• Who is Furman's Rival?

 #1788  by The Jackal
 Wed May 16, 2018 5:05 pm
affirm wrote:
Wed May 16, 2018 1:56 pm
I would add Mercer to our fiercest rivals. Them and Wofford and Citadel. Then, WCU and UTC and Samford and ETSU and VMI (and UNCG in every sport they have). Need to beat them all, but especially those first 3.

It'll end up being whichever team shows up at the end of the season near us in the standings, frankly.
 #1789  by The Jackal
 Wed May 16, 2018 5:13 pm
gman wrote:
Tue May 15, 2018 4:35 pm
Bootie wrote:
Tue May 15, 2018 1:10 pm
We will see that kind of atmosphere and experience again.
Awesome game experience. Watching this game makes me question more than ever the Furman fans that were glad to see Marshall, GSU and Appy leaving the SoCon. And don’t give me that crap about the game experience at those schools. Your negative experience in Huntington, Statesboro or Boone does not matter. With the present teams we face, the only chance to fill up Paladin Stadium is when (not if) we get back to one of the top teams in the nation and The Citadel has one of their great years. Otherwise, tell me, which team can bring a lot of fans to Paladin Stadium?

I'm not sure anyone was glad to see App/GSU go, though a few were getting tired of their fans acting like the SoCon was beneath them.

This isn't the question, but I'd love to see Paladin stadium renovate and reduce the visitor side a bit. There's no reason for that side to hold 7k fans or so. While I'm on things that aren't happening, let's drop VMI and add Kennesaw State and Jacksonville State for fun.

If I were king:

SoCon West
Jacksonville State
Samford
UTC
Kennesaw State
Mercer

SoCon East
Western Carolina
Furman
Wofford
The Citadel
ETSU

Each team gets 8 conference games.
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 #1791  by Flagman
 Wed May 16, 2018 7:21 pm
Mercer has a long way to go to become a "rival". There's no history. The only reason they would even be mentioned is the Lamb connection. That's not enough for rivalry status. Mercer may consider us a rival, but not the reverse.
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 #1792  by The Jackal
 Wed May 16, 2018 8:37 pm
Flagman wrote:
Wed May 16, 2018 7:21 pm
Mercer has a long way to go to become a "rival". There's no history. The only reason they would even be mentioned is the Lamb connection. That's not enough for rivalry status. Mercer may consider us a rival, but not the reverse.

I just think that if Furman gets back to where we think they will, a rivalry will develop with whomever is the biggest game on our schedule. There will always be a historic connection with the Citadel, but the true rival of the future will be the team we are facing with conference titles on the line.

I don't really think the schools have to share a lot in common. Furman had little commonalities with GSU/App/Marshall, but those were huge games for both fan bases. The common thread is that both teams were really good and those games really meant something.
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 #1793  by fufanatic
 Thu May 17, 2018 10:39 am
The Jackal wrote:
Wed May 16, 2018 8:37 pm
Flagman wrote:
Wed May 16, 2018 7:21 pm
Mercer has a long way to go to become a "rival". There's no history. The only reason they would even be mentioned is the Lamb connection. That's not enough for rivalry status. Mercer may consider us a rival, but not the reverse.

I just think that if Furman gets back to where we think they will, a rivalry will develop with whomever is the biggest game on our schedule. There will always be a historic connection with the Citadel, but the true rival of the future will be the team we are facing with conference titles on the line.

I don't really think the schools have to share a lot in common. Furman had little commonalities with GSU/App/Marshall, but those were huge games for both fan bases. The common thread is that both teams were really good and those games really meant something.
A mild case of classism helped the Furman - GSU/App/Marshall rivalries along too ... we thought they were backwoods and hillbillies, they thought we were elitist. I think a bit of both was true.
 #1797  by startrek
 Thu May 17, 2018 12:47 pm
For my generation it was, and always will be, The Citadel. I will always remember the game in Sirrine when we stuffed Stump Mitchell on the one yard line to begin our dominance in the Southern Conference. I also fondly remember our victory over highly-favored Richmond in 1970. Another fond memory among many others was our win over GSU in 2000 (?), the game where Louis Ivory ran wild and Bouton had an incredible number of tackles. My college roommate, his sons, and I sat on the visitors side among a nest of rabid GSU fans. They were so mad they were nearly in tears.
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 #1798  by The Jackal
 Thu May 17, 2018 1:04 pm
startrek wrote:
Thu May 17, 2018 12:47 pm
For my generation it was, and always will be, The Citadel. I will always remember the game in Sirrine when we stuffed Stump Mitchell on the one yard line to begin our dominance in the Southern Conference. I also fondly remember our victory over highly-favored Richmond in 1970. Another fond memory among many others was our win over GSU in 2000 (?), the game where Louis Ivory ran wild and Bouton had an incredible number of tackles. My college roommate, his sons, and I sat on the visitors side among a nest of rabid GSU fans. They were so mad they were nearly in tears.

