ExtremeSkins = Extreme Mess

[Conn]

This thread has some serious mod involvement going on, so I'll ask this here, rather than emailing or PMing you all individually--especially since this probably concerns a few others as well. Has there been any word from polywog, or about polywog?

He hasn't been around since October, but I know he had some weird circumstances in his life sometimes. To say the least. He was just always a guy I worried for. Good heart, little crazy, quirky, not without his issues (like us all, to differing levels), and I always kinda worried about him. Not normal, maybe, but one of us. Most of the time I think he felt accepted and welcomed, and safe (and anyone who remembers polywog will know the importance of this) here. So it's worrisome.

It'll be a year this week since he posted last, and over four months since he even visited. Not sure if any of you had a PM relationship with him at all, or if he just quietly slipped away into the cracks of the Internet. At least, I hope that's the best case scenario.

[HighOnHendrix]

We just need Admiral Ackbar to post "it's a trap!"

Ackbar was always so good at spotting traps; not many Ackbars amongst our hotheads.

[SWFLSkins]

park city, you disagree? and maybe with more rules, i couldnt post stuff like that?

What rules are too many? Seriously>? I would like to know specifics because vague analogies don't really give any value to the disdain that is holding you back as a contributor.

[The Diesel]

I attribute the bad apples here to the Maryland contingency. I mean seriously...have you ever been to a sporting event at the University of Maryland? Most appalling fanbase in the world. Unfortunately a lot of them are Redskins fans.

What are ya gonna do?

[Skins4Life6388]

I attribute the bad apples here to the Maryland contingency. I mean seriously...have you ever been to a sporting event at the University of Maryland? Most appalling fanbase in the world. Unfortunately a lot of them are Redskins fans.

What are ya gonna do?

I take offense to that as a UMD grad haha. J/k...a lot of the fans at Maryland sporting events are completely over the top. However, I'd have to say the worst fans I've ever been around in a college setting are WVU

[LCA77]

I attribute the bad apples here to the Maryland contingency. I mean seriously...have you ever been to a sporting event at the University of Maryland? Most appalling fanbase in the world. Unfortunately a lot of them are Redskins fans.

What are ya gonna do?

With all due respect, I somewhat take offense to this too. As one of three siblings who graduated from Maryland, I can say that neither I nor any member of my family fall into that category. My daughter and many of her friends also are Maryland grads and they too do not fall into that category. We are all die hard, RESPECTFUL Redskins fans. Whether you like it or not, the Redskins play in Maryland and have a huge fan base here in Maryland. That is far too general of a statement to say. To say that of all the people on this board that are the "bad apples" are from Maryland is an absurd statement.

[Skins4Life6388]

With all due respect, I somewhat take offense to this too. As one of three siblings who graduated from Maryland, I can say that neither I nor any member of my family fall into that category. My daughter and many of her friends also are Maryland grads and they too do not fall into that category. We are all die hard, RESPECTFUL Redskins fans. Whether you like it or not, the Redskins play in Maryland and have a huge fan base here in Maryland. That is far too general of a statement to say. To say that of all the people on this board that are the "bad apples" are from Maryland is an absurd statement.

:applause::applause::applause:

Could not have said it better myself!

[The Diesel]

With all due respect, I somewhat take offense to this too. As one of three siblings who graduated from Maryland, I can say that neither I nor any member of my family fall into that category. My daughter and many of her friends also are Maryland grads and they too do not fall into that category. We are all die hard, RESPECTFUL Redskins fans. Whether you like it or not, the Redskins play in Maryland and have a huge fan base here in Maryland. That is far too general of a statement to say. To say that of all the people on this board that are the "bad apples" are from Maryland is an absurd statement.

I didn't say all Maryland fans are bad apples. But the gameday experience at your University events (at least basketball and football) is a disgrace in many ways. The University has harbored this atmosphere for years. From profanity laden chants, to ice throwing and taunting of opposing fans, to the "**** Duke" tshirt sporting student body.... the list is long.

I couldn't be happier that the athletic department's insolvency has forced them to run for the Big 10. Trust me when I say, on behalf of the entire ACC: good riddance! You will not be missed.

[HighOnHendrix]

I didn't say all Maryland fans are bad apples. But the gameday experience at your University events (at least basketball and football) is a disgrace in many ways. The University has harbored this atmosphere for years. From profanity laden chants, to ice throwing and taunting of opposing fans, to the "**** Duke" tshirt sporting student body.... the list is long.

I couldn't be happier that the athletic department's insolvency has forced them to run for the Big 10. Trust me when I say, on behalf of the entire ACC: good riddance! You will not be missed.

