ALEX LIFESON wrote:Get_Some_Ponies wrote:They've got a poll up which I'm linking to the page but can't imbed.
They asked if SMU was going to win this weekend:
Yes, Stangs are on a Roll--74 votes
No, Tech will play well for new coach--25 votes
Who cares, it's Labor Day Weekend--1100 votes.
http://www.smudailymustang.com/?cat=2259
And that's why any argument about the new Mustangs, should be flushed down the toilet. Like the one that says the students voted against the new Mustangs, look at the 1100 votes that don't give a DAMN about SMU football. How many SMU students do you think will care enough to go to Lubbock to support their team? Not many.
There were not 1100 students who voted if you include all three choices together. That looks to me like a manipulation of the system by some people with nothing better to do but put the team down. I'd bet there were not 1100 students who even went to the Daily Mustang's website today.
Contrast that to the vote against the Geldings which was done by the Student Senate, the elected body of the students, who voted for a resolution confirming Peruna as SMU's only mascot by a 32-3 margin. No electronic manipulation possible.
Further reasons why your argument holds no weight:
1) The football team REPRESENTS the school and its students. The traditions surrounding our football team are traditions that REPRESENT the STUDENTS, not the FOOTBALL TEAM. The football team would not exist without the university, and the university would not exist if it did not have students to teach, thus the football team's wishes should yield to the students' wishes in regards to the mascot.
2) Over 400 students are going to SMU vs. Texas Tech. That's over 6% of our undergraduate student body going 6 hours one way to watch the team.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=2973910967323) If we let the football team dictate the traditions around football, here's what would happen: the fight song would change every 5 years. The mascots would change every time there is a new coach. There would be a different alma mater every time a coach decided the previous one was too sappy.