The Curse of the Fargodome

[TbonZach]

A friend of mine wrote this a while back:



"About a year ago, I wrote the commentary posted below. Go ahead and reread that post, it is all still valid. Last season, the Bison were able salvage a decent season. This year, there is nothing left to salvage. They cannot make the playoffs. They cannot win their conference. They cannot even finish with a winning record. I ask again, are the Bison cursed since moving from Dacotah Field into the Fargodome? At 1-6 this season, something needs to happen to turn this around. Many things can change to turn the Bison around starting with recruiting (a QB from East Grand Forks? Really?) to coaching (repeatedly starting a QB from EGF?) to play calling (an obvious fake field goal comes to mind). Or, we can try something easier and immediate. This year, the Vikings started playing at "Mall of America Field." Same building, same turf, but a different name. Why not change the name of the Fargodome to "Dacotah Field" just on gameday when the Bison are there? I know bringing in goats to Wrigley hasn't broken that curse (sorry Cubs fans), but clearly the Bison coaching staff isn't going to do anything to fix the problem this season. So let's have a big ceremony, and unveil a new "Dacotah Field at the Fargodome" logo at midfield. If we can't have a quarterback or a kicker or a winning record, can't we at least have back our beloved Dacotah Field?

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After watching the Bison football record drop below .500 for the first time since since the 2002 season and the Bob Babich era, I got to thinking about something: Are the Bison cursed since moving from Dacotah Field? Consider this, NDSU started playing at the most recent Dacotah Field location at the north end of campus in 1950. From 1950 until the final game at Dacotah Field in 1992, NDSU won 6 DII National Championships and 3 College Division Championships. That's 9 titles in 43 seasons along with 2 runner up seasons. That Dacotah Field hosted a team that at least made the title game over nearly 25% of its history. Since moving to the Fargodome, the Bison have not hosted a postseason game, have not won a national title, have not returned to the title game, and have only won 2 Conference titles (1994 NCC, 2006 GWFC).

Part of the reasoning for building the Fargodome was so that when cold, cold November and postseason college football swept over the Northern Plains, all of us Bison fans would have warm seats in which to sit. Now the regular season extends into late November and our fannies are warm, but the dome has yet to see a single playoff game. Entering their 16th season in the Fargodome and coming off of back to back 10-1 seasons, most of us thought that playoffs would be a given this fall. Finally ending the transition period from DII and being eligible for postseason, we all believed that NDSU would host its first playoff game in nearly two decades. Unfortunately, the mighty Bison are now 3-4 (1-3 MVFC) and in danger of having a loosing season, their first since a disastrous 2-8 season in 2002.

It has been nearly a century since NDSU started playing at Dacotah Field, and now nearly 20 years since they've stopped. The Fargodome has not been a positive move for the Bison. The Fargodome IS a curse. The team that dominated college football for decades needs to return. If we ever want to see a home playoff game again, let alone a national title, the Bison MUST move back to a Dacotah Field. Build a new one or redo the old one. Whatever we have to do to bring the Bison back to Dacotah Field and back to national dominance."

[NDSUstudent]

We better figure out how to fix the Fargodome hex because we won't be moving outside for a long time.

I think selling the naming rights for the field is a good start, put the proceeds towards field turf. Then take the turf that has seen multiple losing seasons and ship it off to Siberia or Grand Forks.

[DjKyRo]

Take out the roof and call it good? That way we still seat 19k?

[gizmo]

I'm not a dome fan but you can't deny that he Bison have had a lot of big wins in domes. Dome sweet dome, I say!

[CaBisonFan]

I hate domes in general. Football was meant to play outside. Teams that visited Dacotah Field were genuinely intimidated by the environment. The FD is a nice, but sterile building.

Bison players who moved from Dacotah Field into the FD were quoted as saying that it didn't feel like Bison Football in there.

We gave away our intimidating homefield advantage.

We threw away a hybrid of the veer offense that was capable of being a devastating passing offense. It was run/pass...or pass/run. It worked either way. It worked with North Dakota/Minnesota/Wisconsin/South Dakota athletes and a few others. It was totally unpredictable. Opponents that were serious about beating us had to spend weeks preparing...only to arrive and find that the veer had been tweaked just enough so that they didn't know what to do. Our physical dominance blew them out anyway...but the veer hybrid was very difficult to defend. We kept our defense off of the field.