WHAT? Big 10 already has too many teams

Also, I lived in MD for five years and the douche-to-cool ratio is higher there than many places I've been. Not as bad as Jersey or Bawstahn but bad enough to make me move.

[Burgold]

I attribute the bad apples here to the Maryland contingency. I mean seriously...have you ever been to a sporting event at the University of Maryland? Most appalling fanbase in the world. Unfortunately a lot of them are Redskins fans.

What are ya gonna do?

I haven't been to a Maryland game, but I have to question whether any group can be worse than Eagles' fan. Seriously, they had to install a court house and a jail in their stadium.

[Major Harris]

I take offense to that as a UMD grad haha. J/k...a lot of the fans at Maryland sporting events are completely over the top. However, I'd have to say the worst fans I've ever been around in a college setting are WVU

we have our bad apples. but rest assured so does maryland. i have been to byrd stadium for games twice and saw more there than i ever did in morgantown. of course, my experience in morgantown never really matched what maryland and tech fans said, but whatever.

[Forehead]

WHAT? Big 10 already has too many teams

Hey believe me, it isn't like a lot of current Big-10 fans wanted Maryland included either The school brings nothing to the table from a football perspective, and the basketball team isn't even that good anymore. I suppose there's the whole thing about opening the DMV up to recruitment, but Penn State (before the sanctions) was already pillaging Maryland/Virginia as needed, and other schools were doing the same; hell even Illinois has a pipeline into D.C. Really, it was about adding a large market of potential subscribers to the Big-10 Network.

Same with Rutgers, which brings even less to the table but makes inroads into the New York market.

[MassSkinsFan]

This thread has some serious mod involvement going on, so I'll ask this here, rather than emailing or PMing you all individually--especially since this probably concerns a few others as well. Has there been any word from polywog, or about polywog?

I've been wondering the same thing, but I have no news. Anyone else?

[Gator Bait]

The worst thing about DMV fans (specifically MD) is when people yell OOOOOOOO during the national anthem. That is one of those things I know is going to happen when I go to a DC sporting event (so it never catches me by surprise) but for some reason it pisses me off just as much each time it happens.

[Bang]

The worst thing about DMV fans (specifically MD) is when people yell OOOOOOOO during the national anthem. That is one of those things I know is going to happen when I go to a DC sporting event (so it never catches me by surprise) but for some reason it pisses me off just as much each time it happens.

Oh well.

Sounds like your problem.

~Go OOOOOOOOO's

[doghouse4x4]

Think of <insert forum name> as a bar. The rules aren't often posted on the walls and really shouldn't need to be for the patrons to know what kind of conduct is and is not acceptable. If you wouldn't say it to the guy next to you at the pub in front of the whole room, then don't say it here. Feel free to take that metaphor as far as you wish, it will still basically hold.

<so and so> owns the bar. <HWSNBN> knows kung fu. There are a few other guys working the taps and manning the doors. They are all generally pretty friendly and easy to get along with. If they tell you to alter your conduct for the sake of the other punters, listen to them. If not, you can either find the door yourself or be shown it by management.

That's how you get banned from <insert forum name>

The random tangent on UM fans aside, I think that one of things that causes issues around here is a lot of people don't treat it as a forum, but more of a running wikipedia. Internet forums generally are like the local bar. You go in and chat and discuss and swap info, b.s, tall tales, whatever. They are grouped by interests, and the conversation is generally focused around such. I sort of agree with the camp that thinks there are too many rules, but, it's not my board, so I try and stay within them since I like to discuss things here. Not really a big deal. But I think that sometimes people get caught up and can't see the forest for the trees so to speak and react negatively to being called out for an infraction, since the conditioned internet forum behavior is not so rigid. Basically lashing out before having taken cognitive steps to see the difference in structure and form from the typical message board.

I don't know if my rambling helps anyone, but I think if more folks took the time to point out how it goes here, instead of just making snarky comments, folks would be less prone to explosive reaction, on both sides. I haven't had any interactions with mods or members that weren't reasonable if I was reasonable.

[Taylor 36]

I don't know if my rambling helps anyone, but I think if more folks took the time to point out how it goes here, instead of just making snarky comments, folks would be less prone to explosive reaction, on both sides. I haven't had any interactions with mods or members that weren't reasonable if I was reasonable.

I agree, and the mods have actually asked for such help from regulars in the past. The problem is that many times, not all the time, when a poster is politely told that they are breaking a rule, the poster will come back with a smart ass comment about board police or something like that. Hell, it even happens to the mods when they try to warn some people. You can't win for losing sometimes.

