequential year in year out. Two of our four games with the owls went to OT, one of which went to 5OT and both of us were ranked top 10. Our first meeting was a playoff game. Ahead of our last meeting, the players named it the cigar game for the year.
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Post by gemofthehills on Feb 8, 2024 22:08:43 GMT -6
Not sure of today who the rival is, in the future it will be a battle between UAB and Kenny. Middle will be a close to top rival along with WKU. Liberty will be a big game which will produce a rival atmosphere on gameday. The only others who could develop into a rivalry, IMO, GSU and GaSo. tory state will be a big game if it happens but the rivalry has peaked and will not grow much but will be the 3rd or 4th game in our rivalry rank in the future.
Delaware could develop into a Liberty type game, I expect the Hens to be a solid addition.
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Post by Cleburneslim on Feb 9, 2024 6:02:27 GMT -6
In order to be a rivalry it must be one a highly contested competitive game that is consequential year in year out. Two of our four games with the owls went to OT, one of which went to 5OT and both of us were ranked top 10. Our first meeting was a playoff game. Ahead of our last meeting, the players named it the cigar game for the year. That's the problem with fbs today, will everything die down to form any kind of rivalry or will one or both of us even be in n CUSA in the next few years? No one knows.
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Post by pubdaze on Feb 9, 2024 7:35:50 GMT -6
Does Kenny even have enough football fans to spell "Rivalry"?
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Post by cockygolfer on Feb 9, 2024 8:20:01 GMT -6
Troy is our rival. The fact that they don’t play us anymore in football is irrelevant. It’s hard to think kennesaw is a rival. Most people I know have never heard of kennesaw and can’t tell you where it is located. I can totally get behind T-State ... but to your second point... "most people" think Jacksonville State is in FLA .
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Post by Whup Em All on Feb 9, 2024 10:32:46 GMT -6
As for KSU, I was born in Atlanta and raised in Marietta, and attended both Southern Tech and Kennesaw College however briefly during a break from Jax State, so I have personal reasons for getting up for this game which have nothing to do with the greater Jax State fan base. But every interaction I've had with students and younger alumni (primarily under 30) seems to indicate the Owls have moved into the top spot as our chief rival in their minds. When it comes to more traditional rivals, it appears they've mostly forgotten about Chattanooga, they're excited (but not overly so) about UAB, they're totally indifferent toward UNA, and, well, that school down in Pike County? They still want to whup 'em. But it's been so long since we've played them -- and been even longer since we were competitive with them -- that none of them were even alive when the rivalry was really hot. They know them as a historical rival, and that's about where it ends. I agree with the sentiment that KSU needs to turn things around -- and quickly -- if they want to hold onto that top spot. If we humiliate them every game, they'll take on more of a "West Georgia" role in the minds of JSU students. And if you were around for the old Gulf South Conference in the 80s and early 90s, you know that's not a good place to be. Back in the days of AOL, I had the username (and email) WhupTroy@aol.com. In 1994, when the Sound of the South played the Mid-South exhibition in Gadsden on a weekend off, I went up there to watch them. The following Monday, I got in an argument with a freshman about how out of tune their piccolos were. (They were awful. Frosh dude said they sounded fine. He didn't return the following year. Maybe he transferred to Pike County...?) In 1995, when troy state appeared on the football schedule again after a 5-year layoff, I was one of a select group of old farts in Southerners who did everything in our power to hammer home the enormity of this game. In this effort, we had the full support of Ken Bodiford, who was in only his 2nd year as director of the Southerners. He was a freshman in '83 and drum major from 1985-87, so he was a student when the rivalry was HOT. We didn't need to convince him. That said, I might have taken things a bit too far when, unbeknownst to anyone, I went down to the Goodwill, bought a cheap tacky suit for 10 bucks, took it upstairs at the Phi Mu Alpha house, stuffed it with newspapers, attached a white balloon as its head, and drew a face and hair on it to look like troy state's band director Dr. John M. Long. To insure no one had to guess at his identity, I added an adhesive name tag which said, "Hi! My name is JOHNNY LONG." I flagged down one of my fraternity brothers, and as a bonfire was about to be lit in the backyard during the first "Troy Party" in years, we carried Johnny downstairs, Weekend at Bernie's style, and after a few poetic words, heaved him onto the pyre. Most of us thought it was pretty funny. Some people were shocked and offended. "YOU BURNED A MAN IN EFFIGY!!!!" Yeah. We kinda did. Sorry. All this to say, troy state holds a special place in my heart. The special place that really hates things. They will always be my personal No. 1 rival. Distance won't change that. But having spent way too long at Jax State, I know how cyclical things can be. That freshman in '94 that I had the argument with? He had no idea why I hated troy state so much. I mean, he seriously couldn't grasp it. And it had only been FOUR YEARS at that point. It's been 22 years now. A kid born during the last game on Nov. 17, 2001, who is attending college under the traditional four-year plan, will graduate this spring. Everyone younger than that (half the seniors, and everyone junior standing or below at JSU) was born after the series ended. And they don't have crazy old farts like me on campus burning people in effigy to kickstart the hate. When the rivalry does begin again, barring a major shift in schedules, it's going to be during the early-to-mid 2030s. That kid born in 2001 will be a thirty-something. And everyone with a clear memory of the game will be in their 50s or older. They're not our main rival anymore. A special game, yes. A big game, absolutely. But the main rival will be the one the students hate the most. And right now, that's Kennesaw.
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