With the FD we provided a neutral site for throwing teams, not having to worry about weather conditions. We had a tradition of destroying passing teams at Dacotah Field.

We allowed a city employee to ramrod the FD into existence, using the Bison as the reason to build it...when really...he wanted a convention center/multi-purpose room. The seating was not configured well to provide for the Bison faithful. It is a tunnel with seats. A dark tunnel with an irritating echo. An empty echo at times.

The home crowd has become a strange mixture of rabid fans and casual fans who happened to get tickets from their company, or a friend, or just thought it would be a nice, comfortable activity for a Saturday afternoon.

We gave up the smell and the feel of autumn. We gave up an on-campus stadium. We gave up far too much.

The Bison football program may emerge as a strong program again...but the FD does not allow for a real homefield advantage.

Worse...when we visit a stadium that has a hostile environment...or some weather elements...we realize that we have become a soft dome team...a team that has to overcome the elements rather than thrive in them. The elements are unfamiliar. The dome is not home.

We did it good. I live in California and don't get to home games. I watch the games on my computer. I can feel the emptiness of the FD, even when it's full of people. Some recruits come because it looks impressive. Others stay away because they prefer the outdoors. The tough kids. We ran into a ton of tough kids this past Saturday. They have a home that gives them the feeling of dominance. Our players felt it. I saw it on my computer.

The Walker era was special...because he was special...and that kind of 'special' is hard to find.

[CaBisonFan]

I'm not a dome fan but you can't deny that he Bison have had a lot of big wins in domes. Dome sweet dome, I say!

A lot of big wins? I can think of one in Minneapolis. The Gophers wanted out of there badly.

[Kevin]

It pisses me off to see the atmosphere that other schools have. And I'm not just talking about the white outs at Penn State or the sea of red at Wisconsin. Even mediocre FBS schools and some good FCS stadiums have a real intimidating, fun atmosphere.

It's to the point that I wonder why even go to the Dome here. I can have more fun with my friends in the living room of my house. No security, either.

[NDSUstudent]

I believe Stig of SDSU is quoted as saying the Dome is a tough place to play. I believe he said something like only Montana is tougher.

I don't think there is a single issue with the Dome. The Dome never dropped a pass, missed a tackle, made a horrible coaching decision, or screwed up in recruiting. It all falls on coaching and execution. When the team was 20-2 the Dome was our best friend and everyone would talk about how great our home field advantage was.

Now when we can't do the little things right and have some questions in regards to talent and coaching, we could play on the west parking lot and still lose just the same.

Blaming our woes on the Dome is a nice crutch but in reality I don't think it is a big deal. A good team that is well coached will win anywhere. It would also make the Dome a very tough place for a visiting team to come into.

[CaBisonFan]

I believe Stig of SDSU is quoted as saying the Dome is a tough place to play. I believe he said something like only Montana is tougher.

I don't think there is a single issue with the Dome. The Dome never dropped a pass, missed a tackle, made a horrible coaching decision, or screwed up in recruiting. It all falls on coaching and execution. When the team was 20-2 the Dome was our best friend and everyone would talk about how great our home field advantage was.

Now when we can't do the little things right and have some questions in regards to talent and coaching, we could play on the west parking lot and still lose just the same.

Blaming our woes on the Dome is a nice crutch but in reality I don't think it is a big deal. A good team that is well coached will win anywhere. It would also make the Dome a very tough place for a visiting team to come into.

Stig is a good politician...a good psychologist...and knows that he has the advantage now. He'd hate Dacotah Field.

[NDSUstudent]

Stig is a good politician...a good psychologist...and knows that he has the advantage now. He'd hate Dacotah Field.

Why would he hate Dacotah Field? His team plays on a frozen pasture, cold weather isn't going to affect what his team does one bit. I don't know if Stig is a good politician, pyschologist, or whatever but I do know that he is a good coach and that has more to do with their success than anything.

