roughian
05-11-2008, 11:19 AM
Some of you regulars aren't going to like this, but it's just one man's opinion. Just wanted to put out how I saw things.
Unfortunate events have kept me from attending a Roughnecks game this season until last night. This is actually the first game I've been to in two years, as I was not in Odessa to see any of last season's games. So for my first game in almost two years, I was very excited before the game. I LOVED going to Roughneck games the first few years. Heyward Skipper's autographed auction jersey is still on my wall. So is autographed trading cards from John Norman, Clint McNutt as well as others.
Unfortunately, once the game started last night, I've got to say that I was disappointed with the product shown in Ector County Coliseum. And I'm not just talking about the team.
1. Small crowd. It kind of surprises me that indoor football is not taking off more in Odessa, Tx.
2. The fans that were there last night were absolutely flat. There was no electricity in the air at all and the only time they cheered was when there was a touchdown or the announcer asked for noise. There were several very exciting moments in the game that didn't get much of a response.
3. What is up with the announcers? There were two or three times that I had no clue what was going on with a call in the game and the announcers could have helped that out SO much. When the announcers were talking, they sometimes appeared clueless. Corpus Christi kicked the ball and it didn't make it anywhere near the goal posts...but then we hear the announcer say "Pass is incomplete at the 15 yard line." WHAT?!? They KICKED it. Was even a problem with the promotional people. Gave a basket to a mother and said "Happy belated Mother's Day." Huh? That was last night.
4. The offense is really inconsistent. Horribly inconsistent. It was a testament to the defense that they stayed in the game as much as they did. Having first and goal and NOT scoring is almost inexcusable in indoor ball. Giles is killing the Roughnecks with the interceptions. However, on his defense, some of those receivers are doing nothing to help him out.
5. The guy on the sidelines (the one that is talking constantly with the bullhorn) annoyed ME more than he did the Hammerheads. Since when did Odessa fans stoop to the unsportsman-like gimmicks? An airhorn just as the opposing kicker is about to attempt an extra point?
6. The game moved really, really slow. Now granted, much of that could be put on the penalties that the refs called every other play (or at least it seems...sometimes every play...the time they waved off a flag and said there was no penalty, I swear it was because they didn't know how to act on a play where they were not calling a penalty). Good portion of the penalties were on Corpus, so I can't blame that on Odessa's product. There were times I wondered if the Roughnecks offense would move the ball at all if it weren't for the illegal defense calls on Corpus.
7. The new AC units work! It was freakin COLD in that building. But I guess I really, really shouldn't complain on that one, should I? Better than suffering in the 95 degrees like we have in the past.
Ok, so I should stop there, but at that point I disappointement jaded me a little. I started noticing all the small things.
Benny Boyd field does NOT have the same ring as the Rough House.
"Roughneck Nation" seems a bit cliche. And do we really qualify for the term when we had MAYBE 1500 people in the Coliseum?
The rodent is cute, but seeing that look it give EVERY time the opposing team scores gets old.
So I guess I should add the good things instead of just *****ing and moaning about the bad.
1. The AC works. Yeah, I know this was a complaint too, but damn...it wasn't 95 degrees in there.
2. The video board is awesome. Nice work on showing replays up on the board too.
3. Benizio (did I spell that right?) is working his ass off. He definately squeezes every drop of advertising money out of that Coliseum and has a great staff of people working the games. I bet he would have a Nike swoosh on the Coliseum if he could pull it past the county. LOL.
Unfortunate events have kept me from attending a Roughnecks game this season until last night. This is actually the first game I've been to in two years, as I was not in Odessa to see any of last season's games. So for my first game in almost two years, I was very excited before the game. I LOVED going to Roughneck games the first few years. Heyward Skipper's autographed auction jersey is still on my wall. So is autographed trading cards from John Norman, Clint McNutt as well as others.
Unfortunately, once the game started last night, I've got to say that I was disappointed with the product shown in Ector County Coliseum. And I'm not just talking about the team.
1. Small crowd. It kind of surprises me that indoor football is not taking off more in Odessa, Tx.
2. The fans that were there last night were absolutely flat. There was no electricity in the air at all and the only time they cheered was when there was a touchdown or the announcer asked for noise. There were several very exciting moments in the game that didn't get much of a response.
3. What is up with the announcers? There were two or three times that I had no clue what was going on with a call in the game and the announcers could have helped that out SO much. When the announcers were talking, they sometimes appeared clueless. Corpus Christi kicked the ball and it didn't make it anywhere near the goal posts...but then we hear the announcer say "Pass is incomplete at the 15 yard line." WHAT?!? They KICKED it. Was even a problem with the promotional people. Gave a basket to a mother and said "Happy belated Mother's Day." Huh? That was last night.
4. The offense is really inconsistent. Horribly inconsistent. It was a testament to the defense that they stayed in the game as much as they did. Having first and goal and NOT scoring is almost inexcusable in indoor ball. Giles is killing the Roughnecks with the interceptions. However, on his defense, some of those receivers are doing nothing to help him out.
5. The guy on the sidelines (the one that is talking constantly with the bullhorn) annoyed ME more than he did the Hammerheads. Since when did Odessa fans stoop to the unsportsman-like gimmicks? An airhorn just as the opposing kicker is about to attempt an extra point?
6. The game moved really, really slow. Now granted, much of that could be put on the penalties that the refs called every other play (or at least it seems...sometimes every play...the time they waved off a flag and said there was no penalty, I swear it was because they didn't know how to act on a play where they were not calling a penalty). Good portion of the penalties were on Corpus, so I can't blame that on Odessa's product. There were times I wondered if the Roughnecks offense would move the ball at all if it weren't for the illegal defense calls on Corpus.
7. The new AC units work! It was freakin COLD in that building. But I guess I really, really shouldn't complain on that one, should I? Better than suffering in the 95 degrees like we have in the past.
Ok, so I should stop there, but at that point I disappointement jaded me a little. I started noticing all the small things.
Benny Boyd field does NOT have the same ring as the Rough House.
"Roughneck Nation" seems a bit cliche. And do we really qualify for the term when we had MAYBE 1500 people in the Coliseum?
The rodent is cute, but seeing that look it give EVERY time the opposing team scores gets old.
So I guess I should add the good things instead of just *****ing and moaning about the bad.
1. The AC works. Yeah, I know this was a complaint too, but damn...it wasn't 95 degrees in there.
2. The video board is awesome. Nice work on showing replays up on the board too.
3. Benizio (did I spell that right?) is working his ass off. He definately squeezes every drop of advertising money out of that Coliseum and has a great staff of people working the games. I bet he would have a Nike swoosh on the Coliseum if he could pull it past the county. LOL.