Judy talks about her "Fantasy"...........comment!!!

Charlotte 49er Football 🏈
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Alot has been made of Judy’s “fantasy dollars” comment from the piece WCNC6 did on the CFI and the Charlotte football movement. Those comments seem to create quite the furor here and has also created the “Fantasy” craze that is sweeping NinerNation currently.

Below is the email I sent to Judy about the topic and then her response.

My Email:

[QUOTE]I appreciate you taking the time to interview with WCNC for the piece on the movement to bring football to Charlotte. Unfortunately, 60 minutes of tape was edited to 2 minutes and all people heard you say was we can’t build a football team on “Fantasy Dollars”. I have included a link in case you missed the final product:

http://www.wcnc.com/news/topstories/stories/wcnc-102006-uncc_football.59c4c0ce.html

While your absolutely correct that we can’t start a team with “fantasy dollars”, what we have been trying to do is simply what the University has been unwilling to do, gauge the interest and see if it is something worth the University pursuing. Your comment has been viewed by many as a slap in the face to the hard work many are putting into this endeavor and seen as just another example to some that we will never have football as long as you are the Athletics Director. I don’t necessarily share this view and I realize that what you said could have very easily been taken out of context so I wanted to give you an opportunity to clarify what you meant and let people exactly how you feel about the movement for football. Now I realize that your public stance on football cannot differ from the administration’s stance, so I certainly don’t expect a total endorsement, but I don’t she how it could be out of line to say that for football to become a reality at Charlotte there will have to be a large groundswell of support for it from the Alumni, the students and the community as a whole.

I wanted to give you the opportunity to clarify what you meant and hopefully end the rampant “speculation” about what you meant.

Thanks for your time,

Jim[/QUOTE]

Her response:

[QUOTE]Dear Jim,

Thank you for your note and I appreciate you noticing the context in which our comments were recorded. I would like you to know that I, in no way, was trying to belittle your efforts or those of anyone that has a genuine interest in bringing football to UNC Charlotte. The term “fantasy dollars” was meant only to distinguish that pledges, until money is the bank, are just that – pledges. I know that we have no mechanism in place for you and other supporters to donate money for football, simply because we haven’t charted when football will become a reality. Unfortunately, we have been burned in the past by well-intentioned supporters and thus I am more reluctant than some when it comes to these efforts. I shared some thoughts today with leaders of the SGA and took on the football issue right out of the gate. I told them of a “pledge” we received about four years ago for one million dollars. This was money that was to be used for our new practice facility, and helped push us over the top to where we could actually make that facility a reality. Unfortunately, to date, we have never seen the first penny of that money. If the University had not helped us out we would be digging out from under a one million dollar deficit that would still be affecting our ability to compete years later. The same issue happened on a smaller scale when we built the Belk Track and Field.

That being said, I am sure that those who have pledged have every intention of fulfilling those pledges, but an initial steady diet of Division II or non-scholarship Division I-AA programs may wear thin on these supporters as they reach in their wallets year after year during our fledgling start. The athletic department is not scared of football, and recognizes the sizeable positives that would come from such a program. That being said, we cannot jeopardize the financial underpinnings of the institution, nor damage the significant political gains that have built over the past several years. UNC Charlotte is making steady progress under the leadership of Chancellor Dubois, and we will follow his lead on this issue. The remarkable growth in students and facilities did not come about without considerable planning and thought. The same productive process will be exercised in the discussion regarding football.

I wish you well in your efforts.

Judy Rose[/QUOTE]

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2nd paragraph makes it sound like they have absolutely no intention whatsoever of pursuing football, regardless of what the student body/alumni do. Same old rhetoric “Div I-AA isn’t good enough for us, etc.”.

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Good job, Jim. Thanks for posting that.

And, good job, Judy. I did not know Charlotte had been burned on such a large scale in the past with large, lump sum donations.

*I like how Judy said, “[B]when[/B] football will become a reality.” Hopefully, the athletics department believes it is only a matter or time as well.

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2nd paragraph makes it sound like they have absolutely no intention whatsoever of pursuing football, regardless of what the student body/alumni do. Same old rhetoric "Div I-AA isn't good enough for us, etc.".

I think she’s basically saying, “we are gong to follow the leader on this one…” specifically Dr. Phil Dubois.

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It might have been flippant, but she could have posted a one line response:

[QUOTE]UNC Charlotte is making steady progress under the leadership of Chancellor Dubois, [B][U]and we will follow his lead on this issue[/U][/B].[/QUOTE]

Gotta get Dubois on board. Failing that, gotta get the BOT involved. Otherwise, “No soup for joo”.

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I wonder if that was a fantasy computer she was using to send you a fantasy response?

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Thank you Jim! Judy is a reasonable person and I’m glad I’m not the only one that realized her comment was somewhat out of context or at least not meant as a slap in the face. I have gotten bored and frustrated with the insesent (I’m an engineer: I know big words but I can’t spell them) refrence to “fantasy dollars”. Though cute the first few times, come on guys. She is still stoich and carefully choosing her words, but I see a glimmer of hope there.

The athletic department is not scared of football, and recognizes the sizeable positives that would come from such a program.
So thank you Jim and let's continue the push for a team and quit this Fantasy Dollar stuff.

:49ers:

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are there political bridges that football would burn?

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are there political bridges that football would burn?

communism? ties to nazi germany? it would probably hurt our friendship with osama bin laden as well…

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The athletic department is not scared of football, and recognizes the sizeable positives that would come from such a program.