[Bison9]

Not to take anything away from those National Championship teams from the past, but lets be honest guys, that was back in rinky dink DII. Man, would I love to play a team that lost to Sioux Falls College last week instead of Montana every week. Yeah, I realize the crap team that lost this past Saturday to Sioux Falls is a new DI team, but let's just be honest, they still play like a DII team. It always bothers the crap out of me when those DII championships are even put in the same sentence with getting into a DI playoff game and championship game. That's apples to oranges right there. No, the fact of the matter here is that moving up to DI is a huge jump and can't even be compared to playing in any DII game or championship or whatever from years past. Its a new era that requires better coaching, playing, etc... There, my $2.25.

[JACKRABBITFAN]

You know some of you need to check your records of past before you buy into this Fargo Dome curse. LOOK at year 1962 and then come back and tell me Dacotah Field is the place to play. Okay I will save you some time and research. The Bison were 0-10 at Dacotah Field in 1962? Was that too some kind of curse?

[met1990]

You know some of you need to check your records of past before you buy into this Fargo Dome curse. LOOK at year 1962 and then come back and tell me Dacotah Field is the place to play. Okay I will save you some time and research. The Bison were 0-10 at Dacotah Field in 1962? Was that too some kind of curse?

The Bison played 10 home games in 1962? We need that kind of schedule today! Just think about 10 weeks of tailgating!!!

[HerdBot]

I hate domes in general. Football was meant to play outside. Teams that visited Dacotah Field were genuinely intimidated by the environment. The FD is a nice, but sterile building.

Bison players who moved from Dacotah Field into the FD were quoted as saying that it didn't feel like Bison Football in there.

We gave away our intimidating homefield advantage.

We threw away a hybrid of the veer offense that was capable of being a devastating passing offense. It was run/pass...or pass/run. It worked either way. It worked with North Dakota/Minnesota/Wisconsin/South Dakota athletes and a few others. It was totally unpredictable. Opponents that were serious about beating us had to spend weeks preparing...only to arrive and find that the veer had been tweaked just enough so that they didn't know what to do. Our physical dominance blew them out anyway...but the veer hybrid was very difficult to defend. We kept our defense off of the field.

With the FD we provided a neutral site for throwing teams, not having to worry about weather conditions. We had a tradition of destroying passing teams at Dacotah Field.

We allowed a city employee to ramrod the FD into existence, using the Bison as the reason to build it...when really...he wanted a convention center/multi-purpose room. The seating was not configured well to provide for the Bison faithful. It is a tunnel with seats. A dark tunnel with an irritating echo. An empty echo at times.

The home crowd has become a strange mixture of rabid fans and casual fans who happened to get tickets from their company, or a friend, or just thought it would be a nice, comfortable activity for a Saturday afternoon.

We gave up the smell and the feel of autumn. We gave up an on-campus stadium. We gave up far too much.

The Bison football program may emerge as a strong program again...but the FD does not allow for a real homefield advantage.

Worse...when we visit a stadium that has a hostile environment...or some weather elements...we realize that we have become a soft dome team...a team that has to overcome the elements rather than thrive in them. The elements are unfamiliar. The dome is not home.

We did it good. I live in California and don't get to home games. I watch the games on my computer. I can feel the emptiness of the FD, even when it's full of people. Some recruits come because it looks impressive. Others stay away because they prefer the outdoors. The tough kids. We ran into a ton of tough kids this past Saturday. They have a home that gives them the feeling of dominance. Our players felt it. I saw it on my computer.

The Walker era was special...because he was special...and that kind of 'special' is hard to find.

I agree and disagree.

We've been really good since moving indoors. The problem is the team will always be compared to the 8 national championship teams and that's one heck of a standard.

I wouldn't call the Fargodome atmosphere sterile. Maybe during the down years it was but when we're winning, the dome is electric. Hallstrom said the dome was louder than Iowa State. I think it's much more electric than Dacotah Field ever was and I saw a lot of games there. The difference is there were more "big games" played at Dacotah Field. Put those same games in the Fargodome and we're going to see one hell of an atmosphere... can't wait till Montana comes here! I think the Fargodome is one of the best home field advantages in the entire FCS. (and it's a recruiting tool, unlike Dacotah Field)

UND won a National Championship playing indoors with a crappier atmostphere than the dome. Northern Iowa plays in a dome and they have been pretty darn good. It's all about players and coaching.

The veer was originally designed for teams that didn't have the physical advantage. It relied on agile offensive lineman. Not the huge 300 pounders we have across the board.

