Being an SMU fan

[Observer]

This board is interesting. There is alot of rhetoric about how Texas Tech hasn't won very many championships and really isn't that good.

If you think about it, how does an SMU fan have any room to talk about anyone, let alone a respectable Big 12 program?

SMU is a bottom feeder in one of the worst Division IA conferences in the country. It's basketball team is below average, and it's football team is even worse. True, Tech last won a conference championship in that ridiculous 5-way thing in the SWC, but where did SMU place that year?

Tech beat UT and A&M last year; when is the last time SMU beat either? It had to have been back when SMU was rapidly approaching the death penalty for running the most corrupt football program in the history of college athletics.

These days, what does an SMU fan have to look forward to? Football season? Doubtful.
Basketball season? Doubtful. Baseball season? There's probably more hope for a successful baseball season than anything else because SMU doesn't have a program to bottom feed the WAC.

Texas Tech probably won't win the Big 12 this year, and they'll probably end up fighting with A&M again this year, and they'll probably end up in another mid-tier bowl. But the bottom line is that they will probably compete very well with a very difficult schedule, put 40-50k fans in the stands at football games, and their fans will be excited about not only football season but basketball season as well.

SMU, on the other hand, will be apathetic about yet another lousy season, put maybe 15k fans in the stands, and have absolutely nothing to be excited about in any major sport even though they play one of the easiest schedules in the country.

While it's interesting to watch SMU fans downplay Tech's football prowess, it's a little sad to think about how SMU fans are bashing a program that they have absolutely no hope of ever being able to compete with on a consistent basis. As wonderful as the WAC may be (to an SMU fan anyway), programs like Tech view the WAC and it's football programs as the equivalent of gum stuck to the bottom of someone's shoe.

[Mickey]

Observer: Your post is right on. I agree with 100% of what you said. But why the name "Observer"? You make it sound like you are non-partisian. At least be legit and give yourself a name associated with TT.

[Pony_Fan]

Observer - state the obvious - of course a TT fan. Most true but they have to live with the fact that Texas Tech will NEVER win the Big 12 or a nat'l championship with the likes of UT, OU, OSU, A&M, Colo, Nebraska.

Yes, the WAC sucks and that is obvious. I find my happiness in the development of the new fb program, see where it may go until we get in a new conference, and watching a very talented soccer team...haha.

[Observer]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Pony_Fan:
<B>Observer - state the obvious - of course a TT fan. Most true but they have to live with the fact that Texas Tech will NEVER win the Big 12 or a nat'l championship with the likes of UT, OU, OSU, A&M, Colo, Nebraska.

</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

You could be correct. But it's still better than what an SMU fan has to look forward to.

And no, I'm not necessarily a Tech fan. I graduated from one of the programs you say will cause Tech to never win a championship. I do have alot of family that graduated from Tech, though.

[SoCal_Pony]

TT Observer,

Thank your lucky stars that SMU does not compete in the same conference as you do. If we did, we would consistently beat you.

We have a superior school, but more importantly, a far, far superior location.

Nobody in their right mind would ever select Lubbock over Dallas. Oh, an occasional West Texas kid might, but that’s about it.

Yes we cheated, suspect you did too, but we cheated to compete against the UT’s and A$M’s of the world (guess what, they also cheated). We didn’t need to cheat to compete against you.

[Observer]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by SoCal_Pony:
<B>TT Observer,

Thank your lucky stars that SMU does not compete in the same conference as you do. If we did, we would consistently beat you.

We have a superior school, but more importantly, a far, far superior location.

Nobody in their right mind would ever select Lubbock over Dallas. Oh, an occasional West Texas kid might, but that’s about it.

Yes we cheated, suspect you did too, but we cheated to compete against the UT’s and A$M’s of the world (guess what, they also cheated). We didn’t need to cheat to compete against you.

</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The equivalent of SMU does compete in the Big 12. It's called Baylor.

And the clever A$M moniker doesn't really hold much water coming from SMU and it's rich tradition of slush funds and death penalties.

[SoCal_Pony]

Wrong, D*S*

Waco is like Lubbock

[Observer]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by SoCal_Pony:
<B>Wrong, D*S*

Waco is like Lubbock

</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

True, but the end result is the same.

Besides, Lubbock and Waco, College Station and Norman, Lincoln and Manhattan -- they are all college towns. People go there for college, not to live forever. Dallas is a nice town, and that's why so many people from TT and A&M live there after they graduate. You probably saw that first hand last year when Tech's fans caused SMU to have it's first sellout since Gerald Ford opened. You really should be grateful to them.

I'd love for A&M to play there, but we wouldn't play in such a small place.

[gostangs]

And you haven't been invited to either.

Nobody with a brain thinks Tech and SMU are on the same plain at this point - but there it is not only possible but probable that our program will exceed theirs in the next few years - the trajectory of each program is obvious if you pay attention to recruiting and the trend lines.

What you have seen expressed is a surprise that Tech has been so average for so long with their advantages - Big 12 school with no academic barriers of any kind. Not the most advantageous by any means - but surely within 50 years a little more success would have been expected. We don't need any of our own success to notice this reality - It is true independent from anything having to do with SMU.

[SoCal_Pony]

Observer,

You are wrong to lump Lubbock, Waco, College Station, Norman, Lincoln and Manhattan together, unless you are categorizing all as cheaters.

Lower Tier:
Lubbock – nice people, marginal city.
Waco – definitely not a college party town.
Manhattan – Snyder turned around an all-time abysmal program, when he leaves, doubtful they can sustain it.

Upper Tier:
Lincoln and Norman– great tradition and benefits from being the only game in state, plus some absolutely outstanding head coaches. Solich is bringing Huskers back to reality.
College Station – best academic school of the group, great tradition, but it is still CS.

Highest Tier:
Austin – great tradition, superior academics, outstanding city. Should be the greatest dynasty in college football, but isn’t. Lincoln and Norman have had 5 great coaches, Austin only 1.

If SMU were suddenly placed in the Big XII, I would argue that we could achieve Upper Tier status based on our location, which is more than just “nice” when compared to the towns above. Yes we are a small private school with attendance issues, so is Miami (even with their success). But Miami, like SMU, uses its city as a selling point, and for many urban kids, it matters.

Finally, I don’t know your age or if you are really an aggie, but if you knew people who were truly connected to these programs during our DP era, you would realize how disingenuous it is for you to look down on us for cheating.

[MrMustang1965]

It's posts like this that just get me more fired up about this season!!! Yes, I'm the eternal 'optimist'!

"On any given Saturday..."



------------------
"Winning ain't everything...but it's a lot more fun than the alternative!" S.M.U. SPIRIT: IT STARTS NOW!

[EastStang]

I am surprised that TT would even get on the field with a "bottom feeder" like SMU. Could it be that they discovered that absent games in the DFW Metroplex, they couldn't recruit against OU, UT, TCU,and A$M for the talent rich Dallas area recruits? Plus, they can't buy press in the Dallas papers without playing SMU because no one in Dallas cares about TT. I just hope that we can make it a good game. After all the Raiders are so much better than SMU.

[Hoofbeat83]

nice post, SoCal. i'm sure Observer had to run to his dictionary to look up 'disingenuous'.

losers like that remind me of one thing: despite our recent lack of success in football and our unfortunate membership in a conference of misfits, our university has been, is now, and always will be a better u. than ATM or TT or whatever school he went to.

[HixsontoLeVias]

...being an SMU fan these days is like being the "one eyed king of a blind country".....

[Observer]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by gostangs:
<B>And you haven't been invited to either.

</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Are you kidding? SMU would fall all over itself to have A&M make a visit.