Once BP gets into the backfield, nobody’s catching him.

Thumbing down the roster about an hour before the Villanova game, I was heartened to see the number of my favorite Temple player right next to my favorite Temple player’s name.
No. 30.
Bernard Pierce.

Then the game began and that wasn’t MY Bernard Pierce wearing No. 30.
He had a couple of OK runs, but OK runs won’t get you on a Heisman Billboard.
I’ve called him “The Franchise” from the first day I saw him play. Others call him BP. Others call him St. Bernard.
Another website even called him Bernie’s MAC show.
I like The Franchise.

That’s why tonight’s game (7 p.m., Lincoln Financial Field) against Central Michigan is so important. Temple needs the real Bernard Pierce to stand up. Temple needs Bernard Pierce to make a Heisman run for it to have any chance to run the table and Pierce needs Temple to run the table for him to have a chance to win the Heisman.
It’s a symbiotic relationship.

I don’t know what mind games Al Golden was or wasn’t playing, but there’s no way a 5-foot-5, 150-pound back should be starting over a future NFL first-round draft choice. Matt Brown is a great little change of pace back, but he’s not Bernard Pierce.

Yeah, I said it.
Bernard Pierce will be a first-round NFL draft choice and it will be on an April day after his Temple junior season is completed.
Not the pedestrian Bernard Pierce I saw against Villanova, but the Bernard Pierce who won the PIAA high school state championship in the 100-meter dash as a senior and the Bernard Pierce who broke every single Temple freshman running back record last year.
So the question begs answering?
Why only 75 yards on 20 carries against Villanova last week?
The reasons are many and varied.
Let’s look at five possible choices:
1) Starting Matt Brown
Golden started Brown because he said Brown “worked harder.” Well, I’m 5-5 and I might have worked harder than Pierce if I was 30 years younger, but I’m no good. Somewhere talent has to be factored into the equation.
I don’t think St. Bernard ever got into a rhythm and that might have been the chief reason.
2) Villanova’s eight in the box
Villanova keying on him might have been another reason, but a lot of teams keyed on Pierce last year and he flat-out abused them.
3) Offensive line was a little off
Even though BP ran behind the same 318-pound (average) line last week he ran behind last year, I don’t think those 318-pounders played up to their potential last week. Except for Colin Madison’s pancake block to free Brown for a 17-yard touchdown, I didn’t see any pancakes.
I didn’t see any syrup or butter or bacon, either.
So factor in the line’s subpar performance as the third reason.
4) Is Bernard hurt?
I heard a couple of students at the pre-game tailgate say they saw him limping to class last week, but I didn’t see Bernard limping on the field so he’s healthy enough.
5) Bad game?
Another possible reason. Everyone has bad games. Gale Sayers had bad games. Heck, even Paul Palmer had bad games.
That’s why tonight could. … SHOULD … be bounce back night for BP, his offensive line, Temple’s coaches and everyone else.
If he doesn’t go for at least a buck 50 and at least couple of scores, I’ll start to worry but I don’t think I’ll have to because the Bernard Pierce I know from last year was relentlessly consistent.
I expect relentless consistency tonight. I expect the real Bernard Pierce and the real Temple offensive line to show up and explode off the ball like only they can.
Throw in a few Chester Stewart/BP ball fakes followed by long touchdown passes to wide-open Owls and this offense will really be humming.
Then the numbers will match up with the names in the program and this offense will blow the MAC up.

As you can see by the large numbers of people wearing Cherry on both sides of the field, pretty much the entire stadium was the Temple side against hometown rival Villanova.

Students get the fun you paid for:

Students have already paid for tickets with their student activity fee, so get what you paid for as the Owls return to action this Thursday night (9/9) at 7 p.m. vs. 2009 MAC Champion Central Michigan at Lincoln Financial Field.
FREE STUDENT Buses will shuttle back and forth from campus to the stadium beginning at 4:30 p.m. up until kickoff.
FREE FOOD will be at the student tailgate from 5pm until kick off.
Students be sure to pick up your FREE TICKET at the Liacouras box office before the game or at the Linc box office the day of the game.