[HighOnHendrix]

Really, it was about adding a large market of potential subscribers to the Big-10 Network.

[pjfootballer]

I didn't say all Maryland fans are bad apples. But the gameday experience at your University events (at least basketball and football) is a disgrace in many ways. The University has harbored this atmosphere for years. From profanity laden chants, to ice throwing and taunting of opposing fans, to the "**** Duke" tshirt sporting student body.... the list is long.

I couldn't be happier that the athletic department's insolvency has forced them to run for the Big 10. Trust me when I say, on behalf of the entire ACC: good riddance! You will not be missed.

Well apparently Duke's famed Cameron Crazies were chanting some pretty bad stuff to the NC State player, so every fanbase has bad fans. Hell, I've seen plenty if idiot Redskin fans in our own stadium on a weekly basis say and do some utterly stupid stuff.

---------- Post added February-14th-2013 at 09:01 AM ----------

Hey believe me, it isn't like a lot of current Big-10 fans wanted Maryland included either The school brings nothing to the table from a football perspective, and the basketball team isn't even that good anymore. I suppose there's the whole thing about opening the DMV up to recruitment, but Penn State (before the sanctions) was already pillaging Maryland/Virginia as needed, and other schools were doing the same; hell even Illinois has a pipeline into D.C. Really, it was about adding a large market of potential subscribers to the Big-10 Network.

Same with Rutgers, which brings even less to the table but makes inroads into the New York market.

Some things about MD that alot of people in here don't know and are just going on the last 10 years. They are an original charter member of the ACC since 1953 when the league was formed:

1) Maryland is the only current ACC school (including the expansion schools) that has won both a National Championship in football (1953) and Basketball (2002)

2) With Duke and UNC being the dominant basketball teams since the first expansion of FL State, MD has been the 3rd winningest team in the conference, the only other member of the conference to win a basketball championship (since FLSt came in) and all of this while Gary Williams didn't recruit AAU players.

3) When the conference had 8 teams in the 70s and 80s, MD was the only team that would consistantly give UNC a run with NC State and Virginia trickling in every once in a while. Duke had not quite become the power they are and would do so in the late 80s.

4) True that MD has not been a football power since the 1950s, but they've had some good teams over the years and have had some bowl invites over the years. Overall ACC team bowl wins:

FL St 24

GA T 23

Mia 18

Clem 16

NCS 14

UNC 13

BC 13

MD 11

Vir T 9

UVA 7

WF 6

Duke 3

So MD is 8th in bowl wins for the ACC, which is kind of in the middle. So if MD is such a liability in football lately, what the hell has UNC, NC St, Wake, Duke, UVA, BC and GATech brought to the table? I don't see any national championships from them. Hell, I don't even see any championships from anyone not named Florida State. Where is this vaunted Miami team and the mighty Virginia Tech team everyone was talking about to elevate the ACC?

5) For the record, Syracuse has 13, Pitt 12 and Lousville (the team replacing MD) has 7. Wow! Swafford really picked some winners there. Wow, they bring SO much more than MD. Truth is, all of them are basketball schools and Swafford is an idiot for not bringing in West Virginia. I think if he brings in WVA, that would have attracted some better football schools to come in and MD might have stayed.

Point is, the ACC as a whole football wise is garbage. No national title since 1999. That reeks for a major conference.

6) Well, the Big 10 will not be getting a major football program from MD, but what MD will bring is a top 20 basketball team. Turgeon is building a damn good team with more top recruits on the way next year. If they think they can just run over MD in basketball, they have another thing coming. And maybe, just maybe like Northwestern and other Big 10 schools, maybe increasing the playing level going to the Big 10 will make MDs football team better, playing against better conference competition, instead of the patsy ACC teams.

I hate leaving the ACC. I was upset when I first heard the news, but I just can't let comments like these go by without at least defending the school I grew up rooting for. MD is not a garbage school that you just throw away and think you can replace. They've been a good school for the ACC for a long time and the record shows that. You may not agree, but I tried to at least bring some stats and facts to the table without just pulling out my MD banner.

[Gator Bait]

Oh well.

Sounds like your problem.

~Go OOOOOOOOO's

I'd be willing to bet the majority of people in the area agree with me and not you. I'd also be willing to bet they agree with me that people who chant anything during the national anthem "Red" or "O" are disrespectful and a few other words I'll leave as a mystery to this post.

[Forehead]

So MD is 8th in bowl wins for the ACC, which is kind of in the middle. So if MD is such a liability in football lately, what the hell has UNC, NC St, Wake, Duke, UVA, BC and GATech brought to the table? I don't see any national championships from them. Hell, I don't even see any championships from anyone not named Florida State. Where is this vaunted Miami team and the mighty Virginia Tech team everyone was talking about to elevate the ACC?

