Tigers Billboard Draws Jeers From Terps Fans

In 2010, while the Maryland Terrapins football team made its way to the Military Bowl under departing coach Ralph Friedgen, wrapped up a dismal 1-10 season at Johnny Unitas Stadium.

This year, Maryland went 2-10, while Towson finished its season 9-3, claimed the Colonial Athletic Association championship and made it to the of the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs before losing a thriller to Lehigh on Dec. 3.

(Incidentally, Maryland's second and final win of the season came at home against Towson, 28-3, in a game much more competitive than the score would indicate.)

Towson still finds plenty to celebrate, and that includes a billboard that ran last month featuring players and coach Rob Ambrose with their CAA trophy and touting Towson as "Maryland's Championship Football Team," a designation that bothers some commenters at Baltimore Sports Report.

(Clarification: Towson athletic director Mike Waddell notes via Twitter the electronic billboard ran for just a week following Towson's championship-clinching win at Rhode Island. It only this week became a topic of online debate.)

"It’s cute that Towson won a championship in their fun little conference," one commenter wrote. "What was that? The CAA? Are you sure that’s not Canadian or something? Any way, I’m happy for them and I bet their moms are real proud."

Others felt, underneath their sarcasm, that Maryland earned all the disdain the team received this year.

"Did all the Terp’s [sic] get participation trophies after their season this year?" a commenter wrote. "Was there a pizza party? At least they tried right? That’s all that matters."

Another commenter noted that the argument over which team is better is irrelevant, and that Towson is rightly trying to position itself for next year.

"It’s a stupid billboard people, and while I was tempted to join in due to my affinity for Maryland and shrugging ambivalence towards Towson, it isn’t worth the vitriol," the commenter wrote. "This is not a real rivalry, and it’s apples and oranges. They don’t play in the same conference, and don’t even play at the same level of football."

Meanwhile, CAAZone posters hailed the step to show off Towson's success.

Since there are plenty of Maryland and Towson graduates around here, we'll throw this to you: Which team do you root harder for? What do you expect from next year's Terps and Tigers?