Our friends over at the other MAC blogs are mulling these questions this week.
I thought I’d chime in with the official TFF answers:

1). The MAC has looked weak so far against out-of-conference opponents. Is this shaping up to be a down year for the MAC?
It was Week 1. I don’t think you can tell until you get more of a body of work and compare what the Week 1 teams did down the line. Ask me in three weeks. Heck, I might ask myself in three weeks. For instance, I think Villanova beats Hampton or Jacksonville State 46-7 and nobody bats an eye because that’s how good a national champion FCS is with 16 starters back, so that changes the whole perspective of the question.

2). Why don’t our fans come to games? Whether it is Buffalo in a large city or Bowling Green off the side of a highway, our stadiums are generally…uninspired. Even after Central Michigan’s GREATEST WIN OF ALL TIME against tormenting in-state rival MSU, Central Michigan’s stadium was half full the next week against Alcorn State. Can anything be done to at least get on par with a Tulsa or ECU?
Our fans are coming. The entire lower bowl of an NFL stadium was full of Temple fans, sans just two sections of Villanova fans. Most people I talked to in the parking lot said 30,000 of the 32,123 were wearing Cherry, but I’ll give Villanova a huge benefit of the doubt and give them 5,000 tops. I’ll try to post a couple of photos with this post. It takes time to lose a fan base and it will take a little more time to build it up.
3). People act like a win for Boise State is a win for the “little guy.” Is Boise State really carrying water for the non-aq’s anymore? It seems to me they are essentially a BCS program at this point in time.
Not the little guy when a Boise State coach can walk into any recruit’s home in the country and be welcome. That’s how far they’ve come.
4. The game of the week has to be Temple versus Central Michigan on Thursday night (ESPNU). Who ya’ got in that match-up?
Temple. A far inferior team with a far inferior Chester Stewart forced into QB action before he was ready got beaten up there two years ago 24-14 and was in the game for three quarters against the then MAC champs. Temple’s won six straight at Lincoln Financial Field and is 12-2 against MAC teams there over the last 14.

5. Which MAC QB is going to take the crown as “best of the conference” when the dust settles at the end of the season?
Zac Dysert.
6. Rank them FIRST to WORST.
1. Temple
2. CMU
3. OHIO
4. Northern Illinois
5. Miami
6. Kent State
7. Toledo
8. Buffalo.
9. Western Michigan
10. Ball State
11. Bowling Green
12. Eastern Michigan
13. Akron

Major props to the Temple fans who represented wearing Cherry on both sides of the stadium.

If there were any Villanova fans on the other side of the field, they were dressed in cherry.
If you go to the Temple-Villanova football game next year, best bring a defribulator.
That will be on my pre-game check list, right next to the Coors Light and the reduced fat wheat thins (hey, got to cut calories somewhere).
Defribulator because after the last two Temple-Villanova football games, I spent the hour or so afterward trying to start my heart again.
They’ve been that exciting.
The toughest part after Temple’s 31-24 last-second win over Villanova on Friday in front of a partisan Temple crowd at Lincoln Financial Field is getting back to a normal heartbeat again.

