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#1 2017-09-20 17:43:32 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

AndreWhere (1252)
Member
From: Decatur, GA
Registered: 2017-08-24
Posts: 8,746

"Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

Saw this question scribbled on the wall at a nearby prison.

Short answer? USM did grow its fan base during those years.

It didn't grow it very fast, because USM never did anything that made a big statement during those years. They beat some really shitty teams from schools that are usually powerhouses. They beat a ranked TCU team who hadn't played anyone and was an underdog according to Vegas. They expanded their stadium... by 3,000 seats. They fired Bower... after a long string of depressing football. They beat UH in 2011, and then disappeared for 3 years.

From 1996 to 2011, USM never exceeded expectations in any way for any period of time, and it caught up with them.


Bring back Reed V. "Pie" TurkPalmer Eustachy.

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#2 2017-09-20 19:24:36 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

stinkfist (764)
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Registered: 2017-08-29
Posts: 3,533

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

from the pokey....

http://csnbbs.com/thread-827574-post-14 … id14601056

in no specific order, I'll offer the following in bullet format....

- a 30% increase in D1 teams since the early 80s has diluted our ability to recruit

- realignment changed how our current conference competition is perceived coupled with the bitter taste as we remained stuck in the sand

- centralized tailgating was eliminated by two buildings that could've been built elsewhere.....accessible parking has become increasingly more difficult over time....why they don't raze the physical plant warehouse bldgs and adjacent parking lot and turn that into a prime time 'green' tailgate venue is beyond me....they can always go vertical with student parking....

- inability to keep up with increasing our budget relative to other schools

- tv saturation

- lack of local support from 16 yrs of Johnny Dupree and corp.

- international students that don't care diddly and the newest thumbtapping generation that pretty much doesn't care about athletics in general....

there are others, but I'm tired of repeating myself and typing....


95368035975122i7o8%5B1%5D.jpg493758851198d75b9e7118c23f42f2ad02c1efee979.gif

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#3 2017-09-21 07:42:05 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

Eaglebird Humperdink (142)
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Registered: 2017-09-11
Posts: 525

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

stinkfist wrote:

- a 30% increase in D1 teams since the early 80s has diluted our ability to recruit

Not just the increase in teams, but the WAY recruiting changed with technology / internet. Before, USM was able to cherry-pick a few hidden gems each year. Good recruits could fly under the radar. A program with good tentacles into Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida could land several annually.

This is probably my biggest beef with the Jeff Bower regime. While the information age was happening, USM was content to keep chugging along with a formula that had worked for 17 years. I think this is the biggest reason Larry Fedora was able to come in and immediately make sparks fly.

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#4 2017-09-21 08:26:31 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

skyvoyager (177)
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Registered: 2017-09-13
Posts: 396

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

Eaglebird Humperdink wrote:
stinkfist wrote:

- a 30% increase in D1 teams since the early 80s has diluted our ability to recruit

Not just the increase in teams, but the WAY recruiting changed with technology / internet. Before, USM was able to cherry-pick a few hidden gems each year. Good recruits could fly under the radar. A program with good tentacles into Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida could land several annually.

This is probably my biggest beef with the Jeff Bower regime. While the information age was happening, USM was content to keep chugging along with a formula that had worked for 17 years. I think this is the biggest reason Larry Fedora was able to come in and immediately make sparks fly.

butt hurt bower fans meltdown in 3...2...1....


Everyone has the right to be stupid... It's just that some people abuse the privilege.

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#5 2017-09-21 08:28:24 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

stinkfist (764)
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Registered: 2017-08-29
Posts: 3,533

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

Eaglebird Humperdink wrote:
stinkfist wrote:

- a 30% increase in D1 teams since the early 80s has diluted our ability to recruit

Not just the increase in teams, but the WAY recruiting changed with technology / internet. Before, USM was able to cherry-pick a few hidden gems each year. Good recruits could fly under the radar. A program with good tentacles into Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida could land several annually.