But I do agree that it's easier to recruit QB's that run the veer and the QB is the most important player on the team. However, you need to build your team around your stadium. We play indoors on a fast surface so it makes sense to become a passing team.

I'd like to see us run a hybrid veer/spread offense that requires a running QB unless we can go out and find another guy like Walker on a regular basis. Northern Iowa doesn't seem to have a problem finding QB's who can pass.

[Mr. Burgundy]

We better figure out how to fix the Fargodome hex because we won't be moving outside for a long time.

I think selling the naming rights for the field is a good start, put the proceeds towards field turf. Then take the turf that has seen multiple losing seasons and ship it off to Siberia or Grand Forks.

We could give our old turf to SDSU. This weekend we noticed their softball complex had turf from UNI in their batting cages. Actually pretty funny. Not a big deal, but sort of funny taking scraps from a competitor.

[DLBison]

I am all for football being played outside but I do think that if Bison football were to move outside again the attendance would drop. Bison football does not have as many hard weather fans as a Penn State or an Ohio State. I barely remember the only game I attended at Dacotah field but I am not sure on attendance numbers there. I agree that we would have a heck of a homefield advantage if we could land some home playoff games in the future. But I really think the positives of the Dome outweigh the negatives. The hard core football fans including myself would attend those kinds of games. The fair weather fans, there are alot, would not be attending games like this and attendance would go down in my opinion.

[HerdBot]

I am all for football being played outside but I do think that if Bison football were to move outside again the attendance would drop. Bison football does not have as many hard weather fans as a Penn State or an Ohio State. I barely remember the only game I attended at Dacotah field but I am not sure on attendance numbers there. I agree that we would have a heck of a homefield advantage if we could land some home playoff games in the future. But I really think the positives of the Dome outweigh the negatives. The hard core football fans including myself would attend those kinds of games. The fair weather fans, there are alot, would not be attending games like this and attendance would go down in my opinion.

You can't compare a winter in Ohio and Pennsylvania to North Dakota anyway. Football was mean to be played outdoors. True. But the people who say that come from climates that consider 40 degrees to be cold, not 40 below.

[roadwarrior]

Nobody pushed NDSU into the dome either. The dome proposal was supported by NDSU and in fact if it were not for Bison fans voting YES YES YES YES, that sales tax would have never passed.

[bisonmike2]

I haven't read through this thread but the dome can provide a great homefield advantage, when we're good. When it's packed with 19K and it's a big game, it's loud in there and I truly believe it feeds the team with energy. Now when we suck like we do, there's no reason to cheer and the place is about as exciting as the local library. When we're good, it's great, when we're bad, it sucks. As for a curse, that's b.s.

[Bisonfan1]

I haven't read through this thread but the dome can provide a great homefield advantage, when we're good. When it's packed with 19K and it's a big game, it's loud in there and I truly believe it feeds the team with energy. Now when we suck like we do, there's no reason to cheer and the place is about as exciting as the local library. When we're good, it's great, when we're bad, it sucks. As for a curse, that's b.s.

Im bringing my book this Saturday, and if I finish said book, I will knit TransAmBison a scarf. Will the sound of my knitting needles going be considered artificial noise makers by the Missouri Valley Conferance ?? Will the dome nazi's make me leave ??

[bisonmike2]

Im bringing my book this Saturday, and if I finish said book, I will knit TransAmBison a scarf. Will the sound of my knitting needles going be considered artificial noise makers by the Missouri Valley Conferance ?? Will the dome nazi's make me leave ??

I'm going to need some baby clothes soon. Can you start a Bisonville knitting club and hammer out some outfits for me? Make the colors gender neutral since I don't know what we're having yet.:)

[HerdBot]

Im bringing my book this Saturday, and if I finish said book, I will knit TransAmBison a scarf. Will the sound of my knitting needles going be considered artificial noise makers by the Missouri Valley Conferance ?? Will the dome nazi's make me leave ??

They confiscated my yellow bison megaphone I brought to the the first conference game last year. They said it was an artifical noise maker. So I show up at the 2nd game and they are selling the same thing they confiscated!

[Bisonfan1]

Book And Knitting Needles Are Gone !!! New Starting Qb !!! Wild Thing Is Making A Comeback !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!