Watch the game here

I think I’m OK now.
Playing Villanova for the past two seasons has been that draining with a mixture of extreme disappointment and exhilaration.
Temple 31, Villanova 24.
Temple’s Justin Gildea, the kid from the Altoona area, put an exclamation point on the game with a fumble return for a touchdown on the last play.
First the officials said it didn’t count, then they correctly looked at the replay and said it did after the game was over.
Didn’t matter.
Two scores in three seconds of clock time, about 15 seconds of real time. Two incredibly loud roars in the stands back-to-back.
The heroes, in my mind, were Brandon McManus, the Temple placekicker, who calmly stroked the game-winner with three seconds left and his holder, former Temple starting quarterback Vaughn Charlton.
Temple head football coach Al Golden said Charlton would be a major contributor to this team, but I think he might have been talking about tight end.
What Charlton did, using his 6-foot-5 frame to reach up as high as he could and put the ball down quickly for McManus, was a remarkable play: a winning play made by a winning kid.
His successor as Temple quarterback, Chester Stewart, could have packed it in after fumbling to give Villanova the lead (don’t know why he didn’t just hand it off to still-Heisman Trophy candidate Bernard Pierce on that third-and-1), but Stewart was another hero, orchestrating a game-winning drive.
Golden himself showed a remarkable insight into the Temple fan psyche with this quote:
“All the old time Temple people, they know,” Golden said. “A minute fifty left, fumble the snap, and there’s 250,000 alumni who shake their heads and say, here they go again.”
Man, the guy has been here only five years, but he nailed it.
I thought initially that 5-foot-5, 150-pound Matt Brown starting over Pierce was some kind of message Golden was sending to Pierce, but a few of the people on campus said that Pierce was seen limping around on his way to classes so he’s hurt.
He looked OK to me on the field.
Whatever, Villanova did a good job overall. It stacked the box, and Stewart only made them pay occasionally.
The Wildcats, with 16 starters back from a FCS (Division I-AA) team, will win the national championship again.
They are that good. If they stay relatively healthy, nobody is beating them.
They have a tough-as-nails quarterback, Chris Whitney, who for some inexplicable reason, Temple has refused to blitz for the past two years.
Villanova would be the second-best team in the MAC, in my opinion. That’s not a knock on the MAC as it is a tribute to what Andy Talley’s been able to do at Villanova.
I will go on record here as saying Temple will beat Central Michigan by a larger score than it won against Villanova.
People don’t give Division I-AA football enough credit.
Villanova has a lot of good, tough kids, and Andy Talley is a great, great coach. Is there a classier guy out there than Talley?
I don’t think so.
“I’m happy for Al,” Talley said after the game. “I expect big things from Temple.”
Most of all, I was happy for the Temple students.

There was a legitimate 32,163 in the stands, and I bet at least 27,163 were Temple fans. Of those, I bet there were about 15,000 Temple students.
When McManus’ kick went through and when Gildea scored his touchdown, I heard a wall of joyous sound louder than anything outside of an Eagles’ game in Lincoln Financial Field.
Those same Temple students could be heard walking out of the stadium last year, saying, “Same old Temple.”
This year I heard a new refrain.
“Let’s Go Temple,” they chanted on the way out.
Perceptions are changing, both inside and out.

These girls got to their seats way too early, but they had fun and that’s what was most important. I hope they recruit 15,000 more of their fellow students for the Central Michigan game on Thursday night. Somebody put this on Temple’s cable TV station. Nice job, girls.

Owl Nation (left) and Phillies Nation

Still time for students to get their free stuff:

Every Temple student is entitled to receive one (1) free ticket to all home Temple Football and Basketball games per their student activities fee.

For Temple Football games, students may pick up their free ticket up to two days prior to the game at the Liacouras Center Box Office. Students may also pick up their free ticket the day of the game at the Lincoln Financial Field Box Office. Student must bring valid student ID to receive their ticket.

Student Bus Information for Football Games:
For all home football games, the Temple Athletic Department provides students with free transportation to and from Lincoln Financial Field. Buses will pick up students two and a half hours prior to game time at four different Temple locations: 1300 Cecil B. Moore Ave, Johnson & Hardwick Dorm, the Student Center, and Ambler Campus. Buses on main campus will run shuttles to and from Lincoln Financial Field leading up to the start of the game. Conversely, buses will only make one pick-up for students at the Ambler Campus. Buses will return to campus when the football game is over.

