by 1983 Cotton Bowl » Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:44 pm
Would TCU rather see us die? I'm not so sure. SMU is the only natural rival TCU has. Granted, it hasn't been much of a rivalry over the past decade. But conversely, it wasn't much of a rivalry when SMU beat TCU 15 years in a row in the 1970s and 1980s. The point is that the rivalry has potential to be exciting and something that could generate real interest in DFW. I for one am really looking forward to this year's game. We may not be there yet in terms of talent, but I guarantee that it will be a sellout and the Blvd. will be rockin'. Likewise, other than the attendance at the Utah game last season (which was a big historical anamoly for post-SWC TCU) the SMU game is typically one of the best attended games they have in Ft. Worth.
Another factor is that TCU apparently cannot "deliver" the DFW television market on its own. Maybe adding SMU to the conference would be the boost that could get the Mtn. on cable here. I'm not an expert on TV and don't actually know that. But it couldn't hurt the chances. I'd be interested to hear what people who know more about TV than I do think.
Everyone talks about UH "delivering" the Houston market. I don't see that at all. Hell, we've got both UH and Rice in our conference and I don't see the Houston market giving two figs about C-USA. What's better for TCU, adding SMU and possibly getting the Mtn. on DFW cable. Or adding Houston, which probably won't add any TV value.