Ivy football / Cornell football future

On any given Saturday and all.

One thing about Cornell this year, when it folds, it does so in uncompromising fashion, other than Princeton, a game we should have won.

Cornell losses 2007
Yale      51-12  MOV 39
Penn      45- 9  MOV 36
Dartmouth 59-31  MOV 28
Harvard   32-15  MOV 17 
Princeton 34-31  MOV  3

And how is we can play one team close and then they go on to beat someone we got clobbered by? Princeton 34, Cornell 31 and Dartmouth 59, Cornell 31, but Princeton 17, Dartmouth 14?

After seeing Mike McLeod roll behind the awesome Yale line against Cornell, I could not fathom anyone beating Yale and then Harvard wins the game 37-6 and except for an 80-yard punt return late it would have been a shutout.

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(Seems so little current interest in football I don't want to waste server space starting 2 threads.) My sense, despite grumbling elsewhere on the forum, is that we did okay overall (5-5) and we were hurt by injuries to our best QB and best running back. We did a good job managing non-Ivy competitors (read: schedule teams we can beat). We should have won Princeton. We at least imagined ourselves to be in the game with Yale until midway through the third quarter, if I recall. (Not that were going to win, but we were in the groove to lose gracefully.)

But I'm having trouble understanding how in our worst games we gave up 59, 51, and 45 points. Ouch. At least we beat Brown in OT, otherwise we would've been 1-6 Ivy, and that really would've been rock bottom.

Harvard lost the best quarterback in the league in game three and went on to win seven straight, crush oh-so-powerful Yale like an annoying insect, and finish their Ivy season unbeaten.

Sheesh, Al, talk about taking the breath out of a barely plausible excuse for our 5-5 season.

I just want to know what this team does to prepare for road games. Do they all get drunk on the way down and just play hungover? Knowles' MO has been win at home and lose, often badly, on the road.

Maybe the question is how are we cheating at home not why are we sucking on the road?

The Knowlesian Constant turns out to be 3.25 rather than 3.5 as I had previously thought. The Knowlesian Futility Constant remains, however, the same: start the season by going 1-2 or worse against Harvard, Yale, and Brown.

Granted, the collective winning percentage of those three teams over the Knowles years is .679, so I suppose we're just performing as well as we should, but it's demoralizing to have the championship race over so early every year. We have never been a factor in the championship race under Knowles. I remind everyone that two-loss teams have only shared championships twice in the history of the Ivy League; generally, champions are allowed only one loss.

Wasn't Knowles also supposed to restore tradition and pride to the program? I was suspicious of the guy when I learned the football team (and band) no longer sings Cornell Victorious after wins. Am I right about that? If so, what the hell? If he's waiting for a championship to sing that we're "champions of all," by that time no one will remember the words.

Scersk '97
Wasn't Knowles also supposed to restore tradition and pride to the program? I was suspicious of the guy when I learned the football team (and band) no longer sings Cornell Victorious after wins. Am I right about that?

I think you're right about Cornell Victorious. If I remember correctly, it's been replaced by a new, improved Cornell song.

Cheer Cornell,
Come on and give a yell...

Nothing like a New New Cornell Fight Song...

You're right about that. At the end of the Georgetown game, a few old bandies determinedly sang Cornell Vic anyway, with the current band seemingly confused about what it was.

Scersk '97

Wasn't Knowles also supposed to restore tradition and pride to the program? I was suspicious of the guy when I learned the football team (and band) no longer sings Cornell Victorious after wins. Am I right about that? If so, what the hell? If he's waiting for a championship to sing that we're "champions of all," by that time no one will remember the words.

I had heard that the team sings it in the locker room and that's why he didn't want the band to play it anymore.

At least the "victory bell" is move aimed at tradition and pride.

Chris '03
At least the "victory bell" is move aimed at tradition and pride.

And there's no reason to carry it to Ivy road games.

Chris '03

Scersk '97

Wasn't Knowles also supposed to restore tradition and pride to the program? I was suspicious of the guy when I learned the football team (and band) no longer sings Cornell Victorious after wins. Am I right about that? If so, what the hell? If he's waiting for a championship to sing that we're "champions of all," by that time no one will remember the words.

I had heard that the team sings it in the locker room and that's why he didn't want the band to play it anymore.

At least the "victory bell" is move aimed at tradition and pride.

It still peeves me. Cornell Victorious is not the football team's exclusive property; it's part of every Cornellian's gameday. The band should have just said, "Fine, you don't have to sing with us, but we're going to play it anyway, because that's our tradition."

Scersk '97

Chris '03

Scersk '97

Wasn't Knowles also supposed to restore tradition and pride to the program? I was suspicious of the guy when I learned the football team (and band) no longer sings Cornell Victorious after wins. Am I right about that? If so, what the hell? If he's waiting for a championship to sing that we're "champions of all," by that time no one will remember the words.