Football Student Tailgate:
Temple Athletics hosts a free Student Tailgate for Temple students before all home football games at Lincoln Financial Field located in Lot K. The tailgate starts an hour and a half prior to kickoff. Free food, drinks, and music will be provided to all Temple Students with proper Temple Student ID.

You’ve seen them everywhere all summer.
From Citizens’ Bank Park to Chicago to San Diego, Phillies Nation has been one damn impressive fan base, often outcheering folks in far-flung cities.
At home, they usually arrive 3-5 hours before game time and tailgate their asses off in the Lincoln Financial Field Lot K.
Only problem is that Lot is taken over by Temple fans during Temple home football games.
So even Phillies Nation doesn’t have a clue, though, what will happen later on today.
Owl Nation, armed with a little knowledge that Phillies Nation doesn’t have, will grab those tailgate spots between 12-3 for a 5 p.m. game. The Phillies fans will arrive around 3 and mutter “what the f*ck” under their breaths, forced to find spots on the street.
Why?
Because Phillies Nation probably doesn’t follow Temple football and probably is unaware that a Temple game is even taking place, thanks to the pro-sports oriented Philly media.
So score one for Owl Nation, which is quite aware of the Phils’ start two hours later.
They haven’t tallied (err, maybe I should use a different word there) the final numbers of tickets sold quite yet because Temple athletic director Bill Bradshaw expects a huge walk-up for the game with Villanova.
Bradshaw mentioned the number 10,000 as a walk-up number, saying that was approximately the walk-up in the 2003 and 2009 meetings between the teams at Lincoln Financial Field.

Could be a couple of thousand more, a couple of thousand less but I said back in June I’m sticking with it that the attendance for this game will be around 37K. I’ll be disappointed if it is less and mildly surprised if it is more.
Looks like Owl Nation will be a big-time winner in this fan game, with anywhere between an estimated 28K and 32K rooting for Temple and 5-8K rooting for Villanova.
But Villanova isn’t a loser in this fan race, though.
If the Wildcats bring 8K, they will be bringing 3K more than they did in three of their last five home Division I-AA playoff games. For a shore week, those are impressive numbers.
The fan base losing out is Phillies Nation, which usually wins everywhere else.

Finally.
This thing has gnawed at stomach and head for 363 days and no amount of Pepto Bismol or Advil has been able to get rid of it.
That’s how bad I took losing to Villanova last year.

Err, no, I didn’t enjoy this.

That’s how bad I still take losing to Villanova 363 days later.
“If you didn’t enjoy that, you don’t enjoy football,” Temple head coach Al Golden said after a 27-24 loss to Villanova 363 days ago.
No, Al, I didn’t enjoy it.
But I do enjoy football.

What a good 1-A (FBS) team should do to Villanova:
2005: Rutgers 38, Villanova 6
2006: Central Florida 36, Villanova 15
2007: Maryland 31, Villanova 14
2008: West Virginia 48, Villanova 21