:thumbsup: I like this comment…so far so good…

That being said, we cannot jeopardize the financial underpinnings of the institution, nor damage the significant political gains that have built over the past several years.

:huh: Huh? Underpinning? Are we pouring concrete? Damage the significant political gains? Maybe she’ll explain herself…

UNC Charlotte is making steady progress under the leadership of Chancellor Dubois, and we will follow his lead on this issue.

:unsure: Translation: Blame the Chancellor.

The remarkable growth in students and facilities did not come about without considerable planning and thought. The same productive process will be exercised in the discussion regarding football.

[SIZE=7][COLOR=darkgreen]WHEN?[/COLOR][/SIZE]

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Thanks Jim and Judy…

Now can everyone quit with “fantasy” stuff!

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communism? ties to nazi germany? it would probably hurt our friendship with osama bin laden as well..

Hehe, I couldn’t help laughing at that.

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[QUOTE=ChevEE;195549]Thank you Jim! Judy is a reasonable person and I’m glad I’m not the only one that realized her comment was somewhat out of context or at least not meant as a slap in the face. I have gotten bored and frustrated with the insesent (I’m an engineer: I know big words but I can’t spell them) refrence to “fantasy dollars”. Though cute the first few times, come on guys. She is still stoich and carefully choosing her words, but I see a glimmer of hope there.

So thank you Jim and let’s continue the push for a team and quit this Fantasy Dollar stuff.

:49ers:[/QUOTE]

Cmon, you know this board wouldn’t be fun without reading all the hilarious posts people make sometimes. Face it we like beating the dead horse. When we get on a thread, we don’t want to stop (I.E.-Goldusters thread). Btw, you can’t help at laugh at the pics of the money (there’s a lot of people on this board that like photoshop too much :lmao:)

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[QUOTE=NinerAdvocate;195546]It might have been flippant, but she could have posted a one line response:

Gotta get Dubois on board. Failing that, gotta get the BOT involved. Otherwise, “No soup for joo”.[/QUOTE]

I read that email and thought the exact same thing.

I think they should at least start a “football fund” and begin turning these “pledges” into real money. They could do that and make it clear that there is no timeline for startup… football will begin whenever they hit the football fund hits the preset amount. It might take 5 years, it might take 10 years, but that would be the first step. I think if they did that and actively started a fundraising campaign, they might be surprised how much support it got. I could see the alumni and the local community getting excited about it. The only downside I can see is that some people might not donate as much to the 49er club and put all of their donations toeards the football fund. Maybe they could include some kind of clause that would allow them to dip into the football fund to make sure 49er club donations increase by at least X% from the previous year.

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I’m all for the football fund so we don’t have fantasy dollars.
I’m also for publishing the name of the person that stiffed us to teach that a55hole a lesson.
That being said, I still feel Judy can do more. I made a pledge to be nice to Judy, so that’s all I’ll say.

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I read that email and thought the exact same thing.

I think they should at least start a “football fund” and begin turning these “pledges” into real money. They could do that and make it clear that there is no timeline for startup… football will begin whenever they hit the football fund hits the preset amount. It might take 5 years, it might take 10 years, but that would be the first step. I think if they did that and actively started a fundraising campaign, they might be surprised how much support it got. I could see the alumni and the local community getting excited about it. The only downside I can see is that some people might not donate as much to the 49er club and put all of their donations toeards the football fund. Maybe they could include some kind of clause that would allow them to dip into the football fund to make sure 49er club donations increase by at least X% from the previous year.

It’s a good thought, but a tough sell.

If you approached someone and said, “Would you donate money towards football?” They might say “Sure!” and mean it.

If you followed up by saying, “Then hand over money towards a football fund, since the school has no intention of starting a football program at the moment!”, then the reaction will probably be, “I think I’ll keep my money in my bank account or donate to Clemson or something, but thanks.” The University knows this. Do you think there was a light rail account somewhere to gather “real” money?

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i would rather invest my own money, then decide to give, than give it to the school for a potential football team in 10 years.

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i would rather invest my own money, then decide to give, than give it to the school for a potential football team in 10 years.

I think the ‘bankers’ on the board would agree with you.

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[QUOTE=survivor45;195580]It’s a good thought, but a tough sell.

If you approached someone and said, “Would you donate money towards football?” They might say “Sure!” and mean it.

If you followed up by saying, “Then hand over money towards a football fund, since the school has no intention of starting a football program at the moment!”, then the reaction will probably be, “I think I’ll keep my money in my bank account or donate to Clemson or something, but thanks.”[/QUOTE]

Well, you don’t sell it by saying “the university has no intention of starting football at the moment.” Obviously the intent of the fund is to start a football program… and it will begin as soon as the goal is reached. You sell it by getting people excited and making them realize the more donations they receive, the quicker the football program gets off the ground.

Seems like a decent plan of attack to me. It would be a huge step in the right direction without making any risky commitments.

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“Unfortunately, we have been burned in the past by well-intentioned supporters and thus I am more reluctant than some when it comes to these efforts.”

“I told them of a “pledge” we received about four years ago for one million dollars. This was money that was to be used for our new practice facility, and helped push us over the top to where we could actually make that facility a reality. Unfortunately, to date, we have never seen the first penny of that money.”

Jimmy, unfortunately I believe this pledge was made from within our industry.