The primary problem is this team is not entertaining

[Pony81]

We can [deleted] and moan about attendance and lack of support now that we are winning.
But the fact remains that we are an offensive nightmare. We look inept and when McD throws the ball the entire stadium is holding it's breath. This offense is very hard to watch and is not the least bit entertaining.

Why would the casual fan invest 4 hours to watch SMU bumble up and down the field when he can watch competent football on TV?

June was brought in to win and to put an entertaining well coached offense on the field. People unaffiliated with SMU will come see a high flying, well executed offense ( ala TTU under the hated Leach).

June should shoulder a lot of the responsibility for the poor attendance because the product is very hard to watch.

[PonySnob]

A++

[mr. pony]

We can [deleted] and moan about attendance and lack of support now that we are winning.
But the fact remains that we are an offensive nightmare. We look inept and when McD throws the ball the entire stadium is holding it's breath. This offense is very hard to watch and is not the least bit entertaining.

Why would the casual fan invest 4 hours to watch SMU bumble up and down the field when he can watch competent football on TV?

June was brought in to win and to put an entertaining well coached offense on the field. People unaffiliated with SMU will come see a high flying, well executed offense ( ala TTU under the hated Leach).

June should shoulder a lot of the responsibility for the poor attendance because the product is very hard to watch.

Amen. Well said.

[Pony81]

Maybe SO sees the same thing and doesn't want to invest marketing dollars (assuming they are available ) for people to come watch ineptitude playing some of the worst teams in the country. Better to keep your powder dry and have the casual fans first experience with SMU football be a good one.

[smupony94]

There are no marketing dollars. The athletic department currently runs a deficit

[Charleston Pony]

When he 1st arrived, JJ talked about playing high scoring games that would entertain people and hopefully bring them back for more. Pretty sure he commented that as the team gets better and starts winning games, he expected that recruiting talent on the defensive side would get easier. I agree with what you are saying, i.e., we are not very entertaining right now. Obviously we could use an upgrade at QB.

The whole attendance issue is the proverbial chicken vs egg. If SMU was a larger school with a larger fan base that had strong attendance, it would be easier to recruit. But...we are what we are and realistically will have trouble ever reaching a point where a ticket in Ford will be hard to come by.

3 straight bowl trips is a good start. Just need to keep some momentum because this is a long rebuilding process for a program that lost a generation of fans

[mustangxc]

I have to agree about the on the field product. As a hardcore fan/letterman/alum yesterday's game as well as many others this season were much more stressful than fun. I will venture to say that yesterday's game negatively impacted my health. While the casual fan will not suffer nearly as much as I did because they are not as emotionally invested, they too will not enjoy the product and the outcome will be a mere oh well at least SMU won as opposed to saying man that was fun when's the next game?

[Arkpony]

I hadn't really thought about it, but the team DOES stress me it with the terrible offensive effort.

[PoconoPony]

I have to agree about the on the field product. As a hardcore fan/letterman/alum yesterday's game as well as many others this season were much more stressful than fun. I will venture to say that yesterday's game negatively impacted my health. While the casual fan will not suffer nearly as much as I did because they are not as emotionally invested, they too will not enjoy the product and the outcome will be a mere oh well at least SMU won as opposed to saying man that was fun when's the next game?

Agree. I am too stressed during games based solely on the ineptness of the offense. Everyone understands some mistakes and things will happen; however, failure of the offense repeatedly to perform is stressful.

[smustatesmen]

Is there an APP for that ?

[ponyte]

I brought a kid from California to the game against Rice. He had never seen a college game or any other game except California HS games. Despite the crummy attendance and the poor play at times, this kid loved it! He wants to come back.

He sat with the 20 or so students the first half and wanted to stay with them the second half cause it was so much fun. When I drove this kid to the place he was staying some 180 miles away, he gather his things and his ticket, his ticket, to head inside his home. And he studied that ticket on the drive home.

There is an audience that would love to become SMU fans. It isn't the traditional audience. We have to find it and cultivate it.

It isn't all bad. We have to find the millions that don't have a team affiliation and give them a reason to love SMU.

[HB Pony Dad]

The Ponies were pretty exciting in Hawaii and also against TCU so you can't blame it all on the product on the field.

I attended the USC-Arizona Game and I was bored to tears. The offenses of both teams kept scoring but both D's were so pathetic that it turned into a boring Track Meet.

The Trojans kicking butt last evening was a joy fest for Trojan Fans but I'm sure the rest of the viewing public switched that puppy off before the half.

In contrast, the Stanford-USC and USC-Oregon games held every ones attention because they were competitive games between well performing teams with skill and drama.

Entertainment is a combination of factors which include both you, your opponent, and the significance of the game.

The entertainment problem is not a simple solution controlled solely by SMU.

BTW

Would my Trojans score over 90 on the Ponies?

FIGHT ON!

[SMU_Alumni11]

The Ponies were pretty exciting in Hawaii and also against TCU so you can't blame it all on the product on the field.

I attended the USC-Arizona Game and I was bored to tears. The offenses of both teams kept scoring but both D's were so pathetic that it turned into a boring Track Meet.

The Trojans kicking butt last evening was a joy fest for Trojan Fans but I'm sure the rest of the viewing public switched that puppy off before the half.

In contrast, the Stanford-USC and USC-Oregon games held every ones attention because they were competitive games between well performing teams with skill and drama.

Entertainment is a combination of factors which include both you, your opponent, and the significance of the game.

The entertainment problem is not a simple solution controlled solely by SMU.

BTW

Would my Trojans score over 90 on the Ponies?

FIGHT ON!

Your Trojans would score so much that the NCAA would give them another penalty.

[jkflamebo]

The Colt Brennan days at Hawaii put fans in the stands. Heck if I was living down there I woulda wanted to see him throw it around. Currently we market pretty much the exact opposite with McD as QB.

[GiddyUp]

True, other than TCU and USM (up until the end) - not many games have been that entertaining. Memphis was fun b/c we scored every other play. This offense lately has stumbled, mistakes, penalties every game, and just bad execution.

I did tend to tune into Hawaii in '06 and '07 partly b/c they were on late and then became intrigued by guys flying around the field and how fast they were. It was fun to watch but can't say we have come close to that yet.