This is not easy for me to write.  As most regulars on this board know I have a strong commitment to Marshall based on the fact that I was the co-adviser of The Parthenon in 1970.  We lost our sports editor, Jeff Nathan, in the crash.  Jeff had become more than just another student to me; in the short time I knew him we became close friends.  At that time I was not that much older than the students I was teaching.  Jeff was from Parkersburg, where his earthly remains are now buried.  Jeff was extremely proud of Marshall.  In his columns he predicted a Thundering Herd win almost every week.  In those days that was a great leap of faith, but he saw great promise in the 1970 team.  All of his columns were well written and researched.  He was an eternal optimist, but he was never boastful.  He didn't talk smack.  He would be appalled at the Marshall fans of today who act like the obnoxious fans of Ohio A&M (aka O$U).  As Monroe pointed out this is still a small minority of Marshall fans, but it is a noisy, loud and boisterous bunch.  They embarrass me.  In the name of all that's precious to the memory of Jeff Nathan, Ted Shoebridge, and Nate Ruffin, please think before you type your next post.   Let's have respectful discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of Ohio and Marshall football.  Let's have friendly disagreements.  Let's not act like enemies who are ready to slug it out in the back alley.  The level of discourse on this board this week has sunk to almost an all-time low.  This pains me very much.  Marshall smack-talkers please clean up your acts!

Go Ohio!
Go Marshall (except this week)!

Really, this is a message board......if you take it that seriously then I don't know what to tell ya....

    OCF,  Thanks for trying but, You can't teach an old Buffalo new tricks.

-------------------------------------------------------

Dennis 'Gman'         In Memory Of

                   Marcellis Williamson

Tell that to Tupac...assuming he's not actually in hiding in Jamaica...



Edited to add: I apologize. That was a lame attempt at a joke that was a lot funnier in my head than it was when I read it. Feel free to rip me for it.

If 2 pac is dead (and that's a big if) it was a gun that did him in..

I finally decided to come and check out these boards.

What I find interesting is that OU fans seem to have this dislike of MU fans and claim they are bad fans when MU is known for having some of the best and most hospitable fans in the nation.

MU prides itself in a nice respectful gameday atmosphere

For you all to claim the opposite is very strange to me. I go out of my way every home game to welcome visiting fans to our town and try to treat them well while they are in.

Nothing wrong with being lumped with you guys..I just don't want to be lumped with Ohio state fans as a dislike for them has consumed me since high school..I love herd fans and know many that mean no harm just something to have fun with..please bobkitty fans do not take offense to anything said its just game week banter.. most of you I'm assuming are from Ohio so you can believe that I heard worse banter for a high school rivalry game..

LOL look up posts for MH55 and you might change your thinking there.

Are you talking about MH55 or MR05...if you are talking about MR05, thats me, i just lost my password, and signed in differently last year to eat my crow about the bball game.

If you are talking about me, and you thought that was harsh...WOW.

He's not. He's talking about MH55, a Temple fan.

They are talking about resident Temple troll MH55. While I find you Herd fans annoying, Im not deeply offended by a little smack talk.
MU Fan: OHIO HASNT EVER BEEN GOOD! OU FAN: YOUR TEAM IS A BUNCH OF UNEDUCATED CRIMINALS etc.

It is a rivalry game, I find more trolling of a much more obnoxious manner from opposing teams of the Columbus Crew (toronto fc and Temple have similar fanbase mentalities). Bottom line, it makes it even sweeter for Ohio to win when you know the opponent you just beat has been running their mouth all week and really care about the game. 3 days until another win in a possibly historic Ohio season!

I'm sure you and many do go out of their way...This region of the country is well known for it's hospitality.  The problem is you can't speak for everyone and you can't use the word "claim" to describe firsthand accounts.  I have personally experienced at least one encounter like many have described in various threads, each and every time Marshall has visited Peden.  It is for that reason that I've never been to Huntington other than to drive through.

The things I've heard said and / or directed at me (while my children are by my side no less) are not things that encourage a trip to Marshall to experience on a grander scale.  The day Marshall Cheerleaders and your Mascot chose to leave the field and ring the victory bell in Athens (until an Officer escorted them away) was the day I wrote off any shred of respect I had for your program.  There are lines that should never be crossed in another teams stadium.  When Rufus went crazy at Ohio State, he was immediately removed and the whole structure of the program was changed.

On a related note, I understand the issues generated by sidewalk Alumni but that's something the program needs to be held accountable for.  You have to rein in these people with marketing efforts, security and one on one confrontations by invested fans when that behavior is witnessed.  If the program wants to continue to enjoy the revenue generated by these folks, they need to do things like ramp up tailgating security and post a hotline phone number in every section so that people can report aggressive behavior and those folks can be removed.

If you truly believe these things don't go on, I suggest wearing an opposing team's colors for the next big game in Huntington and walk around...

These kinds of things can be changed...I honestly hope they are...Judging by all the accounts of rational Marshall fans, the gameday experience in Huntington is somethiing I'd like to see eventually...

It's game week, and I'm fired up as a fan.   If my fairly innocent banter has bothered any of you I apologize.  I will not apologize however for the beating that your team is going to take on Saturday......