Thought I'd share this SMU anecdote

[1983 Cotton Bowl]

I used to live in Oregon and an old friend from those days is a huge college football fan. Mostly the Beavers and Ducks, but he also loves to visit colleges around the country and take in the football experience in different places.

For the last couple of years, he has made a pilgrimage to Dallas for the season's opening weekend due to the Oregon schools playing in the Cowboy Classic (OSU/TCU last year and UO/LSU this year). In both cases, SMU was playing a road game the following day (TTech and A&M), so we have gone to the Cowboy Classic on Saturday and then to L 1&10 for the SMU game and a burger on Sunday.

Although the Ponies came up short in both games, my friend has really taken to them. He loves the road unis and is a huge Zach Line fan (reminds him of John Riggins). Also, he loved the atmosphere at L 1&10, especially for the Tech game last year.

This year as we were killing time on Sunday morning, he asked to drive over to SMU to take a look. So I took him over there and gave him the 25 cent tour. Suffice it to say, he went bananas. Absolutely loved the campus and the neighborhood. Said he will seriously consider it for his own kids even though they live on the west coast. At the end of the "tour" he asked to go to the bookstore and ended up buying SMU t-shirts and sweatshirts for himself and his family.

I now come to the point. . .I just received this text from my friend and I thought I would share:

"I went to my favorite sports bar in PDX to watch the SMU/TCU game. Wore my new Ponies shirt. The owner told me it was the first time in his 20 years of running the bar that someone had asked for an SMU game. He put the game on and I watched the entire thing, including OT. Several people commented on what an exciting game it was."

So there you go. Mustang nation is expanding its reach!

[Junior]

good story. it's always nice to bring outsiders into the SMU fold. the regulars at our blvd spot regularly include alumni of Purdue, Baylor and Northwestern State. the hard part is getting them to take their fist sip of the kool-aid. after that, it's much easier to get them coming back.

[Bucking Pony]

Something that gets overlooked in all the re-alignment talk is that SMU has the potential for national appeal. Not unsimmilar to Notre Dame, Cubs, etc. (long way too go, just saying the potential is there).

Your friend is right... our away unis are amazing. We have an exciting offense. Due to the death penalty we are forever underdogs in the CFB world. SMU is very likable. I think it will become more apparent once we have a string of winning seasons.

No casual fan from the West coast is going to a bar in a Coogar hoodie to cheer for UofH. SMU is just plain likable.

[smupony94]

I don't have an exact number, but there have been many new members of Ponyfans since the start of the season.

[cutter]

nice.

[ponyte]

Wonderful story. I hope we have more like this over the season.

[huskerpony]

the hard part is getting them to take their fist sip of the kool-aid. after that, it's much easier to get them coming back.