I had heard that the team sings it in the locker room and that's why he didn't want the band to play it anymore.

At least the "victory bell" is move aimed at tradition and pride.

It still peeves me. Cornell Victorious is not the football team's exclusive property; it's part of every Cornellian's gameday. The band should have just said, "Fine, you don't have to sing with us, but we're going to play it anyway, because that's our tradition."

Agreed, but I'll trade Cornell Victorious for Cornell, victorious. Failing that, give the song back to the band.

Scersk '97
It still peeves me. Cornell Victorious is not the football team's exclusive property; it's part of every Cornellian's gameday. The band should have just said, "Fine, you don't have to sing with us, but we're going to play it anyway, because that's our tradition."

No doubt about it. And speaking of every Cornellian's gameday, why were there no flags flying on the stadium for homecoming? Have there been flags at all this year?

There is a popular notion going around the athletic department that the band is basically a slave to whatever the coaches want, with no identity or rights of its own. When I managed the pep band, the ugliest example of this was with women's lacrosse. It wouldn't surprise me if somebody took serious offense at Cornell Victorious being played if it was against the coach's wishes. Should we care, maybe not, but I don't blame the band leadership for not wanting to catch any more flack than they already do... it's not like we were ever any good at playing it anyway.

Section A Banshee
There is a popular notion going around the athletic department that the band is basically a slave to whatever the coaches want, with no identity or rights of its own. When I managed the pep band, the ugliest example of this was with women's lacrosse. It wouldn't surprise me if somebody took serious offense at Cornell Victorious being played if it was against the coach's wishes. Should we care, maybe not, but I don't blame the band leadership for not wanting to catch any more flack than they already do... it's not like we were ever any good at playing it anyway.

Maybe we would've had more practice if the football team won more games.

Josh '99

Section A Banshee
There is a popular notion going around the athletic department that the band is basically a slave to whatever the coaches want, with no identity or rights of its own. When I managed the pep band, the ugliest example of this was with women's lacrosse. It wouldn't surprise me if somebody took serious offense at Cornell Victorious being played if it was against the coach's wishes. Should we care, maybe not, but I don't blame the band leadership for not wanting to catch any more flack than they already do... it's not like we were ever any good at playing it anyway.

Maybe we would've had more practice if the football team won more games.

The one year we did try to get it into shape in my time, the football team went 0-7 Ivy. Coincidence?

Section A Banshee
There is a popular notion going around the athletic department that the band is basically a slave to whatever the coaches want, with no identity or rights of its own. When I managed the pep band, the ugliest example of this was with women's lacrosse. It wouldn't surprise me if somebody took serious offense at Cornell Victorious being played if it was against the coach's wishes. Should we care, maybe not, but I don't blame the band leadership for not wanting to catch any more flack than they already do... it's not like we were ever any good at playing it anyway.

I do blame the leadership. Catching some flack is listed on the job descriptions for positions like Drum Major, Head Manager, and Pep Band Head Manager. If you don't want to be put in uncomfortable situations, don't bid the job.

Basically, who controls the band? The students do, unless they let someone else tell them what to do. If some coach gets uppity, don't go to games. When some athlete asks you why the band hasn't been there (it happens), tell them their coach meddles in things he or she doesn't understand. Have our other main gigs--hockey and lacrosse (and "sprint" football)--ever really presented problems? No.

I mean, really. If there were sanctions against the band for playing a traditional song that many, many Cornellians love and that doesn't kick up any obscene singing, I think it would be a perfect opportunity to raise holy hell and expose just how petty and contrived everything seems to be for the current Athletics regime.

Scersk '97
Basically, who controls the band? The students do, unless they let someone else tell them what to do.

Except that isn't the band technically under the authority of the Athletics Department? If came down to a pissing contest between a coach and the band, I think it's pretty clear that Andy Noel would be the biggest hoser.

Robb

Scersk '97
Basically, who controls the band? The students do, unless they let someone else tell them what to do.

Except that isn't the band technically under the authority of the Athletics Department? If came down to a pissing contest between a coach and the band, I think it's pretty clear that Andy Noel would be the biggest hoser.

I think the band is technically a registered student organization with music and athletics advisors. They are "under the authority" of athletics with respect to the privilege of performing at games just as fans at lynah are under similar authority with respect to telling the ref he engages in sexual acts with sheep.

Robb

Scersk '97
Basically, who controls the band? The students do, unless they let someone else tell them what to do.

Except that isn't the band technically under the authority of the Athletics Department? If came down to a pissing contest between a coach and the band, I think it's pretty clear that Andy Noel would be the biggest hoser.

Well, that's pretty much always true, isn't it?