SMU fans demonstrating the courage to quit

[George S. Patton]

Things get tough and a good number of people can't stomach it and start to bail. That's disappontin. Personally I find this current stretch fascinating. When a program is trying to climb into a new era, opportunity is met with frustration and obstacles. You gotta fight thru it. It's a VERY VERY hard thing to do in spite of support that has been given.

We've stunk for 5 of the last 8 quarters. No question about that. And now this is the week where this coaching staff and this team need to decide what kind of football team they want to be. The Tulane game tells us if they really want to work for something or not.

This team needs to be challenged this week from the top on down.

And this is coming from someone who isn't a big Jones fan.

[RGV Pony]

But I thought Tulsa and Rice defined who we were ?

[George S. Patton]

I don't have all the answers. What do I know? About as much as everybody else on this board does.

[redpony]

GSP- no we are smarter because we have seen all of the various burn-outs in the Big 10 over the years.

I don't think most are bailing. Most of us are just venting our frustrations. [deleted] today- move on tomorrow. We need to bash Tulane and show that last night was an abberration.

GO PONIES!!!

[George S. Patton]

Maybe but Tuesday's panic thread should be able to write itself.

[kull]

just think of where this thing was for the past decade, and to hear some of these reactions... we got our asses kicked; move on.

one snap and clear.

[Hilltop]

I think I am going to have to disagree with GSP's title. I believe there are two ways to look at fan support: 1) Word of mouth and general attitude towards the program 2) attendance at the games. Based on every conversation I have had about our program for the last 12 months, it seems like the first measure of fan support is fairly strong. People around Dallas have generally had good things to say about the Mustangs and June Jones. As a result I have seen alumni and friends from around Dallas with no connection to the school at all begin to pay attention to what is happening on the Hilltop. While our team laying an egg like they did last night will not help in our efforts to improve, I still think our brand value has increased over the last year.

As for the second measure of fan support, I think some of the folks on this board are being overly pessimistic when describing our attendance this season. I don't want to dig in too deeply right here, but in general, I have felt like our attendance has been improved starting with the game against TCU. At the TCU game, I felt like SMU put on a great showing with a much larger percentage of the spectators than I expected. It was truly a great environment and the only game that I expect us to sell-out this season, or even cross the 30,000 threshold for that matter. At the game against Tulsa, I once again felt like we had a better than average turn-out, but unfortunately the students were on Fall Break and their absence was greatly felt. Finally, we have last night. I would be willing to argue that our attendance numbers were impacted by the weather before people even started out for the stadium. The turnout on the Boulevard was very strong, but as Severe Weather Warnings started to get issued and the weather started to turn, people started to pour out of the SMU campus. After the stadium evacuation, I felt that the lack of information and the rampant rumors of a canceled game floating around played a huge role in the wave of fans that left the stadium. I too wish there had been more fans to chear on our team, but what happened yesterday, was far different than just a simple rain shower.

Overall, there are a few things I would like to see done differently on the school's side.
1) Start making the yard signs available every gameweek, to place around Dallas. I think this played a huge role in bringing new fans to the campus for the TCU game and could make a big difference in the future.
2) Always schedule Fall Break on TX/OU weekend. I know football schedules aren't released before our academic calendar is prepared, but because of the city logistics involved in this weekend, everyone generally knows when it will be held way in advance. This way we will only have to ask Conference USA to give us consideration on one weekend a year.
3) Keep everyone more informed next time of what is going on when we have severe weather. It seemed like they were very slow in updating information througout the afternoon yesterday and if they had been a little bit more on the ball, it could have made a small difference in how many fans left the stadium.

[ponyte]

I agree with George Smith Patton, our fans scare the Hades out of me. They expect perfection from a still young team. That isn't an excuse, just an observation. Learning to win doesn't happen in one season. Even the first winning season after so many years of poor performance isn't enough to learn to win. Consistent winning takes every week of focus and intensity. Immature teams that haven't learn that level of intensity and focus loss with lackluster effort from time to time.

There appears to be a drop off in intensity and performance en block of our team this last week. That may not be the facts, but that is the impression. And that is a sign that the kids are not quite there yet. They haven't learned what it takes to win week in and week out. But they will learn.

SMU experienced two loses in 1980 after starting the year 4-0. One was a heart breaker loss against Baylor followed by a not prepared mentally and physically loss to Houston. The team refocused and beat #2 UT the next week.

This team has that same opportunity. On the road with the conference still possible against a very beatable foe. One small difference was the 1980 team was senior heavy. This team is senior lite. We have to see how the younger kids respond.

[Stallion]

Those 1980 Baylor and UH losses were devastating blows. Against Baylor in Waco SMU surrendered about a 21 point lead but recovered and had first and goal from the lip of the goaline in the waning seconds only to have Mike Ford mishandle a snap. Then UH shut us down completely at home in one of the most uninspired games I can recall. You want to talk about Panic and Mayhem running wild in the streets. Very similiar scenario-I agree.

[CalallenStang]

2) Always schedule Fall Break on TX/OU weekend. I know football schedules aren't released before our academic calendar is prepared, but because of the city logistics involved in this weekend, everyone generally knows when it will be held way in advance. This way we will only have to ask Conference USA to give us consideration on two weekends a year.

Fixed it for you.

We (along with every other school) ask CUSA for consideration on the Thanksgiving weekend as well.

[ponyte]

Those 1980 Baylor and UH losses were devastating blows. Against Baylor in Waco SMU surrendered about a 21 point lead but recovered and had first and goal from the lip of the goaline in the waning seconds only to have Mike Ford mishandle a snap. Then UH shut us down completely at home in one of the most uninspired games I can recall. You want to talk about Panic and Mayhem running wild in the streets. Very similiar scenario-I agree.

Why is it we play uninspired against UH. The 1980 game was a total Charlie Foxtrot from the teams preparation. The Baylor loss was a mental killer. The UH week's preparation was unorthodox. The locker room had several boom boxes blasting prior to the game. That neve happened again after that UH game. The players seem to feel that all they had to do was show up. We had fights between players (verbal and philosophical not physical) in the huddle and it just killed us. It was so bad it cost us a timeout (like kindergarden kids that need a little time alone) because the in huddle arguments were so dysfunctional. UH would line up wrong, most players would adjust and one guy would blow (not kinda barely miss but blow) an assignment and a golden opportunity would turn to disaster.

Another difference between then and now is that SMU completely changed its offense in one week in 1980. JJ and this team don't need to do that. They just need to concentrate on what they know and execute. Major difference and one that is vastly preferable.

[Charleston Pony]

we played "inspired" against Houston when those 95-21 losers became seniors. THAT was a very special Homecoming game in Ownby

[Fresh]

And this is coming from someone who isn't a big Jones fan.

Hmmm. It's also coming from someone who mocked the apparently-rational PonyFans among us who expressed concern about the Navy and Houston games. Now who looks foolish?

We realize that you amuse yourself by regurgitating your own threads, so we can assume another snoozer is coming this week. At least we'll all save money on sleeping pills.

I don't have all the answers. What do I know?

Anyone else want to knock this one out of the park?

[George S. Patton]

As I reminder I never indicated that those panic threads were a bit. Some of you assumed that. Ironically, some of what I noted in the first entry of Navy and Houston actually took place.

And yes, I don't know all these answers and breaking news -- neither do you!

[couch 'em]

Things get tough and a good number of people can't stomach it and start to bail. That's disappontin.

Who has bailed?