My tailgate friends told me a long time ago to get over it, but the only medicine I could order for this ailment arrives in two days.
A convincing Temple win over Villanova.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
I won’t predict a score because of the variables involved.
There could be a Hurricane, then again there could not.
There could be a little wind or a lot.
There could be five unforced turnovers or not.
Temple’s coaches could elect to play it close to the vest, like last year, and that would shorten the game in my opinion and play into Villanova’s hands.
I would like to see Temple’s defense set up camp in the Villanova backfield. By that, I mean constant pressure on Villanova quarterback Chris Whitney and by constant pressure I mean bringing him to the ground and not just getting close.
If you can’t do that with 4-5 rushers, do it with 7-8 and don’t wait until it’s too late to turn up the heat.
If Temple stops the run and RELENTLESSLY rushes the passer, it could put up 70 points on this team.
I’d like to see that.
I really would.
That would be “enjoyable” to me.
Realistically, though, it should fall somewhere in between 27-24 and 70-14 if that happens.
If not, if Mark D’Onofrio inexplicably allows Whitney to dink and dunk, like last year, it could be 27-24 either way.
I’d like not to see that.
I really do not want to see that.
That would not be enjoyable.
So I fully expect D’Onofrio to learn from last year’s game and attack, attack, attack.
I hope that’s the medicine he ordered and I fully expect it won’t take effect until 8 p.m. or so on Friday, but it should work.
Then the feeling many of us have had for 365 days or so should be finally gone and we can all smile again.
Former Temple kicker Cap Poklemba said it best in the Villanova pre-game tailgate last year, talking about the Mayor’s Cup.
“There should be no other name on that trophy besides Temple,” Cap said. “It should say 2009 winner: Temple, 2010 winner: Temple and so on. Temple’s name should be the only name on that trophy.”
Right on, Cap.
That problem gets corrected on Friday.
“We want to win because that trophy belongs here,” Temple’s Bernard Pierce said.
Temple will bring its 30,000 fans. If Villanova brings 7,000, we should get to my target number of 37K. If Villanova brings its usual 5K, we’ll hit 35K.
Those numbers aren’t nearly as important to me as 70-21 or 35-14.
Seventy-to-21 would be enjoyable, but I could also get enjoyment out of 35-14.
In two days, I will get this bad feeling out of my stomach and my head.
Only then will I forget about last year’s pain.
No better bargain in Philadelphia sports than a partial Owl season-ticket plan. Do yourself a favor and get one now and avoid future walk-up hassles:

Actually, that should be one color … Cherry.

Weather, SEPTA, Phillies … no excuses on Friday. Be there and wear Cherry.

I went to bed last night and slept secure in the knowledge that the weather forecast was good for Friday afternoon’s home opener with Villanova.
Adam Joseph, the Channel 6 weather guy, said it would be hot (95 degrees) and sunny.
A little too hot, probably, to be drinking alcohol in the tailgate, but I made a mental note to pack away the Diet Pepsi Wild Cherrys just in case.
I left the TV on and woke up to a nightmare.
Matt Broderick, the WFMZ weather guy, said that Hurricane Earl might make a run close enough to “even cause us some problems.”
Ugh.
Just Temple’s luck.
The Owls had a Hurricane for the UConn home game a few years ago, one so bad Channel 29’s John Bolaris said on the 10 p.m. news “no way Temple will be playing in this tomorrow.”
They not only played, they brought 17,000 fans, most of them drenched students, to the overtime loss.
Who knows how many fans watched Bolaris that night and decided to bag it?
Last year, the Homecoming Game was affected by a Nor’easter so bad that it was compared to the 1960 Jersey shore Hurricane. The crowd against Army was abysmal.
Now this.
Still, though, Channel 6 is sticking to their guns and predicting sunny and 95 for Friday.
Channel 3 is also predicting good weather for Friday, 90 degrees but with a “watching Earl” caveat on the five-day.
So the weather for Friday, on the whole, is looking good … so far.
There’s a part of me that thinks this bad boy named Earl will make a hard left at the last minute just to screw Temple, but I hope that’s the cynic in me.
I’m counting on Channel 3 and 6 to be right and WFMZ, an Allentown station, to be wrong.
I will not bother to check out what John Bolaris says.

If this football thing doesn’t work out, I’m sure BP can co-host sports center with fellow Temple guy (Class of 97) Kevin Neghandi.
One week before Villanova and the biggest news is that Bernard Pierce is back on the first team.
Al Golden mentioned it in passing to a couple of people at Wednesday’s Fan Fest, saying “you guys” (meaning reporters) focus on it (the depth chart) too much.
You could have knocked me over with a feather with that one, not the depth chart comment but the fact that a healthy Bernard who has practiced well over the past couple of days moved past a real good, but 5-foot-5, running back into the No. 1 spot.
Funny thing is that no Daily News headlines appeared in the next day saying, “Bernard Pierce is back at No. 1.” On Monday, there was a full-page story saying “Bernard Pierce Demoted to Second String.”
Ugh.
I tried looking at the depth chart in the last couple of hours but it hasn’t been changed from Matt Brown, unless they change it in the next couple of hours.
My guess is that the coaching staff doesn’t get around to handing the updates to the athletic department every day.
Whatever, God-willing, expect Bernard Pierce to line up behind Chester Stewart for the first play from scrimmage against Villanova.
The Wildcats have never seen anything like Bernard Pierce so, as T.O. says, “get your popcorn ready.”

