If we want to ever be a big time program.....

[JML105]

Well, it basically comes down to motive.

People who go to as many games as they can win or lose are likely doing it to support the school, the program, the coaches, and the kids. This is fun for them, it makes them happy, it’s all good.

People who only go to the games when the team is winning are doing it to provide entertainment for themselves. This is what’s fun for them, it’s what makes them happy, it’s all good.

Not calling anyone out. Everyone is free to spend their time and money in their own way. I’m just pointing out that there are likely two different motivations here.


It’s the same for people leaving to go home when we’re down 7 points with five minutes to go. The people who stay till the end do it to support the team, the people who leave do it so they can get home faster.

I will never understand this. Why go to the trouble and expense of going to a game only to leave before its over?

I will also never understand people in the stands that don't make some kind of noise when on defense, at very minimum on third down. I mean yell, whistle, clap, do something!

 

[Clarence Boddicker]

we’ll never be a big time program. We are at such a disadvantage with being in a small state with 2 SEC schools. We are a program that can go to bowl games every year and about every 4 years we can have a special season...and by special season I mean win 10 regular season games. That’s the way it’s always going to be. The sooner some of y’all realize that the easier life will be for you.

I accepted this a long time ago. But now it's time to start building anyways. Screw the disadvantages. We just have to work harder.

We could also work at growing the state population, make it be a place that our kids will want to come work/live. That, in the long run, will help MSU more than anything.

 

[Clarence Boddicker]

Well, it basically comes down to motive.

People who go to as many games as they can win or lose are likely doing it to support the school, the program, the coaches, and the kids. This is fun for them, it makes them happy, it’s all good.

People who only go to the games when the team is winning are doing it to provide entertainment for themselves. This is what’s fun for them, it’s what makes them happy, it’s all good.

Not calling anyone out. Everyone is free to spend their time and money in their own way. I’m just pointing out that there are likely two different motivations here.


It’s the same for people leaving to go home when we’re down 7 points with five minutes to go. The people who stay till the end do it to support the team, the people who leave do it so they can get home faster.

To be a big time program, we need a lot of people in group 2 to move into group 1. That's what gets it done. That's what Auburn and Clemson do. Yes, they have bigger populations to pull from, but that's life. Maybe we will one day.

It's time to change our line of thinking.

 

[JML105]

We could also work at growing the state population, make it be a place that our kids will want to come work/live. That, in the long run, will help MSU more than anything.

You know, I was thinking about this recently... Some people say that its just a game and why do football coaches get paid so much, but the economics of football go far beyond the goal posts. Its crazy how football is a major economic driver in the south. Take this coming weekend for instance. If we would have scored 8 more points last Saturday, this Saturday would be another huge weekend in Starkville. Sure there will still be crazy amounts of money spent this weekend, but my point is the more our team wins, the more people want to watch and be a part of it. This keeps restaurants and hotels in business, retailers sell more goods, real estate goes up, construction grows, potential students flock here which grows our university, education grows, more people come to the state for the jobs generated. I can go on and on. So yeah it's more than just football and we as individuals do effect whether or not our State's population grows and how successful the future is. The difference between Starkville today and 10 years ago is night and day, and that's due to Mississippi State winning more football games than we lost.

 

[Clarence Boddicker]

You know, I was thinking about this recently... Some people say that its just a game and why do football coaches get paid so much, but the economics of football go far beyond the goal posts. Its crazy how football is a major economic driver in the south. Take this coming weekend for instance. If we would have scored 8 more points last Saturday, this Saturday would be another huge weekend in Starkville. Sure there will still be crazy amounts of money spent this weekend, but my point is the more our team wins, the more people want to watch and be a part of it. This keeps restaurants and hotels in business, retailers sell more goods, real estate goes up, construction grows, potential students flock here which grows our university, education grows, more people come to the state for the jobs generated. I can go on and on. So yeah it's more than just football and we as individuals do effect whether or not our State's population grows and how successful the future is. The difference between Starkville today and 10 years ago is night and day, and that's due to Mississippi State winning more football games than we lost.

Agreed, and to deny this is just crazy.

I can't imagine what a football, basketball or baseball national title would do for the overall psyche of Mississippi people. In football....it could just be an SEC title. Just something real to hang our hats on. I've often structured it like this for football:

Tier 3 hardware: Big 6 bowl win, usually a 9-3 or 10-2 type season, think Ole Miss 2015, I'd say MSU 2014 but we just didn't finish it, this grabs you national attention for a year or 2
Tier 2 hardware: SEC title, this puts you in the limelight for 3-5 years
Tier 1 hardware: National title - you are considered a legit program for over 5 years and most likely a decade

People don't forget trophies. And there's just no ceiling on what 'hope' can do for a community/region/state. That's what sports can do.

 

[Bulldogg31]

.