Point is, the ACC as a whole football wise is garbage. No national title since 1999. That reeks for a major conference.

6) Well, the Big 10 will not be getting a major football program from MD, but what MD will bring is a top 20 basketball team. Turgeon is building a damn good team with more top recruits on the way next year. If they think they can just run over MD in basketball, they have another thing coming. And maybe, just maybe like Northwestern and other Big 10 schools, maybe increasing the playing level going to the Big 10 will make MDs football team better, playing against better conference competition, instead of the patsy ACC teams.

Had to cut some of it out, since I'm only replying to specific posts. When I said Big 10 fans didn't really want Maryland, believe me, I wasn't comparing it to the other schools you mentioned. We didn't want them either from a football perspective. Obviously, Notre Dame is the big prize from a money and history perspective, but they're choosing to remain independant.

As to your second point, no conferences can really talk since 1999 unless you're the SEC. That's probably about the only time you'll see me defend ACC football.

As for the basketball team, what I said is that you are not currently good. And you aren't. I don't watch college basketball much, but I'm aware enough to know these aren't the Juan Dixon teams of the early 00's. You're 17-7 with a ton of wins against patsy competition, an poor conference record, and dim prospects for an NCAA berth at this point. That being said, you'll likely be a consistent upper 3rd team in the Big-10, but that isn't saying a lot. The Big-10/ACC challenge proves that each year. The Big-10 is a football conference first, by far, and Maryland just doesn't bring much to the table, other than a large subscriber market. Well, congrats, your athletic budget just hit the jackpot. Hope they spend the money wisely.

[doghouse4x4]

As to your second point, no conferences can really talk since 1999 unless you're the SEC.

Roll Tide. :pfft:

[pjfootballer]

Had to cut some of it out, since I'm only replying to specific posts. When I said Big 10 fans didn't really want Maryland, believe me, I wasn't comparing it to the other schools you mentioned. We didn't want them either from a football perspective. Obviously, Notre Dame is the big prize from a money and history perspective, but they're choosing to remain independant.

As to your second point, no conferences can really talk since 1999 unless you're the SEC. That's probably about the only time you'll see me defend ACC football.

As for the basketball team, what I said is that you are not currently good. And you aren't. I don't watch college basketball much, but I'm aware enough to know these aren't the Juan Dixon teams of the early 00's. You're 17-7 with a ton of wins against patsy competition, an poor conference record, and dim prospects for an NCAA berth at this point. That being said, you'll likely be a consistent upper 3rd team in the Big-10, but that isn't saying a lot. The Big-10/ACC challenge proves that each year. The Big-10 is a football conference first, by far, and Maryland just doesn't bring much to the table, other than a large subscriber market. Well, congrats, your athletic budget just hit the jackpot. Hope they spend the money wisely.

For some reason, I read your other post wrong and thought you were and ACC fan and not a Big 10 fan. Sorry about that. Who is your team?

I know why MD did it. Everyone knows it was about money. I think all the points you made are valid and like I said, I won't claim that MD will ever be good in football, because they weren't in the ACC. They've always been a basketball driven school and will fit in well with Indiana (haha). Like I said, I'm hoping the increase in competition will make them put together a better football program since football is king.

MD also wanted to position themselves from being left out of future expansion of the big conferences. It's coming and some teams will be left behind and some are already being left behind (Cincy and UConn). I'm not sure the ACC survives past 10 years as a football conference. Being in the Big 10 positions MD for a better future. Now I get to see more games on the Big10 network, which is good for me.

Give Turgeon another year of recruiting and I think they could be a top 25 team. Sure the Big 10 is more of a football conference, but it's not too shabby in basketball either. Indiana, Michigan, Ohio St., Michigan St., Perdue, Wisconsin and Illinois have put out some great teams over the years, including some national champs. Don't sell Big 10 basketball so short.

---------- Post added February-14th-2013 at 01:42 PM ----------

Roll Tide. :pfft:

Bandwagonner! :evilg:

[Forehead]

Penn State, which may correlate somewhat as to why I don't watch much college basketball. They are terrible.

[pjfootballer]

Penn State, which may correlate somewhat as to why I don't watch much college basketball. They are terrible.

Ahh. You guys own us in football. We get more cracks at you guys in the future being in the same division. Illinois is going to move over to allow MD and Rutgers in the Leaders Division. I guess we'll either have Illinois or Northwestern as a crossover rival since we really don't have any rivals.