If you fast forward to the 6:13 mark, you will see why TU needs a financially secure donor to come up with the $1 million a decent practice bubble costs.

For those of you who haven’t read this email from Temple athletics, it’s worth a look, especially the part about parking:
Temple Fan –

Be a part of Temple Football Fan Fest 2010! This exciting event will take place on Wednesday, August 25 from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field (Head House Plaza area). At this event, you’ll enjoy the following festivities:

Shane Artim’s obit from Pottstown Mercury:
Shane M. Artim, 46, loving son and brother
Published: Monday, August 23, 2010
Shane M. Artim, 46, of Washington, DC, formerly of Pottstown, passed away suddenly on Aug. 10 at his residence.

Born in Pottstown, he was the son of John M. and Joanne M. (Ricci) Artim of Ormond Beach, Fl.

Shane was 1982 graduate of Pottsgrove High School and graduated in 1987 from Temple University with a BS in Political Science.

Shane was an award-winning journalist. He covered federal and state transportation issues for many years.

An East Capitol Hill resident, Shane was active in District transportation issues through his Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

He was a huge Temple Owl fan and was very active in the Temple Alumni Association and always known for roasting pork shoulder for tailgating. He will be sadly missed by his family and all of his Temple alumni.

Along with his parents, he is survived by his brother Craig A. Artim of Philadelphia, his maternal grandmother Josephine Ricci and a large and caring family.

Visitation will be on Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. at Catagnus Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Inc., 711 N. Franklin Street, Pottstown with a memorial service to start at 11 a.m., the Rev. Alan Okon Jr. officiating.

Burial will follow in St. Aloysius New Cemetery, Pottstown.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can me made in Shane’s name to Frances Hollingsworth, Asst. Dean of Development & Alumni Affairs, College of Liberal Arts, 1228 Anderson Hall, 1114 Polett Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19122.

View obituaries or send condolences at the Catagnus Funeral Homes website.

– Receive posters and autographs from the entire Temple Football team!
– Meet the Temple Football coaches!
– Live music and appearances from the Temple Cheerleaders, Diamond Gems Dance team, Hooter the Owl and the Temple Marching Band!
– Temple Locker Room Tours!
– Clowns, face painters, Philadelphia Zoo on Wheels, Temple Photo Booth, Dunk Tank and other interactive games!
Admission to Fan Fest is FREE! However, please note there is a Philadelphia Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park beginning at 7 p.m. As a result, all attendees parking in the stadium lots will need to pay to park.
We hope to see you at Temple Football Fan Fest! Plus, don’t miss our home opener versus FCS National Champion Villanova in the Mayor’s Cup game – presented by Dunkin’ Donuts – on Friday, September 3 at 5 p.m. at Lincoln Financial Field. Great seats are still available!

For Temple Football ticket information – including our new Partial Season Ticket Plan (3 great games of your choice!) – please call the Temple Sales Office at 215-204-8499 or visit http://www.OwlsTix.com.
Go Owls!
It’s not too late to get season tickets. Good seats on the Temple side are limited, but there are plenty of great seats for Owl fans on the Villanova side, so let’s Cherry Out the Linc. Click on logo to join the season ticket crowd:

Go to the 3:53 mark to learn the Morkeith Brown chant. Fans can at least learn the final part that ends with TU.

You can learn a lot by spending five or 10 or 30 minutes with ex-Temple coach Wayne Hardin.
Hardin is in his 80s now and, unlike Joe Paterno (unfortunately), still incredibly mentally sharp.
Gosh, I wish I was that sharp.