This is probably my biggest beef with the Jeff Bower regime. While the information age was happening, USM was content to keep chugging along with a formula that had worked for 17 years. I think this is the biggest reason Larry Fedora was able to come in and immediately make sparks fly.

completely agree....

if there is one thing we've excelled at......it's sitting on our ass in the 'status quo arena'

me and little buddy have a simple sayin' after hitting it out of bounds......"can't get it back"


95368035975122i7o8%5B1%5D.jpg493758851198d75b9e7118c23f42f2ad02c1efee979.gif

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#6 2017-09-21 11:37:00 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

CajunEagle (44)
Member
Registered: 2017-08-25
Posts: 100

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

I truly believe that these message boards, during their inception, hurt USM and set any progress on a neutral basis.  The big fish in the little ponds were identified and hated it.  Athletic Administration always said they paid little attention to what was said on them.....but you know they did.  It was like a revolution that they couldn't figure out how to control, and tons of negativism won out over all.

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#7 2017-09-21 11:48:17 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

tg300 (439)
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Registered: 2017-08-25
Posts: 1,143

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

CajunEagle wrote:

I truly believe that these message boards, during their inception, hurt USM and set any progress on a neutral basis.  The big fish in the little ponds were identified and hated it.  Athletic Administration always said they paid little attention to what was said on them.....but you know they did.  It was like a revolution that they couldn't figure out how to control, and tons of negativism won out over all.

So the truth about their incompetence and allegiance to a small group of supporters being made public is the reason?

Perhaps it was just the fact they were incompetent and alienated the common fan while chasing the small group around wearing knee pads.

Just a thought.

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#8 2017-09-21 11:51:59 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

Eaglebird Humperdink (142)
Member
Registered: 2017-09-11
Posts: 525

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

CajunEagle wrote:

I truly believe that these message boards, during their inception, hurt USM and set any progress on a neutral basis.  The big fish in the little ponds were identified and hated it.  Athletic Administration always said they paid little attention to what was said on them.....but you know they did.  It was like a revolution that they couldn't figure out how to control, and tons of negativism won out over all.

Interesting.  So you're saying administrators, overcome by the negativity on internet message boards, went out and hired this asshole to fuck up our university football program once and for all:
Ellis%20Johnson%203.jpg
You may be onto something. Incidentally, how does your theory explain the fact that 129 other football programs also have fans posting negatively on message boards?

Last edited by Eaglebird Humperdink (2017-09-21 11:52:14)

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#9 2017-09-21 12:45:17 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

CajunEagle (44)
Member
Registered: 2017-08-25
Posts: 100

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

Eaglebird Humperdink wrote:
CajunEagle wrote:

I truly believe that these message boards, during their inception, hurt USM and set any progress on a neutral basis.  The big fish in the little ponds were identified and hated it.  Athletic Administration always said they paid little attention to what was said on them.....but you know they did.  It was like a revolution that they couldn't figure out how to control, and tons of negativism won out over all.

Interesting.  So you're saying administrators, overcome by the negativity on internet message boards, went out and hired this asshole to fuck up our university football program once and for all:
http://news.usm.edu/sites/default/files … on%203.jpg
You may be onto something. Incidentally, how does your theory explain the fact that 129 other football programs also have fans posting negatively on message boards?



  Nope.  I'm saying "during the inception".......the beginning of "Eagle Talk" and whatever boards evolved afterward.  "They" didn't want to hear what the common fan base was saying about the programs, and didn't know how to respond.  Who knows ?  By the time Johnson was hired, message boards were a fact of college sports, and were a good factor in getting him fired.

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#10 2017-09-21 16:29:54 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

AndreWhere (1252)
Member
From: Decatur, GA
Registered: 2017-08-24
Posts: 8,746

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

Not all message boards are created equal. Our boards have always been pessimistic, unmoderated, and closer to the actual program than most.

I honestly had never considered the possibility that message boards had anything to do with our long, slow decline. But I'll say this: if there were a message board about my job performance, I'd read it. Who wouldn't?

