Blackistone actually writes a good article

by **SMUstang** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 4:03 pm

You guys are paranoid about the death penalty. Blackstone didn't say one word about the death penalty. What he said was that SMU fans were apathetic. And he is right on.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... c5f8d.html

by **mr. pony** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 5:13 pm

[quote="KnuckleStang"]I think if you consider the # of major infractions in the database...yes, we are indeed the worst cheaters of all time. STILL.[/quote]

Not buying it. But if it gives you guys something to feel good about, crow it from the rooftops. Should really help recruiting.

by **mr. pony** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 5:23 pm

[quote="Pony_Fan"]:arrow:
Isn't it curious there is not one SMU letter to the editor in Today's Sunday paper? :?:

[/quote]

I hope that doesn't mean no one wrote.

by **Deep Purple** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 1:36 am

Billy Joe wrote:They can even implement 'athlete friendly' majors that TCU, Tulsa, La. Tech, Texas, and Texas A&M have that allow them to attract a broader base of recruits to their schools.

I wonder what "athlete-friendly" majors TCU offers? The #1 major among TCU football players is business.

2005 Football Graduation Rates

TCU: 86%
SMU: 82%

by **LA_Mustang** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:30 am

Blackistone often writes thought provoking articles. I dont understand the constant belittlement of his stories. He's black, and he writes from that viewpoint....deal with it. It's much better than reading a generic piece from Cowlishaw or Galloway about blah, blah, blah. As any educated person should, I enjoy hearing things from a different point of view.....and more times than not, he's dead on.

by **mr. pony** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:29 am

LA,

So, what black viewpoint would cause his hatchet job on SMU on Saturday?

by **EastStang** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:19 am

There were some uncalled for comments in Blackistone's column that were gratuitous slaps. However, calling us out on lack of fan support was right on and it will be the biggest challenge for the new AD. How do you reinvigorate fan support and student support? First, do they still have athletic dorms or do the freshmen football players get to live in regular dormatories? If not, try changing that model. You'd be surprised what that will do for student attendance. If so, then forget that issue. Secondly, think about what can be done to make the students and athletes more cohesive. What can be done to assimilate SMU athletes into the student body? Bennett, the new AD and Turner should think about this. If you get to know the players, then you'll go out to cheer them on because they're FRIENDS OF YOURS. As for fan support, we need to first reach out to the 50,000 alums in the DFW area and see why they don't go to games, and what can be done to get them to games. Third, the alumni office and the Mustang Club need to see what they can do to stir up interest in away games. We have alums all over the country. I tried last year to get a group together to go to the Marshall game with the DC alumni group and any organization was too little, too late. We have a game with ECU coming up this fall. It would be a fun road trip for DC area alums. If we could have a golf outing, football and a bus, I think there might be some takers.

by **SMUstang** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:19 am

Mr. Pony, there was no black viewpoint. I say again, Blackstone's point was that SMU fans are the most apathetic group in all of college sports. He is right about that and we need to deal with it and fix it if we can. Others on this board have proposed bringing back Mustang Mania. That is a positive response that deserves consideration. Sometimes it takes someone with a different point of view to make us see our own weaknesses. I think Blackstone was serving that purpose with his article, and if we are smart we will take it as constructive criticism and do something about it. Not complain that he was doing a hatchet job on us.

by **SMUstang** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:20 am

Mr. Pony, there was no black viewpoint. I say again, Blackstone's point was that SMU fans are the most apathetic group in all of college sports. He is right about that and we need to deal with it and fix it if we can. Others on this board have proposed bringing back Mustang Mania. That is a positive response that deserves consideration. Sometimes it takes someone with a different point of view to make us see our own weaknesses. I think Blackstone was serving that purpose with his article, and if we are smart we will take it as constructive criticism and do something about it. Not complain that he was doing a hatchet job on us.

by **EastStang** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:20 am

There were some uncalled for comments in Blackistone's column that were gratuitous slaps. However, calling us out on lack of fan support was right on and it will be the biggest challenge for the new AD. How do you reinvigorate fan support and student support? First, do they still have athletic dorms or do the freshmen football players get to live in regular dormatories? If not, try changing that model. You'd be surprised what that will do for student attendance. If so, then forget that issue. Secondly, think about what can be done to make the students and athletes more cohesive. What can be done to assimilate SMU athletes into the student body? Bennett, the new AD and Turner should think about this. If you get to know the players, then you'll go out to cheer them on because they're FRIENDS OF YOURS. As for fan support, we need to first reach out to the 50,000 alums in the DFW area and see why they don't go to games, and what can be done to get them to games. Third, the alumni office and the Mustang Club need to see what they can do to stir up interest in away games. We have alums all over the country. I tried last year to get a group together to go to the Marshall game with the DC alumni group and any organization was too little, too late. We have a game with ECU coming up this fall. It would be a fun road trip for DC area alums. If we could have a golf outing, football and a bus, I think there might be some takers.

by **Hoop Fan** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:06 am

I have nothing against Blackistone and race didn't enter into the article at all I don't think. I just think he slapped us hard, somewhat gratuitously, and gave our competitors something tangible to recruit against us with in the near future.

by **SMUstang** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:18 am

He pointed out our weaknesses. And yes if we don't do something about it it will affect our recruiting.

by **Hoop Fan** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:28 am

SMUstang wrote:He pointed out our weaknesses. And yes if we don't do something about it it will affect our recruiting.

yep, and what was unheard of was that he didnt offer any positives or areas of potential to go along with his criticisms. SMU cannot change anything that he mentioned overnight, which is why the article in itself simply hurt our coaches for the near future.

by **SMUstang** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:44 am

Yes but he did mention a certain school some 40 miles to our west who was in a deeper ditch than we are back in 1997 and they did something about it.

by **Hoop Fan** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 11:56 am

SMUstang wrote:Yes but he did mention a certain school some 40 miles to our west who was in a deeper ditch than we are back in 1997 and they did something about it.

read it again, he didn't say that, far from it. You interpreted that based on your knowledge. Had he said that, it would have softened the tone of the article immensely. In fact, he said the opposite. He said the purple people have had support thru "thick and thin".

Blackistone actually writes a good article

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