Ten ways for Temple people to support Temple
1. Morkeith Brown’s cheer (it’ll take some practice, but the team has to get through two-a-days, so maybe we can get the Cherry Crusade to do this in the parking lot).
2. This site and Owlscoop.com and OwlsDaily is like preaching to the choir. I know you are going to go and you know you are going to go, but what are we doing to reach people who haven’t been to a Temple game since the Beach Boys and M.C. Hammer?
3. Utilize Facebook and Twitter (I barely know how to do this). I’m sure the young folks have many more followers and friends than I do.
4. Utilize the student directory. Emphasize the fun students have (free beer and food plentiful) and how it is a great way to network with fellow students and alumni, especially the first week of the school year.
5. Heisman Trophy angle. Yes, Temple has a legitimate HT candidate this year. Tell your friends. Tell your Eagle fan friends. Tell them this guy is better than Shady McCoy. He is. Tell them he’ll be a lot more legitimate when he rips off 3 bills and 3 scores against Nova, even while used sometimes to set up play-action to 4.3 wideouts.
6. Get your non-Temple friends involved (again, free beer and food angle).
7. Get fans you know who are going to the Phils’ game that day involved.
8. Email everyone in your address book the Mayor’s Cup Event Facebook page.
9. Put a Mayor’s Cup for sale sign on your front lawn.
10. Purchase a Hunt for Heisman bumper sticker so that you can roll like the buses with a message supporting Temple football.

Hardin knows more about football than any man I’ve ever known and, considering that I’ve known Mike Pettine, Sr., perhaps the greatest high school coach of all time, that’s saying a lot.
Hardin knows a lot about life and people, too.
He knows Temple University.
Hardin, pretty much through the power of his will alone, helped pack a crowd of 30,000 people, almost entirely wearing Cherry and White, into the Navy game three years ago at Lincoln Financial Field.
His message in the months leading up to the game:
Temple people must support Temple.
“Look,” Hardin said, “you have a school with 250,000 (now in excess of 270,000) alumni, most of them living in a short driving distance to the stadium. You have 33,000 full-time students. You have 12,000 full-time employees. They should all be supporting Temple.”
So should you.
So ARE you.
On a site like this one, I feel like I’m preaching to the choir at times.
Even though we’ve had enough visitors here to fill Beaver Stadium twice or Lincoln Financial Field three times, I don’t feel like I’m getting to the other 250,000 alumni who’ve thought about attending a game in the last 30 years but didn’t.
Here you have a football team coming off a school-record nine-game winning streak playing a local rival coming off a national small school championship.
All indications are the Villanova “crowd” will not top 5-7K.
That’s why it’s important for Temple people to get 30-40K TEMPLE people at the game.
That’s why it’s important for the Temple people who are there to get behind the team much like the 20,000-plus Temple fans who traveled to D.C. got behind the team then.
The “Let’s Go Temple” cheer just before Temple’s second touchdown literally rocked the old RFK Stadium to its foundation.
A D.C. United soccer fan told me on the way out that it was never that loud in that stadium for a D.C. United game and he said it gets loud often.
So that’s why Hardin’s message should be heeded now more than ever.
That message is clearer now than it was then.
Spread the word and not just to your football fan friends.
Go through the student directory and email blast every kid.
Buttonhole as many Temple alumni as you know and talk up the game.
Talk up the game to the Temple police, the kids who work at the bookstore, the person who serves you the burger at Wendy’s.
Heck, get the food truck vendors down there, too. Milton Street, the ex-Mayor’s brother, used to sell me cheesesteaks when I was a Temple student. I doubt he’s still there, but others have taken over.
When you get to the stadium, do the Morkeith Brown cheer.
Think the football team won’t be impressed with that?
They’d go crazy.
That’s the idea.
Show them we’re behind them and the support is there.