I do get tired of the pessimism. Few things in life are truly inevitable. There are things people could have done to improve USM athletics. There are still things that can be done. I'm not going to pump sunshine, but we're not completely out of ammunition yet.


Bring back Reed V. "Pie" TurkPalmer Eustachy.

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#11 2017-09-21 16:46:40 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

USMstang (303)
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From: 7 miles North of Cat Island
Registered: 2017-08-25
Posts: 1,048

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

Mighty damn close tho...simply because so many that gave $$$ are gone and say they're not coming back


Still sleeping with a Dixie Darling!

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#12 2017-09-21 17:01:05 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

99beers (303)
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From: Uranus
Registered: 2017-08-25
Posts: 1,365

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

A lot left during bower tenure and never returned.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Georgia Tech SwagFag can eat zombie feces...loser. #PoundSand

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#13 2017-09-21 17:01:12 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

AndreWhere (1252)
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From: Decatur, GA
Registered: 2017-08-24
Posts: 8,746

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

I said we weren't quite out of ammunition yet, so I'll give an example. There was a survey done maybe 3 years ago that determined the most popular college football team in every ZIP code in the nation (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/201 … l-map.html). We were one of maybe a half-dozen G5 teams that actually showed up: Boise State, UCF, SDSU, and a couple others out West. We're actually the most popular team in our own city, and it's a relatively large city for a college town, and it's in the heart of SEC country.

We are an outlier in this respect. Memphis isn't the most popular football team in any part of Memphis. Tennessee and Ole Miss are. ULL isn't the most popular football team in not one ZIP code in the country. UNC is the most popular football team in all of Greenville, NC. Ohio State is the most popular football team in all of Cincinnati. USF isn't even in the top 3 anywhere in Tampa.

People who say we'd never bring 35,000 fans to a bowl- even a Sugar Bowl- need to realize that there is in fact an untapped reserve of fan support that we have somehow managed to hold onto. They don't show up for Frozen Pizza Bowls, or over-touted C-USA matchups, but they exist. They set a high bar for what'll get them to participate.

This is why I often suggest targeted fundraising campaigns. Don't just shout out "rah, rah, to the top Eagles, we're bowl bound" and expect people to open their checkbooks or buy tickets. They don't give a shit about that foolishness. But they do care in a general sense, and I feel like, if USM would set specific fundraising goals with well-defined and obviously necessary goals (e.g. fixing up Reed Green), people would respond. Be open about the campaign's progress, and cast a wide net in asking people to join in.

I just don't understand why this doesn't happen. What's the downside? What's our actual fundraising strategy- pestering the same big donors over and over again until they're completely turned off? I just don't get it.


Bring back Reed V. "Pie" TurkPalmer Eustachy.

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#14 2017-09-21 17:03:33 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

AndreWhere (1252)
Member
From: Decatur, GA
Registered: 2017-08-24
Posts: 8,746

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

99beers wrote:

A lot left during bower tenure and never returned.

You basically just described me. Cancelled my season tickets and Eagle Club membership after 2004. Eventually I started going to a few football / baseball games each year again, but my support level isn't where it was. At a certain point, there, people started looking at you like some kind of wingnut if you talked about USM sports, and I started to see their rationale.

Last edited by AndreWhere (2017-09-21 17:03:52)


Bring back Reed V. "Pie" TurkPalmer Eustachy.

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#15 2017-09-21 17:11:14 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

USMstang (303)
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From: 7 miles North of Cat Island
Registered: 2017-08-25
Posts: 1,048

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

It doesn't happen now Andre for the same reason it's never happened...lack of true leadership.  They never had any vision and likely still don't.  JG may turn out the be the man one day but if his first few months are any indication, he's learning on the job and that's not what excites folks.  Meaning he came into the job fucking clueless and is trying to learn.  I'll give him credit for trying but he has no idea what to do because he had no idea what he applied for.  I've never applied for a damn job without having a plan of action for how to make a difference in the position.  Yet we keep hiring fuckers who have no clue...hired by fuckers with no clue.

