SigEagle, we disagree, but thanks for posting some things that are probably a pretty accurate reflection of how our fans and administration think. I don't get it, but you explained it very well.
SigEagle88 wrote:(1) Not another home game (whether in person or on TV) until a whole lot of issues get addressed.
- Disagree. It is what it is with us, and the folks that have been showing up for 30+ years (like myself) deserve to see the Eagles at home.
Sure, you personally deserve it, but how many of "you" are there? The majority of our fans are lukewarm at best.
SigEagle88 wrote:(2) Get out of C-USA.
- Disagree. Going independent would greatly diminish us. We need conference affiliation and the possibility of bowl games. We're poor, trying to stand alone would make us more so.
Who even goes to bowl games? I've been to 5 of them, and the only ones that were even remotely well-attended were the ones in states adjacent to Mississippi. And if bowls meant anything, we'd be in better position. We've been to over 20, if memory serves, and that's probably more than most P5 teams.
C-USA is draining the life out of us. Mark my words, we will lose to C-USA teams this season that could never have kept it close against Kentucky. Just thinking about them destroys one's motivation.
SigEagle88 wrote:(2) Get out of C-USA.
(3) Increase student fees.
- Disagree. Tuition is strangling a lot of families already, and enrollment isn't large enough to even make a dent in infrastructure issues.
$100 extra per semester would yield $3,000,000+ per year. A 15% budget increase. That would go a long way. As for "strangling families," if you can't afford the equivalent of a couple tanks of gas each semester, I'd suggest tuition didn't need to be your priority anyway. That's flying too close to the sun financially for everybody in the house not to be in the labor force full time. Sounds mean, but we need plumbers, electricians, etc., not just college kids, and it wouldn't kill us for a few of them to be American.
SigEagle88 wrote:(4) Finish the stadium expansion.
- Disagree. Crowd size is decreasing, but stadium seating is increasing makes no sense to me. Fill it up consistently, then grow it.
I don't think we'll fill it up consistently until were already spending a lot more and out of C-USA. You can't sit around and wait for that to happen. You've got to take steps to make it happen.
Besides that, this "build it so small it's always full" mentality is a relatively new concept, and it's a stupid one. You ought to build the maximum number of seats you can ever imagine needing. This notion that 15,000 people "look better" in a 15,000-seat stadium than 30,000 people "look" in a 60,000-seat stadium is just asinine. Shouldn't survive a moment's consideration. 15,000 people in a 15,000-seat stadium just looks like a tiny crowd in a tiny stadium. Doesn't "look good" at all. Who are you trying to fool, the family dog FFS?
SigEagle88 wrote:(5) Announce attendance correctly.
- Meh....don't care either way. Everybody knows that attendance is pitiful.
Well, the new way sure has inspired a lot of angst. Not sure what the payoff is.
SigEagle88 wrote:(6) Play more SWAC schools at home.
- Disagree. If increasing the number of Southern Miss fans in attendance is the goal, bringing in the next SWAC school won't get it done.
The goal for me is getting more butts into seats. They can be fans of the Presbyterian Blue Hose or the Richmond Spiders for all care. They all bring money, and they all count. Besides, those SWAC games are a lot more fun than grinding it out against Texas State or UAB in a half-empty stadium.
SigEagle88 wrote:(7) Fix Reed Green Coliseum.
- Don't really disagree, but we're poor.
Can't do #7 without doing #1-6. But you shitted on all of those, so I guess your analysis of #7 makes sense for you.
We have a relatively small budget at this point in time. To say "we're poor," like its some inherent aspect of our character, is wrong.
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Honestly, I don't mean to be unkind, but your whole post just seems kind of downtrodden. Like, "this is how it is, and it'll only get worse, so don't try anything different that might take me out of my comfort zone." That kind of attitude is pretty prevalent in South Mississippi / South Louisiana. People laughed at Ben Carson when he said that "poverty is a state of mind," but I kind of agree with him. There's nothing inherently shitty about your part of the world except that y'all let it be!