Blog Swap, Trojan Style

As I mentioned a week or so ago, we've arranged a blog swap with the Troy blog. These are fun and a great way to learn about the teams we are playing. The basic idea is that we ask each other questions, and then put the answers onto our blog.

Greg at GoTroyTrojans sent me six questions, which are answered below. I sent him six questions too, which he answered here....

What I really enjoy is meeting people I consider pure college football fans.....rooting for their team with passion, following their every move, but maintaining a sense of humor and not acting like a jerk. Greg is in that category.

Finally, love the explanation for the tradition behind "Burn the Horse."

Looking forward to doing this again next year when we make the return trip to Alabama....

1.) What exactly does Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba mean? Where did it come from?

Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba is perhaps our most unique tradition at Bowling Green. The song is theoretically an adapted Zulu war chant brought back from Italy during WWII by a BG Grad (I'm not going to pretend that I know where, precisely, he found an enclave of Zulu war chanting in Italy in the mid 1940's.) Anyway, many fans probably think it is the fight song, even though it is not. ("Forward Falcons" is.) Ay-Ziggy-Zoomba played a role in the movie Paper Lion when BG Grad Mike Weger sang it as part of rookie initiation at the Lions training camp. Should we win Thursday, the team will head over to the band and sing the song and celebrate with fans on the field, as we do after every win (Don't want to think we would ONLY do it after beating Troy!)

2.) What people do you feel are the past, present, and future of Bowling Green Football?

I think Falcons feel are proud of the past of Falcon football. We won the 1959 Small College National Championship, and have had some great players and teams over that time. We've had good coaches (Don Nehlen, Urban Meyer), and a number of MAC Championships. It has, however, been 17 years since we won a MAC Title and that is very disappointing given some of the players who have come through here over that time. And I think fans have been frustrated at having good teams, but never the best team in our conference. As always, I think we are also optimistic for the future. Dave Clawson is a proven winner and I believe he will end our championship drought.

3.) Why the Falcon Mascot? Any interesting stories about how that came to be?

The Falcon mascot was actually suggested by the editor of the local paper. BG was founded as a teacher's college (as I believe Troy was) and we were known as the Teachers or the Normals, and apparently those didn't fit in headlines too well. The editor had read a book on Falconry, was impressed, and felt it would be easier to work with. And the Falcons were born. We are told that we were attracted to the fact that it often attacks birds much bigger than it is.

4.) What is the biggest moment on Bowling Green football history? Why?

This is a tough question. I have been attending Falcon football games for the better part of 40 years, and I guess I would say that it really boils down to two moments.

The boring, but probably correct answer is when that 1959 team went undefeated and received national honors.

The more current, and more emotional answer is the day when GameDay came to Bowling Green and we beat NIU in front of a high profile national audience. We really showcased our team that day and I know it will last forever in the memories of the people who were there.

5.) Tell me why BGSU is a good choice for a high school player looking for a college to play for.

Excellent question. People who go to Bowling Green say that what they appreciate is the family atmosphere. I hope every athlete who comes to Bowling Green appreciates it. You will be able to compete at a high level and the University is committed to you completing your degree and living a successful life.

6.) What type of season do people expect the Falcons to have this season? Why?

I have been previewing the team on the blog for the past week or so. In short, on one hand, the Falcons blew three games in the fourth quarter last year. Had we won those, and we should have won all three, then we would have been in a bowl game, probably have the same coach and might have won the MAC title. So, on one hand, you can think we were pretty close to winning and with the new focus a coach brings, perhaps we can get over the top.

However, we lost tons of players on defense, and I think it is difficult to think about how we are going to be able to get off the field enough to win. I personally expect a 7-5 or 6-6 season (my game by game predictions were on my blog on Monday morning).

On offense, we have a very solid QB in Tyler Sheehan and a very good receiver in Freddie Barnes. We are hoping to run the ball more, especially with the RBs. How much spread we play remains to be seen, but Clawson says he is not a "system guy" and will run whatever works for the players he has. We have the potential to score a bushel-full of points.

Our non-conference schedule is really though. Besides playing Troy (a very good team, from what I can see), we also host Boise and travel to Missouri and Marshall. If we come out of that 2-2, it will be very surprising.