The View From Section 241 — UNC

[FfldCntyFan]

There isn't a volcano in East Harford.

Even if there was one, you'd still need to find a virgin.

 

[DawgEnjoyer]

I'm thinking Carstady and the kid from Brown will be the tackles. Wayburn, Murawski, and Hoeh inside. My best guess anyway.

I could see either, but some combination of those 5.

All three underclassmen impressed me a lot this season.

 

[noeynox]

I could see either, but some combination of those 5.

All three underclassmen impressed me a lot this season.

I think Green will be the swing man like Fortin was. Playing tackle/guard as needed.

 

[HCCForever]

I think Green will be the swing man like Fortin was. Playing tackle/guard as needed.

Tank Green seems to have a dog type of attitude and doesn't back down. He was in for one play replacing Lundt and pushed the NC player away from him who antagonized him. Earned a penalty for his action and then Mora went balistic when the official failed to grant him a timeout.

 

[gopher2]

Tank Green seems to have a dog type of attitude and doesn't back down. He was in for one play replacing Lundt and pushed the NC player away from him who antagonized him. Earned a penalty for his action and then Mora went balistic when the official failed to grant him a timeout.

He gets into a shoving match everytime he's in the game. Coaches will need to get him settled down or his hotheadedness will kill drives.

 

[History Geek]

He gets into a shoving match everytime he's in the game. Coaches will need to get him settled down or his hotheadedness will kill drives.

Agreed. I’d like to be a fan, but I’m not yet.

 

[hardcorehusky]

I'm thinking Carstady and the kid from Brown will be the tackles. Wayburn, Murawski, and Hoeh inside. My best guess anyway.

Stewart was the starting RG before he went down. If he is back, he will be in the mix

 

[UCONNRPh]

I totally forgot about him.... He's good.

 

[noeynox]

Stewart was the starting RG before he went down. If he is back, he will be in the mix

I forgot about him. Good problems I guess.

 

[Tdaley]

Tank Green seems to have a dog type of attitude and doesn't back down. He was in for one play replacing Lundt and pushed the NC player away from him who antagonized him. Earned a penalty for his action and then Mora went balistic when the official failed to grant him a timeout.

He gets into a shoving match everytime he's in the game. Coaches will need to get him settled down or his hotheadedness will kill drives.

I think he led our offensive line in unsportsmen like penalties this year even though he didn't play very much. He got one at the end of a game earlier this year ( maybe Florida Atlantic ) and Mora yanked from the game. I do think he did play pretty well as a replacement for Lundt late in the game.

 

[Nostical]

Nice recap as usual Biz. And Happy New Year.

A few thoughts.
—Key jingling is passé. Loud voices are timeless.

—As for attendance I sent Fenway‘s group ticket supervisor (who I know) this statement I saw on Twitter.
“Saturday’s Fenway Bowl between UConn and North Carolina set a new attendance record for the event. The announced attendance of 27,963 surpassed the previous high of 16,238 set in 2023. This marks the highest attendance in the Fenway Bowl’s three-year history.”

As I congratulated him on the number, he told me those are the official ticket sales numbers. There were also about 3,500 tickets donated to charitable groups etc. Bottom line he said there were over 30,000 people there. He said given the morning rain and iffy weather forecasts it was a “stunning amount“ who showed up— and it blew the sponsors away.

—Finally, as the first game of the day, more eyeballs around the country got a good look at UConn for the first time. In that first hour we made a great impression on the viewers, many who may have been looking for Belichick or this girlfriend-lol. I can’t tell you how many friends and business contacts around the country sent me texts that essentially said the same thing. “Wow-first time seeing your UConn team play. What a surprise. You’re demolishing UNC”

I can see this bowl game serving as a paradigm shift in our fortunes. Let’s fill the Rent next fall.

 

[gsmooth]

Nice recap as usual Biz. And Happy New Year.

A few thoughts.
—Key jingling is passé. Loud voices are timeless.

—As for attendance I sent Fenway‘s group ticket supervisor (who I know) this statement I saw on Twitter.
“Saturday’s Fenway Bowl between UConn and North Carolina set a new attendance record for the event. The announced attendance of 27,963 surpassed the previous high of 16,238 set in 2023. This marks the highest attendance in the Fenway Bowl’s three-year history.”

As I congratulated him on the number, he told me those are the official ticket sales numbers. There were also about 3,500 tickets donated to charitable groups etc. Bottom line he said there were over 30,000 people there. He said given the morning rain and iffy weather forecasts it was a “stunning amount“ who showed up— and it blew the sponsors away.

—Finally, as the first game of the day, more eyeballs around the country got a good look at UConn for the first time. In that first hour we made a great impression on the viewers, many who may have been looking for Belichick or this girlfriend-lol. I can’t tell you how many friends and business contacts around the country sent me texts that essentially said the same thing. “Wow-first time seeing your UConn team play. What a surprise. You’re demolishing UNC”

I can see this bowl game serving as a paradigm shift in our fortunes. Let’s fill the Rent next fall.

I was there at Fenway-the atmosphere was fantastic.

