As for some comments on the game…

The Gaels celebrate after winning the North 1, Group IV state sectional title (Daily Record)

But I do think it’s necessary to say that EOC is a nice little team and they played GREAT football for about 5 minutes in the fourth quarter. That said, they had the worst special teams that I’ve ever seen on any football team, ever. Ever! If EOC’s punts made it 20 yards (including rolling after the ball landed), then that would be far. The truth is that EOC was outclassed in every possible way today. Granted, I take nothing away from those kids because I know from experience that you have to work very hard to get to the state championship game, but damn – I was absolutely shocked at how substandard their level of play was for most of the game. They weren’t really strong competition for Roxbury at all. It was shocking, really.

The Gaels celebrate (Photo by Joyce Bambach)

And then the fake punt came and went nowhere – Roxbury got the ball back. When the entire stadium knows you’re going to go for a fake, then the surprise effect of the play tends to go away, don’t you think? Horrible play calling; definitely not state championship caliber.

Roxbury, on the other hand, did a good job on both sides of the ball as well as with their play calling. I’m sure that this wasn’t Roxbury’s best game that they’ve ever played, but the team definitely got the job done without question. The crowd was into it, the fans showed up in force, and EOC was an inferior opponent in every way. It was the perfect set up for Roxbury to bring home its second state championship in football! Congratulations to the new state champions – an accomplishment well deserved.

And an additional congratulations to my friend and former teammate from the 1998 team, Justin, who is now an assistant coach for Roxbury. If I’m not mistaken, Justin is now the only person in Roxbury history to win two state championships in football – one as a player and one as a coach. We’re proud of you, buddy.

Click the pictures below to see a larger image.

The Blue/While Club is like the booster association for the Athletics department. There are a few different levels of membership in this club and after you surpass a certain level you are permitted to access something called The Varsity Club during men’s and women’s basketball games as well as during football games. The Varsity Club provides a free buffet-style meal prior to the game as well as some type of dessert during half-time and the opportunity to meet and greet the coaches at some point after the game is over. Not a bad little package for those who are interested.

There are fourteen home games for the men’s basketball team this season and my schedule looks like I can attend at least twelve of them. And since I have two tickets I’ll be looking to take along some other folks to some of these games. I’m looking forward to it, which is sort of fun!

I’ve been in the building before in the Fitness Center when I signed up for a membership, so that area wasn’t new. However, I did find the elevator and take it up to the third floor where I was able to look at (though not get in) the 10 box suites that the MAC has to offer. They looked great from the outside. And looking down on the second floor track was pretty cool, too. The entire arena looked great from the third floor, as did looking out over the football field from inside of the MAC. They really did a great job designing a little balcony that you can watch football games off of while you’re inside of the MAC. Of course, you’re still looking at a football field that is trumped by many of the high school stadiums in New Jersey, but that’s another story!

In fact, I like the building so much that I’m probably going to buy season tickets for the upcoming men’s basketball season. It’s not that I’m any big fan of basketball (though I used to watch the Chicago Bulls in the 1990’s) or any big supporter of Monmouth University (hard to support an institution that ruined your graduation ceremony and which assisted in causing you to owe six figures in student loan debt). However, like I said in an earlier post on this blog, I did feel a sense of pride in seeing that building go up; a sense of pride which was only elevated after I walked around the MAC.

So why not get season tickets? I’m sure that the first season of basketball in the MAC is going to be great!

Great stuff.

And how about the fact that tonight’s attendance at the game was 106,033? Can you imagine that? I went to college at Monmouth University as did my roommate, who I watched the game with tonight. We were talking about it and there were more people sitting in that stadium tonight than have cumulatively graduated from Monmouth University since it was founded in 1933. How ridiculous is that?!

USC’s quarterback did a great job, as did the USC offensive line. And when you have Pete Carroll running the defense and inserting himself into the offense during crunch time, you can only expect the outcome that we had tonight. Not that the Ohio guys didn’t have an equally impressive outing – they definitely did. However, it appeared that their offense fell apart right at the end of the game, when it counted the most.

How great is college football?!?!

Of course, there are the letdowns that come along with this time of the year. Some people are bummed because they’re going back to school (not me – I like to teach at the local college) and others are annoyed that the weather is changing (again, not me – I like the cold weather). But for fans of the Rutgers University football program, well, we’re annoyed for a different reason today.

Rutgers got absolutely rocked during their home opener today against Cincinnati…almost unacceptably so. The final score was 47 to 15, but I have to admit that after the first half I really didn’t waste any more of my time watching the blood bath. I think that so many of us in New Jersey remember the dream season that Rutgers had a few years ago and we hope to see that on the field each weekend. Well, that type of stuff doesn’t just “happen” though it does take a lot of hard work. I know that the football players are putting in their best efforts during practice and during the games – it’s evident! I mean you can see it during the games.

However, Cincinnati was just a much better and a much faster football team. It really was that overall team speed that I noticed the most when watching today’s game. But, that’s okay. The Scarlet Knights are hosting Howard University next weekend and we’re looking for a roaring comeback after today’s beat down!

In the mean time, check out New Jersey Carpet Cleaning for the best carpet cleaning in the Garden State!

As for today’s games, I’m looking for the favorites (Oklahoma, Ohio, Alabama) to have impressive games today. My alma mater, Monmouth University, plays against Colgate today. Not that I know much about either team, but there is usually a buzz on the MU campus (and among local alumni) when they have a decent team and I haven’t heard any buzz so far this year. That said, I’m not comfortable picking either team to win since, again, I don’t know much about them.

Like most college football fans living in New Jersey, I’ll be cheering for Rutgers in their opener against Cincinnati on Monday afternoon. Let’s hope for another big year from the Scarlet Knights!

Late Night Update: How about Oklahoma going down to BYU?! You gotta love college football!

If you want to get involved, remember to download the flyer to read the details and drop off locations. Also, I suggest that you all remember that there are a wide variety of children looking for toys during Christmas – not just the young ones. Gifts of footballs, basketballs, sports jerseys, video games, and books are also greatly appreciated. Please give to the best of your budgeted ability – even in tough economic times we should all remember those who are less well off than we might be.

Plus, I know the people at MURC and I know that this is an excellent program. Give it a shot this Christmas season!