Blog — OhVarsity!

Earlier this week I was contacted by the folks behind @GoBearcats to take part in a behind-the-scenes tour of Nippert as part of a #UCInfluencers program. I know they’ve done this in the past, and I think it’s a great idea, so I was excited to participate. We got a quick tour of the new press box at Nippert, we walked around the field during warmups, and we saw some things in the bowels of the Lindner Center that the public rarely has access to. It was a great time and I encourage anyone who gets the opporunity to participate to do so. It’s a smart idea by the UC social media team that I hope continues. Most programs don’t take the time to bring fans “behind the curtain” like UC has done.

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I‘ve watched a ton of games at Nippert. It was super bizarre looking at the field from this angle. Overall, the new field (which has been the topic of Twitter controversy) looked pretty great. The new press box looked even better.

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It’s hard to believe this is Nippert Stadium. It’s incredible. I should’ve taken a couple more pictures in here. I’ve been in the club level at Great American Ballpark, and Nippert has them beat. Honestly.

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This is the kind of thing the fancy seats get you. On my list of game day priorities, a small TV at my seat is basically at the bottom. Nippert covered all their bases though. Not much more you could want if you’re watching the game from here.

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I think I’m one of the few that loves the white uniforms. Adding white facemasks makes all the difference.

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Seriously, Nippert Stadium is gorgeous. Especially from this angle. Dear UC, please let me tweet the Houston game from this spot.

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People don’t understand how extensive the Lindner Center is. I know it just looks like a long building with offices from the first floor, but the place is endless. This is the practice gym, which gets used by men’s and women’s basketball, as well as the volleyball team. It’s located directly beneath Sheakley Lawn. If you’re worried about the structural integrity of that, I’ve now been told twice that a 747 could park on the roof of this place and be totally fine. It’s basically a bomb shelter with a court in it.

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New graphics abound. The weight room is used by all varsity sports except for men’s basketball, who has their own place. (Theirs was all locked up.)

Bonus tidbit: Bengals fans may remember this Sports Illustrated cover from 2006. It was shot in the Lindner Center. UC was the first school in the country to have an underwater treadmill on campus for student athletes. Unsurprisingly, the Bengals do not have one.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve been pestered about my 2016 Bearcats Football Predictions:

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I’m kind of a loser when it comes to a lot of things. One of those things is numbers. I love seeing people’s mentality in chart form, so here we are. This is my first time using Google Forms, so there’s almost definitely a better way for me to have done this. Maybe I’ll figure it out by basketball season.

If you answered a multiple choice question in the prediction form, your answer was thrown into a pie chart with everyone else. In total, we had 105 respondents. My goal was 100, so I won.

Here is what your fellow Bearcats fans are saying about the 2016 season:

This one was interesting, because after about 40 responses, it was almost dead even. More and more people hopped on the Hayden train as the season grew closer. My guess: Hayden Moore

This was a blowout from the start, and I believe Tion actually gained ground towards the end. I agree that all signs point to Mike Boone leading the way, but I’m perfectly fine with a tw0-headed team, as long as the better performer gets a few extra carries. My guess: Mike Boone

This one is my favorite, because there are actually some differing opinions. Khalil Lewis is the fan favorite for 2016 breakout star, and Nate Cole is the lone returning receiver with serious experience. I’d love for Lewis to blow everyone away, but I took the safe route and chose experience over potential. My guess: Nate Cole

This answer is going to be subjective. I threw in “losses by one possession” so we’d have something concrete to point to in case of controversy. Otherwise, I’m hoping we can come to an agreement on which losses are going to steal our souls. We’ll know it when we feel it. It can’t be as bad as last year, and you guys think we’ll get our hearts torn out twice. My guess: One

Ahh, the unpredictable nature of Bearcats attendance. There is rarely any rhyme or reason to it, and the responses here are proof. Most people think four of seven games will sell out, with three games being the next most popular choice. This one is a crapshoot. My guess: Three

I’m happy to see you’ve all started to temper your expectations. I think October is a very safe bet at this point. Six people think it will never happen. That’s depressing. My guess: #Big12Confirmed

I also asked you guys to submit wild predictions. I won’t share them all, especially the ones that are somehow still Harambe jokes. Here are a few of my favorites, copy and pasted verbatim:

“Gunner Kiel finishes with 4,000 yards passing and at least 25 TDs (lol)”

“Chad Banschbach is leading rusher in multiple games”

“Someone will break Mike Mickens pick 6 record”

“Tommy Tuberville has a stroke week 4”

“Uc loses to Houston at home in regular season on a national televised heartbreaker this sparks the Bearcats to a 10–2 finish only losing to byu in a close one to get a rematch AT houston for the AAC championship and we beat them redeeming ourselves Then (as long as sdsu or Boise don’t have a year) the Bearcats finally get their ny6 bowl win ontop of tommy actually getting winning his first bowl game at cincy”

“UC demolishes all legitimate B12 contenders (BYU, UH, UCONN, Memphis) then loses to the last place American team.”

“Travis Kelce will actually find love on that dating show.”

“Wat”

“THE WORLD WILL END IN FIREY DEATH AND WE FALL INTO A NUCLEAR WINTER ALL IS HELL AND THIS IS OUR STORY. MAY 3, 2017. THE HAVEN’T FOUND ME YET. I HAVE BEEN HIDING IN THIS ABANDONDED WENDY’S. I RAN OUT OF 4 FOR 4 DEALS 2 MONTHS AGO. SEND HELP.”