Exposure and Visibility

As far as visibility for the team ("eyeballs") being on ESPN and the first game of the day as opposed to being a later game and on one of the ancillary channels like ESPNU or CBS Sports Network (sorry, it's true even if it's UConn Football's channel) was great. Some other factors that were a humongous positive is the game being at Fenway because Fenway Park has a historic novelty to it so people that are not fans of UConn or North Carolina or of college football will tune in for some time just because they want to see a football game with the visuals of the ballpark and the outfield walls and such. Yankee Stadium has that appeal, too.

I would also add the naming and branding factors at play here really helped UConn. Let's face it, most of the bowl games outside of the CFP are meaningless and very few people remember them. But the Fenway Bowl as well as the Pinstripe Bowl are linked to iconic baseball franchises and stadiums so people will notice and remember them more than these other bowl games outside of the CFP-I know I do. The fact that there were 2 well known basketball blue bloods going at it also catches people's attention, too (i.e tweet about 2 basketball schools playing football in a baseball stadium). The fact that this game got the press attention here in Boston is amazing considering this is a pro sports city, but again remember the game was at Fenway which helps in that regard and it was well attended. If this game was BC's home field it wouldn't have gotten any noticeable press attention.

Paradigm shift
Performing well does a lot in terms of turning the tide on the negative perception about UConn Football. That negative perception is that UConn Football 1) is God awful and that 2) UConn does not care about football and their fans don't either. The performance as well as the stands being full at Fenway Park will do a ton in nixing those negative perceptions.

Overall take away and strategy going forward
UConn needs to strike when the iron is hot. Don't start pinching pennies, that would be penny wise dollar foolish. UConn fans, if you have the money and can afford it donate to UConn's NIL fund. Bleeding Blue for Good pays the players and goes towards good causes that are more important than sports. Fill up the Rent next fall and try to get it to match or go beyond the noise and crowd levels that were seen on TV at Fenway. The optics on TV for games at the Rent are so important for a P4 or P-whatever invite.
UConn admin, use the full court press to double down football investment and get better players. With the increase positive attention for UConn Football, and with consistent better on field product, trust me another conference will eventually want to add UConn. Even if that is not immediate, UConn Football as an independent can be maybe be a lite version of Notre Dame, a very lite version, and get a better TV deal than the one they have with CBS Sports Network.

 

[Patman]

I was there at Fenway-the atmosphere was fantastic.

Exposure and Visibility

As far as visibility for the team ("eyeballs") being on ESPN and the first game of the day as opposed to being a later game and on one of the ancillary channels like ESPNU or CBS Sports Network (sorry, it's true even if it's UConn Football's channel) was great. Some other factors that were a humongous positive is the game being at Fenway because Fenway Park has a historic novelty to it so people that are not fans of UConn or North Carolina or of college football will tune in for some time just because they want to see a football game with the visuals of the ballpark and the outfield walls and such. Yankee Stadium has that appeal, too.

I would also add the naming and branding factors at play here really helped UConn. Let's face it, most of the bowl games outside of the CFP are meaningless and very few people remember them. But the Fenway Bowl as well as the Pinstripe Bowl are linked to iconic baseball franchises and stadiums so people will notice and remember them more than these other bowl games outside of the CFP-I know I do. The fact that there were 2 well known basketball blue bloods going at it also catches people's attention, too (i.e tweet about 2 basketball schools playing football in a baseball stadium). The fact that this game got the press attention here in Boston is amazing considering this is a pro sports city, but again remember the game was at Fenway which helps in that regard and it was well attended. If this game was BC's home field it wouldn't have gotten any noticeable press attention.

Paradigm shift
Performing well does a lot in terms of turning the tide on the negative perception about UConn Football. That negative perception is that UConn Football 1) is God awful and that 2) UConn does not care about football and their fans don't either. The performance as well as the stands being full at Fenway Park will do a ton in nixing those negative perceptions.

Overall take away and strategy going forward
UConn needs to strike when the iron is hot. Don't start pinching pennies, that would be penny wise dollar foolish. UConn fans, if you have the money and can afford it donate to UConn's NIL fund. Bleeding Blue for Good pays the players and goes towards good causes that are more important than sports. Fill up the Rent next fall and try to get it to match or go beyond the noise and crowd levels that were seen on TV at Fenway. The optics on TV for games at the Rent are so important for a P4 or P-whatever invite.
UConn admin, use the full court press to double down football investment and get better players. With the increase positive attention for UConn Football, and with consistent better on field product, trust me another conference will eventually want to add UConn. Even if that is not immediate, UConn Football as an independent can be maybe be a lite version of Notre Dame, a very lite version, and get a better TV deal than the one they have with CBS Sports Network.

say what you will about warm weather bowls, and I get its a treat for a lot of people, but this should get us into the Pinstripe bowl in the next couple of years as long as we have the record to meet it.

 

[freescooter]

I agree with lots of gsmooth’s points. I think of particular value was the location and whoever brokered that deal deserves lots of credit. Fenway is an icon. An of course it was close. And honestly Bill Belechek didn’t hurt even if he wasn’t there! The game had reasons for folks to watch and UConn took advantage of the opportunity and performed about as well as one could hope.

 

[BugsyCT]

It was really a thing of beauty to see a historic baseball park filled with UConn fans for a bowl game. Makes it all the more appealing for Fenway and Yankee Stadium to work UConn into their bowl mix in future years. Storrs North & South!