I have not been to every college football stadium, but GSU is notable in that their student section sat behind the visiting team and next to the visiting fans. Apparently they thought that was a good idea for whatever reason.
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 #1801  by Flagman
 Thu May 17, 2018 7:27 pm
fufanatic wrote:
Thu May 17, 2018 10:39 am
The Jackal wrote:
Wed May 16, 2018 8:37 pm
Flagman wrote:
Wed May 16, 2018 7:21 pm
Mercer has a long way to go to become a "rival". There's no history. The only reason they would even be mentioned is the Lamb connection. That's not enough for rivalry status. Mercer may consider us a rival, but not the reverse.

I just think that if Furman gets back to where we think they will, a rivalry will develop with whomever is the biggest game on our schedule. There will always be a historic connection with the Citadel, but the true rival of the future will be the team we are facing with conference titles on the line.

I don't really think the schools have to share a lot in common. Furman had little commonalities with GSU/App/Marshall, but those were huge games for both fan bases. The common thread is that both teams were really good and those games really meant something.
A mild case of classism helped the Furman - GSU/App/Marshall rivalries along too ... we thought they were backwoods and hillbillies, they thought we were elitist. I think a bit of both was true.
Rightfully so.
 #1816  by furman88
 Sat May 19, 2018 3:31 pm
Those PANSIES kicked those Appies butts many times my sarcastic friend. Including the last time we played.
 #1825  by The Jackal
 Sun May 20, 2018 7:42 am
furman88 wrote:
Sat May 19, 2018 3:31 pm
Those PANSIES kicked those Appies butts many times my sarcastic friend. Including the last time we played.
One of my favorite memories of watching Furman the last 5 or so years (the team hasn’t really been that good during that time) was putting it on App State and GSU in their last year in the conference.
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 #1827  by HiHiYikas
 Sun May 20, 2018 2:25 pm
The Jackal wrote:
Sun May 20, 2018 7:42 am
furman88 wrote:
Sat May 19, 2018 3:31 pm
Those PANSIES kicked those Appies butts many times my sarcastic friend. Including the last time we played.
One of my favorite memories of watching Furman the last 5 or so years (the team hasn’t really been that good during that time) was putting it on App State and GSU in their last year in the conference.
I don't look back on bad teams beating other bad teams that often, and those games certainly don't make my favorite memories list. I fondly remember the 2005 semi-final, but that's most likely because I can ;)
 #1829  by The Jackal
 Sun May 20, 2018 4:23 pm
HiHiYikas wrote:
Sun May 20, 2018 2:25 pm
The Jackal wrote:
Sun May 20, 2018 7:42 am
furman88 wrote:
Sat May 19, 2018 3:31 pm
Those PANSIES kicked those Appies butts many times my sarcastic friend. Including the last time we played.
One of my favorite memories of watching Furman the last 5 or so years (the team hasn’t really been that good during that time) was putting it on App State and GSU in their last year in the conference.
I don't look back on bad teams beating other bad teams that often, and those games certainly don't make my favorite memories list. I fondly remember the 2005 semi-final, but that's most likely because I can ;)

Oh, I have better memories, just not that many good ones over the last 5 years. Gary Wilkins hurdling one of App State's players en route to a pick six is one of the better ones from 2013 to 2016.

It was a great time to be a Furman fan if your favorite down and distance was 3rd and 7. Other than watching Gary Wilkins toy with offenses, Dakota Dozier play all five OL positions simultaensouly, and wishing Reese Hannon was on the team in a different era, there wasn't much notable.
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 #1830  by FUBeAR
 Sun May 20, 2018 5:23 pm
I’m confused.

I thought Appy dropped Football, along with GaSou & Marsha. I know all 3 of them formerly were often mentioned in NCAA Division 1 National Championship discussions, but I just don’t hear about them anymore. Maybe they dropped to D3 or NAIA. Not sure.

Why are they being mentioned in a thread about Furman’s rivals? If they still have Teams, I would imagine their rivals are New Mexico Military Institute, Eastern Southwestern Louisiana A&M Tech, and Ohio Wesleyan...respectively. Certainly not, respectfully.
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