Last edited by USMstang (2017-09-21 17:12:06)


Still sleeping with a Dixie Darling!

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#16 2017-09-21 17:13:52 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

USMstang (303)
Member
From: 7 miles North of Cat Island
Registered: 2017-08-25
Posts: 1,048

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

99beers wrote:

A lot left during bower tenure and never returned.

And then after the Hawaii/Martha/EJ/Hammond debacles many, many more departed.  And many of them had previously quit on JB but came back for the excitement generated by Fedora.


Still sleeping with a Dixie Darling!

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#17 2017-09-21 17:16:50 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

AndreWhere (1252)
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From: Decatur, GA
Registered: 2017-08-24
Posts: 8,746

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

USMstang wrote:

It doesn't happen now Andre for the same reason it's never happened...lack of true leadership.  They never had any vision and likely still don't.  JG may turn out the be the man one day but if his first few months are any indication, he's learning on the job and that's not what excited folks.  Meaning he came into the job fucking clueless and is trying to learn.  I'll give him that but he has no idea what to do because he had no idea what he applied for.  I've never applied for a damn job without having a plan of action for how to make a difference in the position.  Yet we keep hiring fuckers who have no clue...hired by fuckers with no clue.

We had some excellent ADs before Giannini. That was a long time ago.

I have almost no confidence in Gilbert. I don't know why we didn't keep McGillis... maybe Bennett expected him to just shit out a new basketball arena? I thought he was better than Gilbert. Some of the shit Gilbert has said / written is pretty unhinged.

Also, I am completely unconvinced that he's able to provide valid attendance figures ("we sat down and figured it out"... who, exactly, did that?), and I doubt he's really concerned about that or willing to reach out to anyone who could help. He's said next to nothing about renovating The Yurt.

There is a story behind letting McGillis get away, and it has not, to my knowledge, been told on this board or the correctional board.


Bring back Reed V. "Pie" TurkPalmer Eustachy.

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#18 2017-09-21 17:21:19 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

USMstang (303)
Member
From: 7 miles North of Cat Island
Registered: 2017-08-25
Posts: 1,048

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

Sheeyut, name a good AD...and don't tell me one of those sorry MFers that was here during the Collier days that had no vision or imagination.  That's when we let Fla State, Cincy, Va Tech, Louisville, South Carolina, etc escape or plot an escape without us. 

McGillis was fired dude or quit before he could be fired.  And is quiet and as quick as it was, I bet it's an interesting little back-story.


Still sleeping with a Dixie Darling!

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#19 2017-09-21 17:25:21 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

AndreWhere (1252)
Member
From: Decatur, GA
Registered: 2017-08-24
Posts: 8,746

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

USMstang wrote:

Sheeyut, name a good AD...and don't tell me one of those sorry MFers that was here during the Collier days that had no vision or imagination.  That's when we let Fla State, Cincy, Va Tech, Louisville, South Carolina, etc escape or plot an escape without us.

Bill McClelland was a good AD. He got us into the Metro conference. I remember my dad being really surprised by that. He was not able to turn the Metro into a football conference, although he got damned close. So he wasn't  great AD.

C-USA was the next best thing to football Metro, and we damned near didn't even get into C-USA. Howard Schicklegruber claimed he quit Louisville over C-USA.


Bring back Reed V. "Pie" TurkPalmer Eustachy.

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#20 2017-09-21 17:25:28 - "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

southern miss slacker (304)
Member
Registered: 2017-08-28
Posts: 1,455

Re: "Why wasn't USM able to grow it's fanbase from '96-'11???"

USMstang wrote:

Sheeyut, name a good AD...and don't tell me one of those sorry MFers that was here during the Collier days that had no vision or imagination.  That's when we let Fla State, Cincy, Va Tech, Louisville, South Carolina, etc escape or plot an escape without us. 

McGillis was fired dude or quit before he could be fired.  And is quiet and as quick as it was, I bet it's an interesting little back-story.

G, martha, vogel, and 3 others all jumped ship at the same time. how is it possible you and others have never heard why?

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