osufan512, on 19 June 2012 - 04:36 PM, said:
LCC will be fine once theyre out of the league. Their 5 away games may be a decent distance away from Lima but I can promise it will be much better competition. Not to mention, they already have the Elida/Bath series worked out, the DSJ rivalry is going no where and I don't think the Marion Pleasant game will be disappearing either. I know Bishop Ready will be on the schedule too because they are in a similar situation as LCC in terms of scheduling, though they will be off the schedule for a year or two coming up. I also know they have games scheduled against London for a year and a series with Bryan coming up as well. I really think when it comes down to it, they wont be hard pressed to find a schedule, it just may be against random opponents (like London & Bryan).
Also, in terms of LCC having no following, get real. There is no way they will have no following ever, especially if they continue winning at the pace in which they have been. LCC has a dedicated school community (obviously, or the school wouldn't have been around for this many years). Ursuline had a great following at the State Semi game against LCC and they play a schedule similar to what you're thinking LCC will play, doesn't seem to be effecting them.
Also, I know a lot of you NWC posters only remember life BLCC (before LCC) and ALCC (after LCC) but 2006 isn't the year the Birds started being good. It was actually 2005, they went 11-2 and lost to CHCA in a classic Regional Final game. They beat Ada, AE, Bluffton, Grove, and Spencerville that year and didn't play DJ, Crestview or Paulding. They also had good wins against St. Henry, a 9-1 Waynesfield team and a Hicksville team fresh off a state semis appearance.
Bottom line is, LCC will be ok after the NWC and the league will survive without them (until Ada jumps ship at least). I don't know if this is the year you'll see "running up the score" or not, remember they still play them 3 more years. Only Crestview and Paulding may have something to worry about this year from that perspective.
Lastly, 9-1s comment about loving to go into those NWC communities knowing everyone hated them is a common feeling amongst the football program and I think it's almost embraced by the players and coaches alike. I remember talking to coaches and players after a scrimmage last season and the topic was brought up and it seemed like they loved that no one liked them.
While I have my share of friends from LCC, them not being liked has been a common sentiment even before they were good in football. Be it a Lima thing, catholic thing, private school thing....whatever, LCC has always been routinely rather cocky and arrogant even when they fielded bad teams and I'm sure many of the players that played against them before they were good can attest to that as well.
Also, while true that LCC does have a lot of support, don't forget those daunting matchups against Ft. Recovery a decade ago when there were MAYBE 2 dozen people in Lima Stadium on the LCC side, the student body was playing poker on the bleacher seats, and debating whether they wanted to get a Spicy Chicken at Wendy's or go to Arby's at halftime. It is true anywhere, that winning will always be attractive and draw fans in, but when LCC was struggling a decade ago, you would only find SOME parents in the stands and that's about it...the rest of the school wanted nothing to do with them and was just begging for basketball season to roll around.
Scheduling for the AD won't be easy for football year in, year out. They made a big step in the 3 team rotation with Bath, Elida, DSJ I believe, but there will still be open games and that's where the trouble lies for LCC and all private/non conference affiliated teams is when they have 2-3 openings each year that can't be filled. On top of that, football wasn't the only sport I was referring to. The AD has to now fill the voids for golf, women's soccer, baseball, softball, boys/girls basketball, etc, and JV and freshman games because I somehow doubt if they have to schedule matchups that are far away, they will be shipping a JV or freshman bus across the state for a game for football or any of the other sports.