 TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
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By Brian Nowicki We are YOUR team! That is the marketing slogan for Rocket Football this year and never before have I been so excited about the marketing of the team. Billboards are popping up all over the city with a similar theme, representing that they are the city of Toledo's team. With a city the size of Toledo, I've been waiting for a campaign like this. It is an exciting time at the University of Toledo. The merger with the Medical University of Ohio adds to the prestige of the University and it also adds a new audience of potential fans. Announcing a home and home deal with Ohio State that has UT hosting one game against the Buckeyes in Cleveland Browns Stadium will catch the eye of someone that had not noticed before. Having a mayor in Toledo that is supportive of the Rockets, as Mayor Carty Finkbeiner has been, will help gain the attention of even more potential fans. And marketing the Rockets as the city's team just might help to gain the attention of others that have not paid attention in the past. This is Toledo's team. There is no other collegiate football team in the city of Toledo, nor the nearby suburbs. There is no reason that the citizens of Toledo should not get behind this team and pack the Glass Bowl this fall.  The Rockets home opener is scheduled for Friday, September 15th at 8:00pm. The game will pit the Rockets against Kansas from the Big 12 conference, and be aired on ESPN2. This will be the only collegiate football game on television that night. Sure there will be high school football going on, but the chance to see the Rockets play against a team like Kansas is a great opportunity. Last season Kansas defeated Houston 42-13 in the Fort Worth Bowl.Homecoming this year is on October 7th against Central Michigan. Toledo will be looking to avenge last season's 21-17 loss at Central Michigan. Another big home game is October 28th against Akron. Akron is the defending MAC Champion and they return QB Luke Getsy this fall. Of course Toledo hosts Bowling Green at the Glass Bowl on November 21st in a game that is also scheduled to air on ESPN2. This is always a big draw game. The other two home contests are against McNeese State and Ball State. The Ball State game will also be aired on ESPN2. That's a pretty good home schedule. Two teams that played in bowl games last year and a total of four teams that had winning records in 2005. Still not convinced? Season tickets for UT this fall cost $164 per seat. That's pretty good. And it gets you into all six home games. That comes out to an average of $27.33 per ticket, per game. Where else can you watch an exciting Division I-A college football game for such a cheap price? There's no way you could go to Columbus, Ann Arbor, or even East Lansing and pay anywhere near that price for admission. You will pay two or three times that amount. Still not convinced? Are you the type of person that wants to see star athletes? If so, you need look no further than Toledo. Bruce Gradkowski is the latest in a line of Rocket players that are in the pros now. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this past April after setting several UT records. He also is the only quarterback in NCAA Division I-A history to complete at least 70% of his passes in two consecutive seasons. You remember wide receiver Lance Moore, right? He's playing in the New Orleans Saints organization these days. And offensive lineman Nick Kaczur became a starter for the New England Patriots during his rookie season last year. Brian Jones was the quarterback at Toledo before Bruce Gradkowski. He is playing for Memphis in the AF2 league. After leading his team to the championship last season, he is having another great season and has been named offensive player of the week a couple of times already. Former running back Chester Taylor signed a multi-million dollar deal with the Minnesota Vikings in the off-season and he is poised to be their starting running back this year. And I could go on and on and on. Still not convinced? Maybe you are the type of person that want to see the "big boys" play. Well, Toledo plays them too. The Rockets open the season this fall at Iowa State. The Iowa State Cyclones are from the Big 12 conference. They played in a bowl game last year, and they beat the Big Ten's Iowa Hawkeyes 23-3. The Rockets also play at Pittsburgh this fall. The Panthers are from the Big East conference and played in a BCS bowl game just a couple of years ago. Toledo also hosts Kansas this fall. Kansas is from the Big 12 conference. They beat Iowa State last year and beat Houston 42-13 in the Fort Worth Bowl. Still not convinced? Maybe you heard about the "home and home" series with Ohio State and you want to go to that game in Cleveland. Well, it sounds like UT season ticket holders are going to have priority in getting tickets to that game. If you are not a wealthy donor of Ohio State or Toledo, being a UT season ticket holder may be your only chance to get tickets. So you are thinking about it, but you want to make sure you will get a good return on your investment. Well, Toledo is 35-2 at home since November of 1999. That includes victories over Marshall (twice), Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Bowling Green (three times), and Northern Illinois (three times). And the Rockets have lots of opportunities of the next few years to play and defeat quality non-conference opponents. In 2007 the Rockets will host Purdue and Iowa State. In 2008 the Rockets will host Fresno State and Florida International. And in 2009 the Rockets will host Boise State and Ohio State (at Cleveland Browns Stadium). So you can see that the Rockets will be continuing to bring in quality opponents in the future. I'm sure I haven't hit all the advantages of going to UT football games, but they are fun, exciting, and pretty cheap. If you are a college football fan that lives in the Toledo area, but haven't given the Rockets a chance in the last few years, I urge you to do so this fall. Seeing a game in person is so much more exciting than it is on television and the Rockets play a very exciting style of football. They are YOUR team Toledoans. For ticket information, please call the UT Athletic Ticket Office at 419-530-4653. Have a question or comment for Brian? Email |